Vreid: Lifehunger (Album review)



Vreid - Lifehunger
Release date: 28/09/2018
Label: Season of Mist
By: Mikkel Jensen

So here I sit in my Windir t-shirt, anxiously waiting for the new Vreid album, and after 3 years, today is finally the day we get to hear it!

Can we just for a moment, acknowledge this amazing artwork for a minute or two? Wow!

The album starts out with an incredible intro Flowers & Blood that works just like an intro should. Set the stage. You feel what is to come afterwards and you just know it’s going to be powerful.

One Hundred Years is a classic Vreid song with lots of different structures. From Jørn’s signature blast beats, Stian’s epic lead guitar licks, the iconic black n’ roll parts, to an almost Insomnium like chorus part that I for one haven’t heard from Vreid before. But damn, it works.

Lifehunger starts out with a slow and heavy feel that quickly evolves into some fast-paced parts that takes you way back to the last Windir album 'Likferd' from 2003. Nearing the middle, we descend into a slow-paced, heavy and dark part, where Sture brings us some of his best harsh vocals to date, fuck yeah! With one minute more to go we get instantly thrown back in the Windir feel with no remorse, a total kick in the face.

Apart from the intro, The Dead White is the first ‘new’ track that hasn’t been one of the three singles that were released during the last few months. An eerie feeling surrounds first part of this unsettling song. Stian’s and Sture’s guitar work definitely brings out this song. The second part evolves yet again around the guitar work, but with more focus on melody, soloes and overall atmospheric sounds. It is clear that they wanted to keep this song for the actual release date to surprise the Sognametal fans. Oh wow, it is good!

Hello Darkness is the next song, and what a strange one. I can’t exactly put my finger on what it is. A mixture of an evil spacey feeling together with an old school Norwegian black metal atmosphere finished off with a slower Tom Araya kind of vocal performance like in 'Seasons of the Abyss'? So weird, but it works amazingly well.

The last of the three singles Black Rites in the Black Nights, a song that I have personally, already listened to quite a lot. It has got a bit of everything and is executed very well. One of the better songs of Lifehunger!

Sokrates Must Die the shortest song of the new record is a fast one. Classic Vreid guitar work and one where the bass guitar really shines through. I can foresee this song will be part of the live setlists for a long time, because it is straight to the point, but still retains lots of melodies. Death to Sokrates!

The final track is Heimatt, an instrumental song and a perfect ending for this amazing record. Even without vocals, this beautiful track just oozes of epicness, inspiration and shows a clear and bright future ahead for Vreid, because they are without a doubt back stronger and more inspired than ever. I for one, can’t wait to see them again on this coming tour in the fall and at Midgardsblot next year.

Lifehunger receives 6 out of 6 harvest moons

Heidra Sogndal! Heidra Vreid!

The album as well as merchandise can be purchased in many different formats and variations in the following link: https://shop.season-of-mist.com/list/vreid-lifehunger
Listen to the full album on Spotify: Vreid - Lifehunger
Season of Mist Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/seasonofmistofficial/

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