• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

With so many new Black Metal projects going for atmosphere and nothing more, it's a relief to find those such as Vancouver's Nordwind playing this kind of no-bullshit old school BM, with plenty of groove in their music and a high degree of flair. With a raw but lively production, Thy Will Be Done, the band's first EP after a demo a couple of years back, Nordwind blast their way through four varied but typical Black Metal monsters, driven by a set of harsh yet catchy riffs that have a certain Pagan Metal thump to them. The vocals of drummer Kveldulv are a mid-range rasp that gets the job done, but really this is all about the guitars, and on tracks like "A New Beginning" and "With Flaming Sword", the two-piece pull some surprising twists out of the bag, hinting at a more traditional metal background.

At only sixteen minutes, this is a short but sweet blast of unprocessed and fun Black Metal that gets better as it goes on (the closing title track is the most accomplished piece by a mile), and it should see Nordwind in good stead when it comes to recording their full-length debut.