Album Review: Tálgröf by Helfró (Season of Mist Underground Activists)

Icelandic blackened death metal force, Helfró, are back with their second full length album titled Tálgröf due for release on the 1st of December 2023.

Releasing, with Season of Mist’s Underground Activists division,  just in time to make the cold Christmas period even colder, Tálgröf is as cold and harsh as those Icelandic scenes you picture in your mind. Following on from their debut album, the self titled Helfró, the band have become quite a formidable force in the world of blackened death metal. With their relentless aggression, atmospheric soundscapes, and compelling songwriting, they have carved their own path in the metal scene. The journey of Helfró  began when drummer and songwriter Ragnar Sverrisson sought to bring his musical visions to life, Drawing inspiration from the bleakness of Icelandic winters, the mysticism of nature, and the chaos of the human experience.

Helfró’s debut album was released in 2020, marking the band’s official entry into the world of extreme metal. With a relentless barrage of blast beats, crushing riffs, and haunting melodies, the album showcased their ability to seamlessly blend aggression and atmosphere. Evolving with the advent of the sophomore album, Tálgröf, listeners can expect even more ferocity as Helfró dives deeper into death metal territory while not straying to far from the signature ice-cold climactic tremolo riffing notable of their previous work. Characterized by its ferocity, the new album also carries introspective and thought-provoking themes, reflecting the band members’ willingness to explore the depths of the human experience.

Tálgröf was recorded at Dominion Recordings, mixed and mastered by Mark Lewis and comes with cover art by Grindesign.

Helfró is Ragnar Sverrisson on drums, vocals and songwriting with Simon Thorolfsson on guitars, bass, vocals and arrangements.

Tálgröf comes with 9 tracks and around 36 minutes of cold as ice black metal on it. It really takes no time in setting a scene and atmospher with opener Jarteikn. An almost instant eruption into quite traditonal sounding black metal. A raw tint with anarchic drums and riffs attacks from the off. As the song grows, it adds more death metal elements with a filthy mix of vocal tones really working a treat and some nice, twisting guitar melodies. Tempo changes and a really thick and murky feel make for a very interesting and exciting start. Across the whole of the album, Helfró deliver a crushing and intense assault but with additions like some of the melodic guitar work, some slower beat driven sections, that really opens the blackness up a bit.

Fláráð Fræð has a wonderful melodic, yet dark, lead guitar section that really elevates the tracks. One of the altogether heaviest tracks on the album, Þögnin Ytra, Kyrrðin Innra, still finds time to hit us with a glorious melody as it fades out. Guðlegt Réttlæti brings some symphony into the mix in it’s intro and really makes great use of the lead guitars to offer a little contrast in the viciously dark verses. A touch more symphony adds an exciting layer to the intro, and again later in the song, in Minning um Morðingja which also brings in that contrasting high guitar line to offer a bit of light during the heavier parts of the track.

Other tracks lean heavily on just attacking you with a brutal assault. Fangelsaður í Tilvist að Eilífu is intense as fuck with insane drum speed and ripping vocals. The opening of Þögnin Ytra, Kyrrðin Innra will shake you to your core, somehow managing to be even faster and heavier than the already insanely fast and heavy siege we are under. Pretty much every track brings heaviness at some point, kind of as you would expect from blackened detah metal, and when it comes it is harsh. Traðkandi Blómin í Eigin Hjartagarði, Minning um Morðingja and Ildi Óhreins Anda to name just some of the songs that deliver a big dose of that crushing intensity.

Within all of this glorious darkness, there is a ton of grooving, catchy as hell headbanging sections that take you out of the attack and just grab you and get your neck moving. Þögnin Ytra, Kyrrðin Innra uses it wonderfully as a bridge between mosh pit swirling destruction. Guðlegt Réttlæti brings a slower, doomy sound in parts with the drums really standing out amongst the bleakness. Sindur is another that drops the speed for parts while remaining intense and impactful with the drums really taking control of your body and getting your head banging.

Across the entirty of Tálgröf, there is a lot of talent on display but I must point out how awesome the drums are. Whether going 100 mph with blast beats or with exciting drum fills, or catchy grooving beats, they always stand out and always impress. Another area that just kills it is the vocals. I love that the tone is mixed, always heavy but sometimes using a deep, demonic growl, sometimes using a higher toned shout. There are other tones in between as well and it all just adds additional layers of variety and excitement to a strong release.

Helfró are a talented band and clearly have a lot of skill in song writing and album creation. You genuinely do get the feeling of Tálgröf being a complete work and while I don’t understand the language at all, you feel like you understand it through the music. The songs all belong and it flows wonderfully. The atmosphere created is one of intense aggression in a bleak and cold landscape and you feel that constantly throughout. Don’t you just admire how, within music, a band who I can’t understand lyrically, and cannot pronounce half of the song names, still create such a strong and profound connection to the listener through the strength of the music and song composition.

Helfró have released an absolute beast of an album in Tálgröf that is jam packed with layers and creativity. Subtle use of symphony, less subtle use of lead guitars and differing vocal tones all adding respite and reward to songs that absolutely slay hitting hard with the blackest of drums and riffing yet somehow managing to stay catchy and interesting throughout. I don’t even think I have a stand out song, well maybe Sindur or Minning um Morðingja, it’s just a consistent, quality slab of the bleakest metal you are likely to hear this year. Perfect for a cold winter’s day.

You should definitely make sure you don’t miss this one so presave Tálgröf here, or, even better, preorder it from Season of Mist, here.

Helfró Links

Bandcamp – Facebook – Instagram – Spotify