Winter 2002, Norway. The perfect conditions for forming a black metal band. Alverg was born. The year after brought the release of a four track demo which lead to a signing with Karmageddon Media, but unfortunately a full length album never saw the light of day. The band went silent for a number of years until drummer Heolstor joined and made the band into a two-piece again. Now it is time for their debut full length through Soullseller Records, entitled Elde.

 

If you pop this disc in your player, be sure to turn up the volume a bit more than usual, because for some reason it is quite reserved, soft some might even say. Yet once you get Elde on a decent volume, you’ll discover that the recording sound is absolutely wonderful. A dreamy, spaced out guitar distortion takes possession of you in a way that resembles a lot of doom/black metal, yet I wouldn’t use the word doom just yet with Alverg. They found the perfect balance between a grim production and a spacey atmosphere, making this record a very entertaining and compelling release.

 

Even though it took Alverg quite some years to finally get this disc out on the market, it was surely worth the wait. I really love the atmosphere on this record, it grabs you and takes you to a mental trip through icy forests on snowy mountains. Especially the piano parts give just that little bit extra to uplift this band from the masses. I hope there is more to come from these guys, for it is an outstanding addition to the black metal scene.