Rutthna - Doomsdaylight
Black Lodge - BLOD 023CD - 30/05/2005
By Patrick Walsh
Hailing from Sweden, Rutthna's main claim to fame seems to be the presence of one Joakim Kristensson (Thyrfing), who comprises one half of this old-school black metal outfit that's completed by Dennis Ekdahl (Raise Hell) on drums. What we have with Doomsdaylight is just under 40 minutes of solid, groove-based black metal with a strong doom flavour and elements of Darkthrone and Celtic Frost in there somewhere. Furthermore, the final two tracks on this release are from the band's 2002 demo Decomposing Eve, so in actual fact there's only about 30 minutes of new material to be found herein.
Nevermind though, as Doomsdaylight rises above its all too obvious influences and emits a blackened charm that lends it a gloomy air of its own. The opener and title-track is a fairly plodding affair, and is too long by about a minute, and follower 'Bleed Your Wounds' doesn't raise hopes much either. However, when 'Season of Huge Mortality' kicks in, not does the tempo get a much-needed boot in the arse, but the injection of some brilliantly-placed keyboards give the song an epic bent that continues with 'Daughter of Chaos'. The momentum built by these two tracks allows 'Words of Prey' to round things off nicely, and again the added keyboards just about make this engaging. Those five songs are all that's left of the actual Doomsdaylight recordings, so we're left with the two demo tracks to contend with. These have an altogether dirtier, rawer feel than the album's semi-polished production that actually suits Rutthna's approach better, and they thankfully round off proceedings nicely. Rutthna aren't going to change anyone's life with Doomsdaylight, but they do possess a certain spiteful charm that makes this a worthy addition to Sweden's burgeoning black metal ranks.
7/10
Official Website of Rutthna
Official Website of Black Lodge Records
Black Lodge - BLOD 023CD - 30/05/2005
By Patrick Walsh
Hailing from Sweden, Rutthna's main claim to fame seems to be the presence of one Joakim Kristensson (Thyrfing), who comprises one half of this old-school black metal outfit that's completed by Dennis Ekdahl (Raise Hell) on drums. What we have with Doomsdaylight is just under 40 minutes of solid, groove-based black metal with a strong doom flavour and elements of Darkthrone and Celtic Frost in there somewhere. Furthermore, the final two tracks on this release are from the band's 2002 demo Decomposing Eve, so in actual fact there's only about 30 minutes of new material to be found herein.
Nevermind though, as Doomsdaylight rises above its all too obvious influences and emits a blackened charm that lends it a gloomy air of its own. The opener and title-track is a fairly plodding affair, and is too long by about a minute, and follower 'Bleed Your Wounds' doesn't raise hopes much either. However, when 'Season of Huge Mortality' kicks in, not does the tempo get a much-needed boot in the arse, but the injection of some brilliantly-placed keyboards give the song an epic bent that continues with 'Daughter of Chaos'. The momentum built by these two tracks allows 'Words of Prey' to round things off nicely, and again the added keyboards just about make this engaging. Those five songs are all that's left of the actual Doomsdaylight recordings, so we're left with the two demo tracks to contend with. These have an altogether dirtier, rawer feel than the album's semi-polished production that actually suits Rutthna's approach better, and they thankfully round off proceedings nicely. Rutthna aren't going to change anyone's life with Doomsdaylight, but they do possess a certain spiteful charm that makes this a worthy addition to Sweden's burgeoning black metal ranks.
7/10
Official Website of Rutthna
Official Website of Black Lodge Records
