Secondly, this is such a nuanced, varied, and deep album that reviewing it and doing it justice proved challenging. I’m certain I failed anyway. So here we are. I’ve been on a bit of a black metal kick, so I wanted to see what the still original-ish lineup was up to.

At 55 minutes in length (another reviewing challenge for my ADHD), The Skies That Turn Black, while certainly falling under the black metal umbrella, is far more than that. As with all of the bands’ post-Windir discography, it sheds the skin of the more simple viking-y, pagan throes of those albums and delivers an incredibly ambitious, creative, but melancholic and unpredictable album that lines up alongside other Norwegian luminaries like Enslaved, Borknagar, Shining, Arcturus, Ulver, Tulus, Dark Throne, Fleurety, and such. Though not fully ‘avant-garde’.

There is soooo much going on here. Every single track offers a different and unexpected journey. Some good, some OK, some brilliant. Early on, there is the majestic morose opening track, “From These Woods”, which covers all of black metal sub-genres, and the simple stomp of the title track (a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne), with a main riff that could be a Khold or Tulus song, and the stern, straight-up black thrash of “A Second Death”.

Then the album starts to really mix things up; we get the instrumental “Kraken” (dedicated to the band’s first music teacher), then Agnete Kjølsrud, of Djerv ( though you may recall her as the female vocalist on Dimmu Borgir‘s “Gateways”), croons and howls her way through the sultry, darkwave goth rock of “Loving the Dead”, and the short steady march of “Build and Destroy” again recalls Khold-ish, cold, simplicity but with a few added psychdelic keys.

In the album’s back third, “Chaos” is my favorite track with its soaring chorus and keys, while “Smile of Hate” has a really nice solo and piano usage, and “Echoes of Life” is a somber, clean-sung ballad that fits the band’s history, but brings the album down a bit before closer “The Earth Rumbles” brings it home with a cathcy black ‘n’ roll canter and 70s organs.

The Skies Turns Black takes a lot of listens to fully grasp, and I’m not 100% I’m there yet, despite my tardiness in this review and the multiple listens it took to put words to paper (screen?). But you should certainly undertake this layered and sometimes brilliant album.

-Frank Reynolds… and probably Vreid.

On full length number 9, Vreid are back to do two things; prove sweaters are metal and get weird. After all, being cold isn’t very metal. It’s difficult to be dark and brutal when you’re shivering. I will begin by saying there is an accompanying DVD for this and I do not have it yet (get off your ass, Season of Mist), so I will be reviewing audio only, which makes sense, as I’m sure I will watch the movie, go “that’s nice,” then continue to listen to the album without it as a companion piece.

Since I mentioned the DVD, I might as well also mention the concept, as it’s based on Kim and Kanye’s daughter, North West and those times she goes off the rails… Hence, Wild North West. You get it.

If you don’t and you want something serious, the real concept is based on Vreid’s homeland, including true and imaginary events. It begins appropriately with the title track “Wild North West,” and it’s not your typical black n’roll to which you’ve been accustomed from these gents. Sure, it has those elements, but from the organ intro, to the clean vocals section, along with the blast beats, it’s pretty clear Vreid are going to do what they want here. Good for them.

Until 3 minutes in, the next song, “Wolves At Sea,” is pretty standard. At that 3-minute mark, it breaks into an atmospheric section with keys, which then transforms into a weeping death doom melody that would not be out of place on an Insomnium album. That melody continues for the remaining 2 minutes of the track.

After that, I want to mention “Shadows of Aurora,” which is track 4. I bring this one up because it has a bit of an OSDM flavor to it, which might make you question to what you’re listening for a moment. There’s a short intro leading into it, which honestly reminds me of early Metallica. The bell in the background may have something to do with that. I’m also a fan of the chug that segues into the lead with around 2 minutes left. This is one of the best tracks on the album.

“Into the Mountains,” which is track 7 of 8, starts out with some children briefly singing. The song itself is a mid-paced blackened banger with some solid clean vocals in the chorus. It’s a standard affair until about 3 minutes in when… Wait, WTF?! Look, it’s not easy to describe, so just listen and find out.

To close it off, the next track is “Shadowland,” which is nearly ten minutes in length and begins with an extended organ intro. Once it kicks in, it’s one of the meatier, heavier riffs on display. A little less than halfway through, it does transition into some cleanly picked guitars, then back into a very “blackened” section. The rest of the song sounds like this band of whom you may have heard, minus that organ outro.

So, I have a minor complaint. This is 8 tracks in 46 minutes, so most of them are lengthy, especially that closer. If you’ve read my reviews before, you’ll know I’m not a fan of the longest track being the closer, but despite my protests and overwhelming clout to stop this sort of thing, bands still wish to rebel… Anyway, other than that complaint, this is a fine effort. I’ve been pretty “meh” on their output for several albums, despite sort of enjoying Lifehunger.

What they really needed to do was something different. You know, step outside their comfort zone. They’ve done that in several ways here and while it’s certainly not a total reinvention, it didn’t have to be.  They’ve retained what makes them a solid band while adding in some different flourishes to keep it interesting. While I don’t see this being a year end list contender, I’m happy to see these guys back on the right path. A cold path… because, you know, sweaters, baby!

