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THYRUZ
Svik

Self-released (2014)
Rating: 6.5/10

With the ominous narrated introduction of ‘Prodita’, Norway’s Thyruz begin their third full-length outing in regards to their black metal attack. Svik is a six-track (well, five if you exclude the brief starter) opus that runs a minute or so short of 30, but it’s another bestial wave of gritty vocal snarls and rattling drums which’ll have the icicles clattering to the ground. Thyruz is a five-piece act fronted by Hedin Varf, who is flanked by guitarists Gorm and Ravnsvartr, with Ymer and Mjølner handling bass and drums respectively.

Thyruz began life in the tail end of the 90s, but didn’t release their first platter until 2007 with their frost-bitten Northern Blasphemy. Svik is another chunk of belligerent black metal that is mostly fast-paced, but features some interesting slower segments which give the album a darker, meatier edge.

Far from being innovative, Thyruz have simply decided to batter the listener into submission with rampant guitars and hurtling drums, but where they succeed in being a force to be reckoned with is with the likes of ‘All Flesh’ with its sinister slower moments – where Varf spits wicked words over ashen passages. The feel herein is one of a doom-laden landscape of pallid structures and grim visions, although on ‘The Final Holocaust’ the quintet opts for a more direct approach of sneering riffs of speed and clanking drums.

When in full throttle, Thyruz could be accused of being rather formulaic in their approach, but on the gloomy title track the band mesmerize us with squalid vocals and an amalgamation of doomy guitars, ponderous drums and simmering bass. It’s a track that pouts with arrogance as it looks down upon its competition, and even when the track does pick up the pace, the song remains accessible yet always sneering.

Of all the tracks, ‘Svik’ showcases the band at their most wicked, and its pace is contrasted by the closing ‘Darkness Illuminates All’ which is a furious mass of drums and guitars which seem to entangle themselves within one another as the scowling burps of Varf emerge from the barbed wire mesh.

However, whether fast or slow, Thyruz are a formidable beast of a band that have mastered the art of spewing out no frills black metal delivered with such hate and grimacing intent. The major flaw of the album, however, is that Thyruz are merely just another very good black metal band. While that’s certainly not a bad thing, they don’t seem to harbour enough in the locker in order to separate themselves from the masses. Nevertheless, if you like slightly systematic Norwegian black metal whose venom is prone to wear off shortly after the initial bite, then Thyruz are a band worth hearing.

Neil Arnold

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