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Debut album from this Norwegian band who play very old-school Norwegian BM. Pretty much everything on the Aftermath label is going to be good, and this is no exception. Lja (Norwegian for 'Scythe') have been around for four years or so, putting out the expected demos, EPs and split CDs, and here we finally have a full-length.

This is old-fashioned Norse Black Metal that isn't addicted to speed. I like the raw, brutal guitar sound and the more midpaced, traditional riff sensibility. There's just a thrashy, violent edge to this that I don't hear much on a lot of more high-speed bands, and even though the vocals are the expected buzzsaw rasp, they do have a bit more feeling in them than the usual. I also like that the riffing here is more chunky, and not stuck in tremolo mode. True, a lot of this sounds alike, but it all sounds cool, so that's a plus.

These guys are not breaking any new ground, and this is just as grim and necro as you would expect – and that makes it pretty cool, as not a lot of bands in these keyboard-infested times are as grim and necro as they would like you to think. A strong album, definitely recommended for fans of the genre.