Description

2009 remastered reissue in hardcover digibook Few bands are as committed to their subject matter as Sweden's Arckanum, whose interest in the pagan ‘old ways' of their Viking ancestors and open worship of the God Pan transcend mere curiosity towards sheer obsession. Going so far as to compose his dark musical invocations in ancient Swedish, Arckanum's founder, Shamaatae first broke bread with elves and trolls in 1992, but only obtained a record deal with Necropolis Records two years later on the strength of the 15-song ‘Trulen’ demo. A proper debut, 1995's Fran Marder (meaning ‘From The Forest’) followed, and its primitive black metal orchestrations provided a fitting background to Arckanum's eccentric lyrical musings — as did conceptually continual follow-up effort the 1997's ‘Kostogher’. ‘Kostogher’ is one of the upmost perfected pieces of black metal art to have come out of Sweden. Starting up with a rather short intro (compared to the seemingly endless intros of ‘Fran Marder’ and ‘Kampen’) it is declared in medieval Swedish that you are about to embark on a journey into the deep forgotten crypts of the primal forest kingdom, and that is exactly what you will do. Then it starts off with ‘Skoghens Minnen Vaekks’. Now it has begun, this midnight journey into the darkest, misty heart of the Swedish primal forest. The atmosphere is so thick you could touch it. This release is not only heard with your ears, it's absorbed by your entire body, mind and soul. This record is so much black metal it's extreme, bordering to insane. You can accually smell the spruce and moss, and feel the night wind blow through your hair. Tempo is greatly varied throughout this album. Ranging from insane, destructive grind, to mid-paced classic black metal to slow, dead-ahead sessions that makes you fall into a near catatonic state of being, drifting into the consuming black vortex of sorrow. There is almost no rest for the double-pedal that keeps grinding all resistance to dust. This is black metal in it's most refined, genuine form. If you still don't own this album, go get it. If you can't afford it, sell all your other albums, this is actually the only black metal album you need. If this is not 100% pure black metal, nothing is. The low level on the album is meant to get listeners to max their volume and let the thunder in the end of ‘Skoghens Minnen Vaekks’ crack their speakers. ‘Et Sorghetog’ was originally recorded with low pitched vocals. That particular version can be found on ‘The 11th Year Anniversary Album’. Track listing: 1. Skoghens Minnen Vaekks 2. Yvir Min Diupe Marder 3. Obegaror 4. Daen Sum Fran Griften Gangar 5. Et Sorghetog 6. Gamall Uvermark 7. Obþer Trulhoyghda 8. Gangar For Rapan Vinder 9. Bedrovelse 10. Ir Bister Ensaminhet Iagh Ugla 11. Graemelse Ok Vae 12. Kri Til Dodha Doghi