{"id":21827,"date":"2014-05-25T00:00:58","date_gmt":"2014-05-25T00:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=21827"},"modified":"2014-10-02T19:05:09","modified_gmt":"2014-10-02T19:05:09","slug":"album-review-kvalvaag-noema","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-kvalvaag-noema\/","title":{"rendered":"KVALVAAG – Noema (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

KVALVAAG
Noema<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nPolypus (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 7.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Noema<\/em> is the debut album and work of one man, the mysterious Norwegian Kvalvaag (\u00d8yvind Kvalv\u00e5gnes) who created this monster in 2012 and has worked tirelessly in constructing this seven-track recording.<\/p>\n

Now to be honest, I\u2019m literally a fan of every extreme metal noise that is burped out of Norway, so it\u2019s no surprise then that I really dig this platter. <\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s no shock that Kvalvaag is a black metal project and one which boasts the usual pacey, abrasive dissonance coupled with those throaty, remote conjurations amidst seas of melodic synths and frost percussion. It\u2019s not original, but it doesn\u2019t want to be. Instead, Noema<\/em> exists in that underground realm where all belief is suspended and emotion questioned and above all where in the darkest corners ears are raped of their innocence by grating guitars and stark production. <\/p>\n

Kvalvaag certainly knows how to dig out a melody though, meaning that a majority of the tracks are far from being those inaccessible thorny thickets we\u2019ve become accustomed to over the years with countless bands. His vocal style intrigues me in that he often opts for the usual scratchy rasp but then throws in a maniacal yell too, so that numbers such as the title track and the black ooze of \u2018Dystopia Naa\u2019 are far from existing in the mediocre black metal realm.<\/p>\n

Of all the tracks it\u2019s opener \u2018Vettenatt\u2019 that impresses most, however; that killer hook enables the track to embed its talons in deep while the drums (played by Isht\u00e4r from D\u00f8dsfall) flail wildly, creating a wall of barbed-wire malevolence. There is also that element of gothic orchestration as the synths hover with menace in the distance.<\/p>\n

When the pace is picked up Kvalvaag becomes a rather nasty opponent, offering up such spiky compositions as \u2018Nibiru\u2019 which is delivered with vicious speed and some truly demonic vocal sneers, but again, the guitar sound is killer; meandering off its usual path to create a twisting, perverse rhythm before resorting back to that cold blast of speed. <\/p>\n

So impressed am I by this debut album that I\u2019ve slapped it on the decks many, many times and I discover new things each time, whether it\u2019s a snippet of hidden melody or another level of aggressive coldness. Just check out that oily riff three minutes into the aforementioned \u2018Nibiru\u2019 or that spiraling solo in the last segment of closing track \u2018Delirium\u2019.<\/p>\n

Forget the majestic; this is black metal played for real but given several layers which unfold to reveal a deep, disconcerting cavern of evil. And for fans of fellow Norwegians Mysticum it\u2019s worth checking out the excellent cover of \u2018Kingdom Comes\u2019 too! All in all, grotesquely good stuff.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KVALVAAGNoema Polypus (2014)Rating: 7.5\/10 Noema is the debut album and work of one man, the mysterious Norwegian Kvalvaag (\u00d8yvind Kvalv\u00e5gnes) who created this monster in 2012 and has worked tirelessly in constructing this seven-track recording. Now to be honest, I\u2019m literally a fan of every extreme metal noise that is burped out of Norway, so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1448],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-kvalvaag"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21827"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21830,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21827\/revisions\/21830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}