Draw Blood

Svarttjern - “Draw Blood” 2024

Svarttjern (Official)
“Draw Blood”

Origin: Oslo, Norway

Genre: Black Metal

Label: Soulseller Records

Norwegian bastard sons of corruption, Svarttjern, are back! And they’re offering up nothing less than what they’ve always dealt out: aggressive, thrash-dominated black metal that sickens, rapes and defiles. A misunderstood band whose lyrical excursions detail the animalistic nature of man; our baser instincts and flaws. Embrace the depravity and own up to your errs! The delightful imperfection of our existence - liberation from societal norms - the true black metal way. Spirituality? Mumbo-jumbo. Storytelling? Only of their own desecrations. Prepare to wallow in the filth and the grime of your own spiritual indigence, behold the broken path before you as it leads to ultimate damnation. On December 6, Svarttjern will unleash “Draw Blood” via Soulseller Records…

Tales of self-mutilation, suicide and lust set to black metal of a most sinful consortium and relayed through baleful album cuts: the titular track and “Chop, Slit, Flay” that not only promote the destruction of self, but also of your victim. Bleeding self-inflicted wounds and heaps of flesh soaked in gore to stimulate the reward center of your diseased mind - ecstatic dopamine hits - sweet serotonin flooding the cortex as the cuts deepen and the blood begins to flow. “Distance yourself from the life you once knew…” Turn your emotions off and embrace your inner killer! Wallow in the eternal lust of man, our sinful nature and the stark truth that you are, deep down, a wretched creature. Live in lust & hate! Music for cocaine-induced mania and booze-drenched nights spent with fellow abominations. Primal mid-tempo’d savagery unleashed during “Don’t Contain Your Lust”; the blade your only friend now. Like a ravenous pig feasting on troughs of fleshly desires most foul have you become and there’s no turning back.

Musically, expect Gorgoroth and Tsjuder-level brutality, but with even more of a thrashy touch. Relentless chugs and jackhammering rhythms… Fucking ear candy the whole way through. Expert time-changes yet fluid as blood flow. The heartbeat of true Norwegian black metal pulsating to every rhythmic passage. And is that a Rolling Stones cover I hear? A ghastly rendition of “Under My Thumb”. Svarttjern getting their mischievous rocks off here; a punkish escapade into the realm of dirty riff-rock: rowdy, unpolished and downright fun. HansFyrste’s brutal yet refined vocals are decipherable throughout the entire record; the mark of a master and of one who truly desires for the listener to be fully engaged in the experience.

You’ll be wanting to party with these dudes! Imagining all the rambunctious possibilities and double-dares. The darkest side of the human condition illuminated before you to rifle through with gleeful enthusiasm. It’s a sick world! And we are the sickness. No need to put on a virtuous show for society. We all know what a joke it is and the person you are behind closed doors. You can’t hide from being human and to be human is to be a monster. With “Draw Blood”, Svarttjern deepen their grip into the flesh and into the minds of their followers with everything we’ve come to expect from these sons-of-bitches since day one. Reliable as always and just an unruly group of friends whose adventures have proven to be legendary! Providing more than a fleeting glimpse into their depraved minds and into the crimes of their youth. Svarttjern - quite possibly the most fucked up black metal band of all time. Shit, man, would you have them any other way? Didn’t think so… Take this album down like a double-shot of cheap liquor and feel the burn. It does not go down smooth. Music not for the faint of heart nor for the intestinally infirm. You’ll blow a load for this one. I guarantee it!

Captivation: 9/10
Cover Art: 8.5/10
Concept: 10/10
Production: 9/10
Revisitabilty: 9/10

Final Score: 9/10

Experience “Determination” from “Draw Blood” by Svarttjern right here as presented by Soulseller Records:

https://youtu.be/L-cQ0ntkITQ?si=ZMBsztAeHVuBVF9W

~Jeger