With Two Carrion Talismans, VALDRIN reaped widespread acclaim, and for good reason: their epic, shapeshifting blackened death was both timeless and exceptionally fresh, imparting masterful songwriting amidst impassioned playing. The record became something of a mini-classic among those who explored its labyrinthine depths, and its effects are still reverberating today.
However, VALDRIN’s forthcoming Effigy of Nightmares is set to eclipse that grand achievement. Taking the rudiments of its no-less-considerable predecessor – endlessly spiraling songwriting, highly memorable and METAL hooks, seamlessly blended synths – and blackening their attack yet further, VALDRIN dive deeply into ’90s black metal’s most velvety expanses, all nightsky mysticism and fantastical atmosphere. No less muscular, Effigy of Nightmares emits a far greater sense of space and spaciousness, inviting the listener to drown in its deep-purple depths and become possessed by the spectral sorrows lurking within. In fact, it’s the album’s balance of contrasts – searing aggression vs. atmospheric repose, bewitching melodicism vs. brute force, epic overall construction vs. direct component parts – that puts VALDRIN in even more masterful territory. Along with the quartet’s more pronounced usage of acoustic embellishments, the sum effect is altogether not unlike the pivotal works of such ’90s giants as Vinterland, Sacramentum, and Sweden’s Dawn.
Awaken, for Effigy of Nightmares is at hand!
Effigy Of Nightmares by VALDRINwith