Fordarv/Between The Eternities/Nigredo Records/2014 CD Review

  Fordarv  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a very  raw  and  old  school  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review of  their  2014  album  "Between  The  Eternities"  which  was  released  by  Nigredo  Records.

  A  very  nature  orientated  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  clean  playing  or  few  seconds  later  which  leads  to  the  music  getting  more  heavier  and  going  for  a  raw  black  metal  sound  along  with  fast  riffing,  blast  beats  and  grim  screams  and  the  musical  style  is  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  ear  of  Norwegian  black  metal.

  After  awhile  the  music  starts  using  a  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  a  small  amount  of  melody  and  deep  growls  and  they  also  bring  in  a  couple  of  long  and  epic  in  length  tracks  and  the  vocals  also  start  getting  more  high  pitched  as  time  goes  on  by  and  the  bass  guitars  also  have  a  very  powerful  sounding  presence  on  some  of  the  tracks.

  All  of  the  songs  sound  like  they  could  of  been  released  in  the  90's  with  the  music  being  purely  black  metal  and  none  of  the  modern  and  watered  down  elements  of  modern  black  metal  can  be  heard  in  their  musical  sound    and  they  also  avoid  solos  and  leads  which  makes  the  music  have  more  a  raw  and  very  approach  to  black  metal  and  on  the  last  track  nature  sounds  and  clean  guitars  make  a  return  for  a  few  brief  moments  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  musical  direction.

  Fordarv  remains  true  to  their  raw  and  old  school  approach  to  black  metal  creating  an  album  that  is  very  aggressive  from  beginning  to  end  of  the  recording  as  well  as  evoking  a  very  dark  and  grim  atmosphere  to  create  a  pure  form  of  black  metal,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  Philosophy,  Occultism  and  Mythology.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Fordarv  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw  and  old  school  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Darkness  Of  The  Eternal  Winter"  and  "As  Life  Turns  Black".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/F%C3%B6rd%C3%A4rv/3540372748

Fordarv Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the band these days?

GAST: At the moment we are preparing to release our full length album Between the Eternities.
The starting point in this will be to release a song from the album in advance on youtube, which will happen on the night of Walpurga. Alongside with that we are working on new material for a third release.

2.I have read that you recently finished recording your second album and already working on material for a third album, can you tell us a little bit more about your current musical direction and also how does it differ from the music that was presented on your ep? What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music?

GAST: The second album (that is, our full length Between the Eternities) will be somewhat different than Echo. The musical approach this time will be more aggressive. We have some shorter songs with a fiercer style, alongside with a couple of longer songs which may remind more of Echo due to their more epic sound.The subject on this album will be that of Death, from different perspectives.

EN: The music is also less melodic than on Echo and uses more grim chords and chordprogressions such as dim7, +5, m-9 chords and so on. This we think contributes to a more sinister and/or uncanny wibe to the whole music. Also the sound of the recording is quite different from Echo.Between the Eternites sound more claustrophobic and caged compared to Echo which had a more open and thin sound...


GAST: When it comes to our third release, we will divulge more information in time. But at this point I still think it is safe to say that this music will be more minimalistic and epic sounding than Between the Eternities.



3.Can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in occultism, mythology and philosophy?

GAST: We find that these subjects do a pretty good job in giving words to those things that can not be expressed in words, for instance ideas about the state of Death. These are old ideas and thoughts which we find still have a lot of relevance today.
Some ideas are eternal and timeless, as we find our music. The subjects mentioned above goes well with our aim to create music to put the listener into a trancelike state so that he/she may dig deeper into himself/herself to find the personal treasures hidden in the darkness.

4.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you planning on expanding the line up in the future or do you chose to remain a duo?

GAST: To present new members to the band poses a risk we think. We have a certain chemistry as a duo which we would like to remain, so no, we do not feel the need to add new members to this project.

5.The ep came out on Nigredo Records, can you tell us a little bit more about this label?

