Hild – Thrash på svenska

Band: Hild
Title: Thrash på svenska
Label: Black Lion Records
Release date:  October  4th,  2024
Country: Sweden
Format reviewed: High-Quality Digital Recording 

Hild started as a solo project by Lars Broddesson in 2021, and the following year he released his first album, “ValFreiya”, 13 songs of the most relentless and violent Swedish Metal I’ve listened to. A very frantic mix of Black/Crust Punk and Thrash Metal, with lyrics delving into Norse mythology, more specifically about the Valkyries. Those were like 13 punches in your guts, as it seemed that Broddesson’s will was to cause as much damage as he could. Musically speaking, of course. 

Now, Lars has recruited a full band lineup to bring us their second offering, “Thrash på svenska”. These are the musicians and their roles in the band:

Lars Broddesson – vocals, guitars
Josef Danielsson – guitars (lead), backing vocals
David Lecander – bass, backing vocals
Jonathan Albertsson – drums, backing vocals

Hild continues with a high level of violence it its music and in vocals, and a thing that has changed is the language used at singing: while the lyrics in  “Valfreiya” were in English, now Lars has shifted to Swedish, I don’t know the reason but truth is that, for me, this kind of savage style of Nordic Metal works better in their mother tongue, because of its specific sound. You can say “ah, but Lars is not singing in a melodic and understandable way, but shouting angrily and sometimes barking and spitting the words”, but believe me that the sonority of the language in which it is made matters… 

As a fine observer, you’ll find another difference in the length of a few songs: in their previous album, all the tracks were fast and short, between 2 and 2 and a half minutes. In “Thrash på svenska” there’s a song of almost 5 minutes duration (and it turns out to be a very different song from the rest) and the closing theme, a bit over 4 minutes. 

But this is not what defines the sound the most. I’d dare to say, the album still remains devastating, powerful, killer; AND, some melodic lines have been introduced. Not in a soft way, but in order to emphasize the strong sounding of the whole thing. Even if guitar riffs are like whiplashes most of the times, there’s a little nod to classic Metal in a few songs (like in “En väv av intet”, and the piano passage at the end brings a special touch), which makes the sound a bit more diverse. And I definitely love the folk-ish guitar tunes in “Hugg där det smärtar som mest”, this song is powerful in a different way. “Lukten av kristet blod” is another piece including some folk vibes at a very fast pace, I really enjoy it.

The longest song, “Kvinnokroppen krälande” (translated as “Woman´s body crawling”) is of another kind. I don’t understand the lyrics but for me it’s like a ritual: the water, the slow percussion, the sinister sound of that violin…  Lars does fantastic vocal work in this song, showing its darkest, most primitive side. His voice conveys a lot of emotion, it almost breaks, although it has a lot of strength. When the song finally explodes, it’s like the natural conclusion to all the tension that has been built before. Everything ends with an extremely dark and brutal vocal passage, and this is a great song BUT…  well, the fact that it’s placed in the middle of the album, it’s like an unexpected break in the fast and energetic rhythm of the whole. For me, this is a bit annoying. Thankfully, the following track, “Hjadningavig”, is there to remind us of the crushing essence of the album.

Apart from this break, the overall sound of the album is fast, violent and frenzied. Guitars play wild and almost impossible riffs, while drums are constantly beating like crazy. And vocals do a bestial performance from start to finish. Talking about devastating lyrics, what about this verse in the closing theme, “En dag ska jag svälja solen” (“One day I shall swallow the sun”):

“One day you will feel the offence / Of believing your life had a value / That day the honor is mine / To darken your mind and world”. I’m speechless of how powerful this is… 

It’s difficult for me to resist an album like this.  8,5/10  by  Sílvia 

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8,5/10  To Greatness and Glory!
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