Völva – Desires Profane

Band: Völva
Title: Desires Profane
Label: Grind to Death Records
Release date: November 28th, 2024
Country: Sweden
Format reviewed: High-Quality Digital Recording
The first full-length album of Swedish band Völva, Desires Profane, is firmly rooted in the second wave of black metal, with few traces of their crust beginnings. It is raw, drum driven and riff based. Right from the start the craftmanship and uncompromising power of the music is evident. Yet, something makes me lose attention and through the album I never get immersed. Instead, I spend the time analysing details, trying to figure out what they are doing and why it is not working for me.
This is a solid release, no doubt about that. The drum work is dominating and versatile. The harsh vocals are strong and on point. The guitars have enticing melodies that come and go, sometimes with a beautiful almost painful tone. I can hear interesting dissonances and harmonies deep down in layers of the music. The riffs are somewhat monotonous and repetitive with some bursts of tremolo picked melodic passages which should be hypnotic but are not.
After a few listens I realize that the obstacle for my immersion is in the phrasing and repetition. Heavy riffs and cold melodies draw me into the music, but when it is time to repeat the cycle, it is done with a break that makes me feel that the music stops and then starts over rather than continue in a spiral ahead. This creates a feeling of standstill, of never getting anywhere. These breaks and turns interrupt every start of immersion until I no longer trust the music and give up, the way you give up on falling asleep when someone is poking you every time you start to drift off.
I get frustrated. I write the review in my head. It is unfair. Maybe this is just my reaction, my hangup, my need for hypnotic flow. I get the feeling that the members of the band are pulling in different directions, trying to satisfy everyone’s creative visions. It is as if the drummer is telling a different story than the guitarist, and the vocalist is struggling to bind them together.
Despite this I can hear that Desires Profane would be a cold, windy world for someone who reacts differently to the rhythmic choices. The constant small changes in the guitar work, the bends and dissonances, the shifts in tempo between slow and heavy and raging fury, the cold harsh vocals that never miss a beat. There is mystery in this music for the right audience.
The atmosphere takes a new unexpected turn as a slightly folky melody takes over in the last song. It takes me a while before I recognize it as a cover of a pop song that was very popular in Sweden in the 90s. This is surprising. I don’t see how it fits the theme or the atmosphere of the rest of the album. Ending with a cover of a so different song makes me feel that I am not ending the album with Völva, but with somebody else.
It is clear that the ritual of Desires Profane is not happening for me. Still, I recommend everyone who appreciates second wave influenced black metal with strong presence of drums to give it a spin and find out for themselves if their reaction is different from mine. Maybe this album works better as a compilation of singles, separate hit songs for different occasions. Favourite track is Never Forgive. In this I sense the potential of Völva. 7/10 by Ask
Band
Bandcamp
Instagram
Deezer
Spotify
YouTube
Label
Website
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
Bandcamp
7/10: Victory is Possible!
**Please support the underground! It’s vital to the future of our genre.**
#WeAreTheBlessedAltarZine
#TheZineSupportingTheUnderground