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Angish. Pain. Despair. Those are among the cornucopia of negative emotions Swedish duo Vinterfader and Narstrand, known collectively as Drapsnatt, are all about on their second full-length, Hymner Till Undergången. I don't understand Swedish, but I'm quite comfortable making that assertion. If there's one thing Drapsnatt does exceedingly well, it's conveying oppressive darkness.

Black Metal is the dominant style employed on Hymner Till Undergången. It is of the Symphonic, rather than the raw variety as the band liberally employs keyboards to create atmosphere. The majority of the vocals are Black screeches that sound as though the singer is having his toenails removed with pliers in slow motion. This guy (not sure which one is the singer) truly gives the impression of being tortured. Unfortunately, that's what I felt like, as well, after only a couple of spins. I found the vocals very hard to take after only a short while. There is also a significant Gothic element to Drapsnatt's music. The band often slows the pace down and goes for an almost acoustic sound, even employing some clean, mournful singing that drifts dangerously close to Emo. These slower parts don't succeed in creating a sonic vision of cold, windswept landscapes and are, in fact, rather dull. The last straw that broke this camel's back was the production, which is muted, taking away any punch the blackened riffing and blast beats might have had and intensifying the Gothic leanings of the slower parts.

I found Hymner Till Undergången too unfocused musically and the tortured vocals too distracting to enjoy the album very much.