Review Summary: An excellent conjuration of melody and brutality.
'Naglfar', a ship from Norse mythology assembled from the nails of the dead. One could only fathom how harrowing experiencing this must be, how dark it must be, and how much evil is stored within its name. Considering this, it comes as a surprise that this band does not excel in the midst of evil and darkness, but rather in melody and a transgression to the usual black metal formula of the time this record was crafted.
From the first song on this record, it is evident that band was one of the few black metal bands that truly thought outside the box. With a steady intro of a gentle breeze into the harmony found within the soft violins and female vocals. All of this melody then gets shifted into a more traditional black metal entity, where blast beats prevail. Experiencing this immensely dramatic change in sound is like being in a state of euphoria, only to be tore out and tossed into a plain of fire. With this, comes a truly entertaining listen.
Production wise, this record really is quite phenomenal, when considering it came out upwards of two decades ago, and is of course a black metal release. With this, it is obvious to point out that this is not a raw record, such as 'Transilvanian Hunger'. But, at the same time it does hold that traditional black metal sound, and is not overpolished. From this, you can hear all the instruments being played a lot more clearly and most black metal releases at the time. The bass is audible, you can comprehend the guitar playing, and the sound of the drums is a lot more refined.
The guitarists definitely to a good job on this record, as they manage to capture and emit the sombre atmosphere found. The playing varies from high notes to crushing lows, which does not let the record progress into a boring or stale state. A good comparison would be to compare it to the sort of guitar playing generally heard in Melodic Death Metal, and shows how close they actually are to that sub-genre. Considering this, it becomes blatantly clear how similar this band is to the likes of 'Dissection', which is definitely not a bad thing at all.
The bass is not necessarily a strong part of this record, as it is sometimes overpowered by the vigorous use drums and guitars. However, it does serve as a good backbone to the record, and is doing what was most likely being set out to do. So, it is certain that this aspect could be improved, but does not halt the excellence found when listening to this album.
As for the drums, they generally consist of blast beats and cymbal bashing, but some highly technical playing is also found. The blast beats are not necessarily something to criticize, as it is a large part of the black metal sound, so it doesn't pose as a bad thing. With this though comes hints of a repetitive nature, and it is most certainly possible to get sick of blast beats after listening to 50 minutes riddled with them. Let this be a warning to anyone who is not tolerative of blast beats.
Vocally, some good and bad aspects are found. The standard black metal screams are good and vary in pitch, but some death growls are also found in this record. Sometimes the black metal screams and death growls are even put together to create a truly malevolent sound, which they actually do more in future releases, but multiple instances can still be found here. One annoying thing is the vocalists attempts to do an extremely high scream, and is only really found on one song, that being 'The Eclipse of Infernal Storms'. They don't really work out, and sound rather piercing.
Lyrically, this is album largely consists of forests, wind, opening veins and the moon. There really isn't any philosophical content found here, just some traditional black metal themes. This is not a bad thing, as this record really isn't trying to be lyrically spectacular.
All things considered, 'Vittra' is an excellent release, and certainly has more pros than cons. This album maybe just goes on a bit too long for its own good, but other than that there's not much else to say. The album sounds menacing, despairing at times, and even cataclysmic at its most hectic moments. The Swedish alchemists, 'Naglfar', found an exceptional formula here, and was a solid base to work on in the future. Overall, this truly is a great listen.
