Norwegian black metal act Nordjevel released their latest outing ‘Fenriir‘ on May 7th, 2021, via Indie Recordings. The EP features two new tracks, one track that will be featured on the band’s upcoming album, a live track and a cover of the band Possessed. Since 2015 Nordjevel has become one of the rising groups in the underground metal scene in Norway. The self-titled debut album conveyed inspiration from the early nineties wave of black metal. Obtaining cold aggression and swift blast beats, Nordjevel’s style somehow nestled between the likes of Urgehal, 1349 and Tsjuder. However, the sophomore album ‘Necrogenesis‘ took elements from the modern brutal death and black metal. The resulting sound was a bit disappointing. Their line-up consists of ex-members of Ragnarok, Zyklon, Odium and Myrkskog.

There’s no limit to what the band is capable of on the songs of this EP, swerving between fast-paced blast beats and a whirlpool of tremolo-picked riffs. The opening ‘Fenriir‘ is a mid-tempo track that brings a diversified formula that perfectly balances their dark melodies. It launches at tremendous speed with blistering tremolos and the rhythm guitars adding catchiness to the song. The drums, as potent as ever, deliver intense blast beats. Where the riffing is concerned, the EP sounds different from the sophomore album since the band shows some variations in the song dynamics.

‘Gnawing the Bones‘ is one of the tracks that will be included on the upcoming album. Here, the drums provide accurate precision while moving at an incredible pace. On their latest EP, Nordjevel invokes the hallmarks of Swedish black metal like Dark Funeral and Marduk as they serve as an example of sheer aggression and violence. Despite the enthusiasm, the songs somewhat lack the essence of the cold Scandinavian aura, while the tremendous emphasis of blast beats focuses on fast tempos. The formula mainly proceeds into swift paces, the double bass mostly adds massive filler in the mid-tempo, then switches to swift blast beats, whereas the riffing mostly works in conjunction with the wicked growls.  

‘Fenriir‘ shows slight progression in the songwriting methods. While the members Destructhor (guitars), Dominator (drums), Doedsadmiral (vocals) and DezeptiCunt (bass) have honed their raw sound, the new tracks do not match with the expected qualities of its members. Although nothing here comes close to the quality of the self-titled debut, I would say that the latest EP is still slightly better than the sophomore release. ‘Rovdyr‘ is the other new track that is exclusively made available on this EP. It manages to focus on mid-tempo and atonal tremolo picked-riffs. Demonstrating an average performance, the combination of the slow passages of the drums and the sudden shifts in velocity add the cold atmosphere of Norwegian black metal, yet the band failed to capture its distinctive quality.

The track is built on the heavy machinery of the drums and the melodic tremolo picked-riffs. Halfway through the song loses its touch and somehow feels congested with unnecessary variations. The cover of Possessed‘s ‘Fallen Angel‘ is an interesting track, intended to pay tribute to the forefathers of death metal. After all, the early scene in Norway was influenced by the U.S. death metal. The final live track on the EP ‘Det ror og ror‘, which comes from the debut album, was performed at Brutal Assault in 2019. Finally, ‘Fenriir‘ has many variations in the song structure and I would say that the first track made a great opening for this EP, but unfortunately, the rest of the material feels quite mediocre. I still believe the band could offer a better quality than this latest offering. Perhaps the forthcoming album will bring something more worthy for the fans.  

Release Date: May 7th, 2021
Label: Indie Recordings
Track list:

1. Fenriir
2. Gnawing the Bones
3. Rovdyr
4. Fallen Angel (Possessed cover)
5. Det ror og ror (Live at Brutal Assault 2019)