By: AvNatten

Posted: Aug 2, 2006

Rising from the tragedy that ended Windir has come Vried. These sons of Norway have returned after about a year and a half after their previous release "Kraft". With each succeeding album they move further away from the viking stylings that were a key component to Windir. In its place is straightforward black metal that is fairly stripped down and in your face. "Pitch Black Brigade" picks up where "Kraft" left off but there are more grooves to the songs this time around, which works out well and provides catchiness to the songs. The band consists of Sture who provides his throat wrenching vocals and guitar, Hvall commands the rumbling and distorted bass, Steingrim adds his pounding rhythms and blast beats, and the band is rounded out by new member Ese who also adds guitar to the deadly mix.

'Da Draumen Rakna' opens the disc effectively by grabbing you and slapping some catchy guitar riffs and some double pedal drum work in your face. The following track, 'Left To Hate' has a bit of a punk feel to it. The drum beats that open the song are very catchy and then the distorted notes from the bass fall in line giving a very old school punk atmosphere but the pace is shifted when the guitars come into play and the black metal starts to flow. This track also has a very nice and memorable melodic solo that floats above some fast and furious footwork from the drums. 'The Red Smell' is the speediest track on the disc, it gallops forth unrelenting with galloping catchy riffs, pummelling beats and even some clean guitar passages thrown in. The band plays tight and is in perfect sync with one another throughout each song.

There is a lot of groove on this album and the production adds to it by sounding warm and it has just the right amount of fullness yet still retains enough coldness to accentuate the dark and bleak atmospheres that black metal should have. The instruments can be heard very well down to the droning sustain and angry wasp buzzing of the guitars on "Pitch Black Brigade". The punk nuances that were included within the tracks give them a freshness and overall make them more memorable and entertaining yet at the same time it is a throwback since we all can remember that the likes of Venom employed these catchy concepts in their song writing as well. Though this may not be an innovative album that brings new elements to the world of black metal this disc does contain the aggression and musical skills that will keep fans returning for more.

Rating: 9/10

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