Svartidauði – “Revelations of the Red Sword”
Label: Ván Records
Release date: 3. Dec. 2018
Distribution: Soulfood
I am the flame that burns in every heart of man, and in the core of every star. I am Life, and the giver of Life, yet therefore is the knowledge of me the knowledge of death.
-Liber Al vel Legis 2.6
Svartidauði
On the 3rd of December 2018, six years to the day after the apocalypse, Svartidauði unleashed their long-awaited sophomore full length “Revelations of the Red Sword” upon the ashes of civilization. Once again recorded and produced at Studio Emissary by Stephen Lockhart and featuring artwork by David Glomba, the combined result is equally stunning sonically as it is visually. The 6 track, 47 minute album marks Svartidauði’s second release on legendary German imprint Ván Records.
The Red Sword refers to the rays of a rising- and a setting sun, encompassing its contents in the fire and the fury of our world’s most creative and destructive force, the glowing God up above, the Sun – Celebrating its howling solar winds, all the while waiting with anticipation for the inevitable heat death of the universe.
Svartidauði’s signature musical style is on full display throughout the album; simultaneously disharmonic and lyrical guitar harmonies are woven over raging and inventive drum work and quasi-tribal rhythms, crawling basslines and lycanthropic howls. But although unmistakably Svartidauði, “Revelations of the Red Sword” has plenty of unexpected twists and turns, demonstrating the band’s increasingly broad spectrum of songwriting elements. “Revelations of the Red Sword” is the fire to “Flesh Cathedral”’s earth; a Promethean and daring work of creation unfettered by trend or tradition.
Svartidauði – Revelations of the Red Sword (Full Album)