Hrimthursum (White with Blue Swirl Vinyl)

Compared to the album that preceded it, Hrimthursum also offers much better production values. The drums, occasionally sounding like cardboard on Bloodhymns, are especially powerful and absolutely slay this time around. The guitar tone is also markedly different: where Bloodhymns had some of that typical buzzsaw sound so often found in Swedish death metal, the guitars on Hrimthursum have more of a black metal feel to them, their icy tone only befitting an album named after the frost giants of Nordic mythology. Even the bass is relatively audible, particularly during some of the slower sections, making its presence felt and adding an extra dimension to the overall sound. In all, Hrimthursum is a surprisingly crisp-sounding and polished affair, meaning fans of lo-fi black metal may not be overly thrilled.
As for singer Tobias Sidegård, he uses raspy, guttural vocals that occasionally include some high shrieks or deep growls, but his vocal style is kind of hard to pigeonhole. It is neither typically black nor death metal, more like a blend between the two. You can even understand the lyrics quite clearly, which is definitely a rarity in death or black metal. Anyway, that doesn't mean the vocals aren't plenty brutal, menacing and evil, because they certainly are.
Even though Hrimthursum, with a length of almost a full hour, isn't exactly concise and, due to a couple of merely okay tracks toward the end, tends to slightly wear out its welcome, it is still a shining example of Swedish black/death metal done right. If it consisted only of the first seven songs plus the title track, it would probably have to be considered a genre masterpiece. But even as it is, some minor flaws notwithstanding, it still has to be considered an excellent album and worthy addition to the record collection of anyone with at least a passing interest in melodic black/death metal.