#Lifvsleda 🇸🇪 Sepulkral Dedikation

Band: Lifvsleda
Title: Sepulkral Dedikation
Label: Norma Evangelium Diaboli
Release date: 1 April 2022
Country: Sweden
Format reviewed: High-quality Digital Recording

One thing I can appreciate when I listen to a Black Metal album from Sweden is, in most cases, THAT sound. It can be really evident or maybe subtle, but a lot of Swedish bands have something characteristic in their sound, call it “raw cold”, “extreme icy sound” or whatever… and Lifvsleda has got it, and I can’t say enough how I love it! “Sepulkral Dedikation” runs for 39 minutes and consists of 8 tracks, and it’s been a great pleasure listening to them on repeat in order to write this review…

… because the first track, “Sändebudet”, starts like a distant storm that you can be aware of its violence even when it’s still at some distance, but it arrives to you in one minute and then it engulfs you completely. Yes, this first track destroys everything in its path, the rumble of drums at the beginning is something that makes me hold my breath. My head spins at the forceful display of Swedish Black Metal that follows: raw tremolo riffs, blast beats and some programmed effects that hit you in the face with no mercy. And what to say about the vocals… This man has an utterly gnarled voice that seems ready to summon any diabolical forces from Hell. And then, the last minute of the song consists of the storm slowly fading away, when everything has been devastated.

And then… ohh, “Lifvspänn”. Another song where the overall sound is raw and at the same time full of guitar melodies. I love the way that drums are building some kind of expectation for an outburst… and then they do that, they explode!, along with the sick guitar riffs that go on piercing your brain. And, seriously: the man in charge of vocals can really do bestial screams (well, listen to the following track, “Djefvulen”, and tell me!). That voice is raw, extremely rotten, seems as if the vocalist was suffering some kind of torture while recording it. I can easily lose my mind with this!

Even if I’m not an expert in Black Metal, I can notice that particular Swedish sound. The desolation, melancholic landscapes and sense of despair are present all the time. Guitars and bass play a great amount of tremolo riffs, the overall sound is raw and overwhelming. Drums can go from blast beats and fast pace to some more calm (but heavy) passages, and let me mention they sound really intense: the deep sound of toms is a crushing thing, and cymbals are used sometimes shamelessly. A few extra keyboard effects are used here and there to add more strength and power to a particular track (like in “Dödspredikanten”).

“Hädankallad” is a fantastic and melodic piece due to the string instruments while drums sound simply mind blowing, with a brief respite in the middle of the song, and right from the start those screams destroy my ears… in a good sense, of course. But not only on this track; as I’ve mentioned before, the vocals in this album have some fierceness and evil out of this world. Sorry, can’t stop mentioning this.
“Kallet” is a fantastic closing track, it’s mainly built with fast drums and lots of tremolo riffs, guitars going crazy close to the end, and vocals sounding really ominous! Great way to end.

I’m pretty sure that any Black Metal enthusiast will fall in love with this new work by Lifvsleda, their second full-length album in a year and a half. Their Scandinavian sound is more than obvious; the mix is well done and not dirty or gritty at all, so the result is simply fantastic, a total blast. For me this album deserves 9,5/10 Sílvia

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9,5/10 Epic Storm
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