Vanhelgd - Atropos Doctrina

Angry Metal Guy

My third review ever for this site covered Swedeath quartet Vanhelgd’s fifth outing Deimos Sanktuarium. I was still a n00b then, and my reference points for a great many albums then pales in comparison to the arsenal of touchstones at my disposal today. Six years after my inevitable installment as Grand Spongus of Angry Metal Guy, Vanhelgd marks my first repeat band from my n00b era as they prepare to unleash their sixth salvo, Atropos Doctrina. There’s no time like the present to revisit a band from my critical upbringing. Onwards, to Atropos Doctrina!

Six years between albums changed Vanhelgd, but not as much as some might reasonably expect. Their crunchy combination of Desolate Shrine somberness and Aphyx stomp remains largely unscathed by the passage of time. However, gone entirely are those occasional dalliances with the English language. Good riddance. Also diminished in quantity, Deimos Sanktuarium’s hooky vocal refrains—delivered with an assortment of harsh vox, gang shouts, and ecclesiastical cleans—make way for more guitar-forward fixes (“Kom dödens tysta ängel,” “Gravjordsfrid”). Vanhelgd’s production values shifted, too, moving from a naturally powerful assortment of tones and textures to a thinner, boomier, and louder sonic palette to the record’s detriment. In mood, Atropos Doctrina makes for a more mournful outing than past releases, moving further into doom territory than ever before and evoking a weeping sort of death we more commonly hear from contemporaries like Be’lakor and The Drowning—and used to hear from classics like My Dying Bride (“I ovigd jord”). Overall, though, Vanhelgd successfully maintain their identity as another solid Swedish death metal band sporting a tasteful application of the style.

Atropos Doctrina by Vanhelgd

Consistency is Atropos Doctrina’s greatest asset. Forty minutes of rock-solid, somber death metal that glides through movements as a knife through softened butter, Atropos Doctrina represents Vanhelgd’s songwriting touchstones at their most fluid. After a quick, no-nonsense ripper that immediately launches the record into an adrenaline rush (“Saliga äro de dödfödda”), “Kom dödens tysta ängel” gently grounds me with a more mid-paced march that keeps the energy up just enough to leave me wanting more. More is exactly what I get as the record proceeds in that mid-paced, lightly melodic vein until just over midway through. At that point, album highlight “Atropos Hymnarium” absolutely obliterates my bones with a raucous, and thoroughly unexpected, Black Royal riffset that would fit right at home on Firebride. A chef’s kiss moment if there ever was one. I don’t have to wait very long before the next memorable moment either, as the back end of the record prioritizes tight, well-edited numbers that say what they have to say and move right along. This allows closer “Gravjordsfrid” to hit twice as hard with its main melody, a sullen but emotive refrain that strikes the heart and tugs at its strings. As the song transitions into a piano rendition of that same theme, I feel the weight of woe lighten into newfound peace, marking the final rest of Atropos Doctrina as it fades to black.

Unfortunately, as Atropos Doctrina fades to black each time, I feel very little draw to the idea of returning. This record contains within it a number of compelling passages and beautiful moments (just listen to those lead guitars on “I ovigd jord”), but in between those sparks of brilliance lies a preponderance of stock-standard blackened, melodic death metal that hardly moves the needle past average. As a result, half of the record enters one ear and falls unceremoniously out of the other even during focused spins. I don’t take this term lightly, yet the ultimate takeaway is that much of Atropos Doctrina is generic. Competent and enjoyable, but generic. Consequently, all that the record’s more pedestrian offerings can hope to achieve is to keep the momentum going strong (“Ofredsår,” “Galgdanstid”). Thankfully, that’s exactly what they do. Nonetheless, and especially for a band as well-established and obviously well-versed as Vanhelgd, it takes more than that to stand out.

At the end of the day, Atropos Doctrina is an enjoyable, if ultimately unremarkable slab of sorrowful Swedeath. Vanhelgd understand their sound and wield it well, but they need to either explore more distinctive ways of approaching the format or further capitalize on their best ideas if they want to make a lasting impression. I don’t envy them the task, but I wish Vanhelgd luck, and remain hopeful for what comes next.

Rating: Mixed
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Dark Descent Records
Websites: vanhelgd.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/vanhelgd
Releases Worldwide: July 12th, 2024

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