Band – Isgherurd Morth
Album – Hellrduk
Country of Origin – Russia/France
Genre – Technical Black Metal
Release Date – March 12, 2021
Label – Repose Records
Author – Hayduke X
I have to admit that the concept of a technical black metal, to me, sounds absolutely terrible. On paper at least. Thankfully, this trio of musicians prove me all the way wrong. Hellrduk is a driving force, technical without being showy, allowing the emotion of black metal to still shine through the wizardry of the artists. Each listen seems like obliteration in multiple ways – the bludgeoning of the technical rhythm section – the vicious incisions of the sharp guitar work – the plague ridden sorcery of the vocals – all hit at once in this maelstrom of unrepentant fury.
Newly formed by the French Ghoul (drums…or perhaps precision artillery), and the Siberians Res (guitars..or maybe expert knife juggler) and Pitom (vocals/bass/guitars…and possibly head necromancer), Isgherurd Morth proves that newly formed does not mean wet behind the ears. They come out of the gate exceptionally strong with this, their first album. It helps, I’m sure, that all three are accomplished musicians who have honed their skills in bands such as Benighted, Kamlath, and Stench Price, but many bands have shown that experience with one band doesn’t guarantee excellence with another. It certainly does here though.
I’m not sure how many hundreds of milligrams of caffeine Isgherurd Morth was on when they wrote this, but Hellrduk has no apparent stop button. Even slower parts drive forward like a truck with cut brake lines on a steep incline. And yet, this is no coke fueled frat party. There is great depth of feeling on the album that seeps through the cracks of this raging entity. Across the thirty-ish minutes of run time, I find myself fully engaged. My only question is: When can we have another one?
Biography: Hayduke X has been writing for MoshPitNation since June of 2016. He is also a contributor to The Metal Wanderlust. Prior to joining the MoshPitNation team, Hayduke published reviews on his own blog Rage and Frustration. In addition, he has DJ’ed an online metal radio show of the same name as his blog, written for TOmetal.com, done interviews for Metal Rules, and collaborated with The Art of B Productions to create video interviews with a wide variety of bands.