Stylistic quirks aside, at heart Vreid are still very much a black metal band.   It’s just that they are no longer willing to rest on their laurels and be restricted by lazy categorization.  Subsequently the ‘rock’ quotient of their sound has been ramped up and a thrashy, traditional heavy metal vibe snakes its way through the album, further diluting their once predominantly blackened template.     Regardless of genre preferences Vreid’s song-writing chops continue to shine, ensuring their continuing change in tact has not resulted in half-baked arrangements or blatant courting of mainstream audiences.   These songs are fully fleshed-out rockers, front-loaded with deadly hooks and the variety and crunch to keep you clambering back for more.   Icy sheets of black metal blanket burly rock influences and the aforementioned thrashier, heavy metal tone.    Vocally, Sture’s biting, blackened rasp is firmly entrenched in the black metal realm even amidst the bouncier riffs and upbeat rock grooves.

The mid-tempo, blackened gait of “The Ramble” begins with an atmospheric soundscape before unfolding into an instantly catchy double bass-backed riff and galloping rhythm.    The scorching “Way of the Serpent” is an urgent, swirling vortex of blast beaten fury, catchy hooks and frosty riffs encased within a tight, dynamic structure.   The song is an absolute gem, featuring Vreid in all their glory and firmly reminding fans old and new that they haven’t forgotten or abandoned their black metal roots. “The Devil’s Hand” and “The Reap” will have the purists sharpening their knives, largely abandoning the taut, feisty black metal of the opening couple of tunes in favour of a driving rock base and thrashy groove.   But thankfully the catchy anthems are rippling with energy and meaty hooks, upholding the band’s integrity whilst delivering a pair of belting metal tunes.

The ambitious “Sights of Old” is the longest (at 8.39 minutes) and undoubtedly one of the more interesting songs on the album.   The song flows seamlessly even as its tone changes dramatically about halfway through.  The sinister melodies and blackened, thrashy mayhem of its opening half morphs into an extended jam; featuring gorgeous, restrained guitar noodling, warm percussion and soft, alluring melodies.   Questionable spoken word vocals tarnish the feisty black ‘n’ roll grooves of “Black Waves”, before the versatile “At the Brook” steadies the ship with a slow-building rise, stomping rhythm and a refreshingly aggressive edge. 

Welcome Farewell is a terrific album that successfully takes Vreid’s black ‘n’ roll formula to its next logical step.  And where Vreid travels creatively from here is anybody’s guess.   Perhaps they will continue to deviate from the black metal path or repeat themselves through a string of similarly produced and musically inclined efforts.  Either way, as long as they continue to write quality, addictive metal songs, I’ll be on board.

Vreid has moved beyond the post Windir tag. Now listeners should be evaluating new material on the basis of Vreid, not on the basis of Windir. Vreid is more melodic, but not folk melody driven, but still occasionally show some folkish flair, otherwise they are black thrash moving further from black metal. The vocals are still harsh, but understandable, the pace is mostly slowish and rhythmically heavy. The intensity level overall is good. Once again there is a lot of variation without feeling like a sampling of disparate styles plopped down, it flows well within each song and works cohesively as an album. “I Krig” has a nice melodic instrumental extended intro and then drops into some fast black with a heavy emphasis on repetitive riffing. The drums are loud and the guitar leads carry the song forward throughout its length at a rapid clip. The violin fits in very well. On “Svart” clean vocals put in a brief appearance. “Folkefiendar” features mixed death and black vocals and thrash guitars. Blastbeats droning guitars and harsh spoken word and clean vocals compete for your attention on “Dei Daude Steig Av Grav”.

Picking my top three songs, it would be “Fangegard” which really feels like it could be a leftover Windir song with true folk vocals, cool melodies and that great Windir emotional feel and “Millom Hav Og Fjell” which, on the other hand, is a great Vreid song with good pacing, some good riffs and guitars that dominate without the need for excessive melodic lines. There are quiet passages and the drumming is simple and precise with an air of complexity, and the title track, “I Krig”, simply one of their best songs yet.

The gritty, black ‘n’ roll tracks like “Left To Hate,” “Pitch Black,” “Our Battle” and “Hang ‘Em All” are pleasing, rollicking tracks of nihilistic simplicity, and will please most ardent fans of new Dark Throne, Witchery, etc., but for me personally the album’s more adventurous tracks were more entertaining. The militaristic/acoustic duality of “The Red Smell,” the epic (9+ minutes) synth/programming laden and very Enslaved-ish standout “Hengebj’rki,” and brilliant techno beat interludes of “Eit Kapitell For Seg Sj’lv” are far willing to break traditional black metal structures and show a forward thinking take on black metal that the likes of Arcturus, Fleurety, Enslaved also deliver, but still maintaining black metal’s dark, bleak atmosphere.

The Studio 1184 production (Dismember, Darkthrone) is fitting as it presents both side of Vreid’s sound and wraps up Pitch Black Brigade with a cold yet full sound making for a complete and incredibly competent album that should elevate Vreid within the genre.