Bizarrekult hail from Norway, but originally was from Russia-go figure?  Starting out in the mid ‘00’s the band went on hiatus a few times and really got their basic start in 2019 with the first EP, but it was in 2021 they released their debut album – Vi overlevde.  I became an instant fan, especially as I started to get back into black metal and the post-black metal was also rearing its ugly head around this time, a little prior, actually.

Album #2 Den Tapte Krigen (The Lost War) is 8 songs in 42 minutes and “Du Lovet Meg” (You promised Me) starts with a non-blasting black metal fast paced beat.  The vocals are harsh and berating and not annoying.  There are some well-placed female-laden vocals that are atmospheric and quite beautiful.  The song picks up immense speed as the blasting then takes center stage, but also slows back down some more.  The use of the post-black metal approach with ethereal atmospheric moments really is more apparent on this album.

The title track starts immediately with more isolated vocals with soft guitars and drums.  About a half minute in the music kicks into a mid-paced crawl and the guitar riffing is excellent.  The song picks up some speed and the tone of the guitar, when the distortion is used, reminds me a tad of Celtic Frost for some reason.  To Mega Therion comes to mind, actually, just for a little bit. The song picks up more speed and the guitar melodies are original and there is quite a lot of emotion being used during this song which will move the listener along.  These are cold depressive moments and definitely feelings of loss, especially during the 3.50 part.  I did have feelings of sadness during this song – reminds me of a cold, damp rainy dreary day.  Kinda like what the weather is like today, as I write this.  Rainy, cold and immense overcast-that is what Bizaarekult conjures up, for me.

“Kjære Barn” (Dear Child) has some spoken word moments, in the beginning, with the music coming in lightly during these moments as the vocals are pushed to the front of the line, with respect to the album’s mix.  This track is slow and brooding.  Do not listen to this song if you’re down in the dumps and trying to figure life out.  This has many sad, yet beautiful melodies.  About mid-way through the song brings forth more atmosphere before blasting away, then slowing back down to a mid-paced crawl-this song gets under my skin, in a good musical way, though.

Ending with “Himmelen er Utilgjengelig” (Heaven is not Available) has many varying aspects to it with spoken words, mid-paced crawls, some guitar melodies and a bit of blasting.  Very stark and depressive.  This song is quite expansive in nature and encapsulates the band’s sound remarkably well.

Bizarrekult’s Den Tapte Krigen is an outstanding post-black metal album that is highly emotive, cold, dark, beautiful, haunting and depressive.  I was very surprised at how moving this album is, whether it’s those transitional tempo shifts or the atmosphere the band conjures up, I gotta tell you, this created a very powerful feeling deep inside my blackened heart.

The production is great.  Crisp, and the mix captures the instruments and vocals exceedingly well.  Listen to this album with headphones/AirPods on a cold dark rainy day and see if this does not move you – which in the end is what music is supposed to do.  Great album!

[Visit the band's website]

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