While Swedish black metal has always been notorious for having a small number of unique bands followed by an endless stream of third rate imitators, some of the better bands tend to get forgotten or underappreciated. Sorhin falls into that category and on the back of their first full length I det glimrande mörkrets djup which combined the Norwegian layered approach with the Swedish sense of melody, the band released their magnum opus Apokalypsens ängel and showed a completely new take on the genre.
We routed the guitars through a pedal straight into the mixing table. I did everything within my power to mould the soundscape according to my principles, the distortion and treble among other things.
Guitars dominate the aural space and attention with a unique tone that fizzes and cuts through the mix while still retaining some depth. Despite the particular digital and over the top tone, the guitars grant the other instruments the necessary space to shine and gift the listener with this strong mix that prioritizes the urgency of these riffs. A particularly bizarre mixing method that yields fantastic results for the band and dispels any idea that digital production methods aren’t compatible with black metal.
While stylistically contained within the Swedish black metal sound. Sorhin offer a lot more than basic folk derived melodies and a heavy metal like sense of harmony. while the grand majority of riffs rarely venture outside the realm of consonance, there are a lot of cathartic riffs that exude aggression due to the band’s willingness to use death metal riff forms. “Livets löfte” highlights this with a short break and a vulgar sample that bursts into a melodic death metal riff that chops up the longer melodies into short blocks to fit around the rhythm. The band are also very capable of delivering such aggressive riffs within the traditional black metal mold. “Där allt svunnet är, där ingenting är allt” showcases this perfectly with its long form tremolo riff accompanied by ranting shrieks. The variety of emotions conveyed and the transitions between them are what really sets this album apart from its peers. “När döden sträcker ut sina vingar” climatic riff is built in the same way that the more aggressive riffs on this album are built but avoids rapidly smashing power chords and subvert expectations by going for the grandiose.
Barring the outro, every song on this album sticks to the Death metal school of arrangement. Each piece has a handful of ideas that the band cycle through fairly quickly, there are many developments of individual ideas as Sorhin chain together riffs that are similar harmonically but very different rhythmically as they run the gamut of melodies. At times the songs would benefit from longer lengths like “Natt utan slut” which has one of the most majestic melodies in black metal but is never fully explored nor reintroduced. This also means that the album has absolutely no fluff whatsoever nor does it ever devolve into background noise.
There should be little doubt regarding Apokalypsens ängel status as being one of the best Swedish black metal albums to ever grace the genre. Sorhin build upon a well established style but find their own voice to create something new from familiar elements. A definite must own for all fans of black metal.