GAST: Nigredo Records is a newborn label run by Katia Losanno, a true devotee to darker music.
The name Nigredo itself is an alchemic term describing the first step of many to find the Philosopher's Stone.
This is a painful state, "blacker than black" which requires a lot from the practicing magician.
Katia's aim is that the music she presents is to correspond to this state. And we feel that this is really the right label for us, not only when it comes to our agenda, but the collaboration with Katia has been great. She is really passionate about her music
and our relationship has become intimate in the sense that she contributes not only with musical advices but also with lyrics and promo photos for example (not to mention the excellent food and wine).

6.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?

GAST: Nothing but positive! So far at least. It seems that many people have been craving this raw, primitive old school black metal which we want to create. More people in fact, than we initially thought. So yes, it has been a great support for what we want to do so far.

7.When will the new album be released?

GAST: It will be released sometime during the Summer.But there is no exact date set yet.

8.What are some of the bands or musical that have had an influence on your music?

GAST & EN: We are always influenced by the old stuff, that is first and second wave of black metal. This includes classic bands like Bathory, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Burzum, Dissection, Master's Hammer etc.
We are also influnced by other types of music like classical and medieval music.

9.On your blogspot you mention the hermetic philosopher Giordano Bruno who was burned at the stake,
can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this philosopher?

GAST: Apart from Bruno's philosophical works, based on the hermetic perception of the world, we see him as a strong symbol of free speech and a man who had a firm faith of his own ideas. So firm, in fact, that he oppossed the papal state and for that was burned. Needles to say, the papal state was probably more frightened than he was and this is a classic example of "the pen is mightier than the sword"; Bruno's ideas lives on whereas the acts of the papal state are being looked down upon nowadays. The reason why we mentioned him was simply because our final mix of Between the Eternities was finished on the day of his death,
the 17th of February, which coincedentally is the day of birth of Quorthon. We like to underline coincidences, to us they are meaningful.

10.What are some of your non musical interests?

GAST & EN: Literature, philosophy, religion

11.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

GAST: We thank you for the oppurtunity for this interview and the support! Follow us on our official blog www.fordarvsweden.blogspot.se or our label www.nigredorecords.com (which now also exist on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NigredoRecords ).
New material will be announced soon! Support the Underground and let's keep the Flame alive! 

Fordarv/The Echo of Emptiness/Nigredo Records/2013 EP Review

  Fordarv  are  a  duo  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  old  school  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2013  ep  "The  Echo  Of  Emptiness"  which  was  released  by  Nigredo  Records.

    Dark  sounds  start  off  the  ep  before  the  music  starts  going  for  a  heavier,  slow  and  darker  black  metal  direction  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  the  instruments  start  speeding  up  a  bit  and  after  the  intro  the  music  finds  its  sound.

  Fast  and  old  school  black  metal  elements  along  with  blast  beats  start  dominating  the  tracks  on  the  ep  and  the  band  also  brings  in  some  slower  and  more  melodic  parts  along  with  some  grim  sounding  high  pitched  screams  which  also  leads  up  to  a  mixture  of  both  slow  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  the  bass  guitars  in  the background.

  As  the  ep  progresses  acoustic  guitars  are  brought  in  briefly  on  one  of  the  tracks  with  the  song  being  an  all  instrumental  piece  and  the  band  returns  to  a  more  raw  black  metal  direction  on  the  following  track  and  sticks  to  that  concept  for  the  rest  of  the  ep  and  really  starts  evoking  the  true  90's  sound.

   Fordarv  are  another  younger  band  that  is  very  heavily  influenced  by  the  early  90's  black  metal  sound  and  they  stay  away  from  modern  trends  enough  up  to  the  point  where  you  could  tell  someone  this  is  an  album  from 1993  and  it  would  not  be  hard  to  believe,  the  production  has  a  very  raw  and  old  school  sound  and  the lyrics  cover  Philosophy,  occultism  and  Mythology  themes  along  with  most  of  the  tracks  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.    

  In  my  opinion  Fordarv  are  a  very  great  sounding  old  school  occult  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Echo  Of  Emptiness  Part  1"  and  "In  A  Neverending  Whisper".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/F%C3%B6rd%C3%A4rv/3540372748