Now and again I am asked by someone to define Black Metal, and I always give the same answer: Black Metal is a blasphemous shriek through a frozen forest in the dead of night.
From the tempestuous soundscape that announces this record to the bells of doom that herald its end, Ávitun by Sárr lives up to that definition.
Sárr is a solo project from British musician/producer Þorir and was released by Satanic Art Media in 2019. Over the course of its four tracks, it delivers an icy, majisterial and apocalyptic aural assault, and the vocals, anguished and distant, are nothing short of nightmarish. And I mean that as a compliment.
But what Sárr excel at most of all is atmosphere. This record is positively dripping with it. Close your eyes while spinning this and you’ll be transported to the aforementioned frozen forest, where you’ll be guided by evil spirits that appear in the form of swirling riffs, interspersed with moments of transcendental Black Metal beauty.
The cover art too is suitably atmospheric and, yes, blasphemous, and the vinyl itself comes in a gorgeous mottled bottle-green finish.
This reviewer is hoping that Ávitun isn’t the only release we’ll get from Sárr.
RICHARD E. ROCK 