Album Review: Istapp – The Insidious Star (Trollzorn)

Istapp finally return with their fourth album “The Insidious Star“ in their known frosty manner! Out on April 26th 2019 via Trollzorn.

Ever since their formation in 2005 in the South East of Sweden, Istapp deliver noble melodic black metal and celebrate majestic uplifting Scandinavian art. Impetuous wildness meets highly melodic aesthetics strikingly harmonious – a powerful recipe!

Iciness pours from The Insidious Star like mist across a bog, the bleakness of the black metal offset by the melodic highs and lows. Thought provoking at times, sadistic at others…the 9 tracks play out like the soundtrack to a second ice-age.

Star Eternal’s layer of frost has some brightness with some clean vocal segments and hits as hard as possible with a blood-curdling drum beat. Something that works even better alongside the sharp guitars on Dit Solen Aldrig Nar. A spectacular track.

Natten Da Gud Blundade (1888), Snowball Earth and Muspelheim then follow that up with a blend of filthy black metal, touching melodies and intense heaviness.

Istapp are certainly masters of their craft and showing such a high level of writing that puts many other bands in their genre to shame. Snowball in particular is a simply amazing, rollicking and catchy song whereas Muspelheim is quite an uplifting offering.

The Alliance of Cold keeps things simple, in the sense that it’s just feral black metal played at a violent pace. As uncomplicated as it gets for Istapp. The same applies to the title track, albeit only in the rhythm. The wonderful clean vocals sound like ancient monk-like chants and the drum beat is Earth shatteringly deep.

Finally to wrap up a hell of an album we get Vita Doeden and Orrekulle. The former has the brightest of riffs that lean to a more classic style of metal and the latter is out and out heaviness.

Istapp – The Insidious Star Full Track Listing:

1. Eternal Winter
2. Dit Solen Aldrig Nar
3. Natten Da Gud Blundade (1888)
4. Snowball Earth
5. Muspelheim
6. The Alliance of Cold
7. The Insidious Star
8. Vita Doeden
9. Orrekulle

Find out more via Istapp’s Facebook Page here.