Album Review: Sibiir – Undergang (Fysisk Format Records)

Norwegian metal band, Sibiir return with their third album, ‘Undergang’, to be released on June 14th, 2024, and marking the 200th record of their record label Fysisk Format.

While the overall vision for this new album might have been about keeping it simple, Sibiir’s blend of musical styles means it, like all their previous work, pushes boundaries. It’s a little bit thrashy, it’s a little bit blackened, it’s got some hardcore edges, and shoegazy vibes. Musical styles that meld together here to create something very cool sounding.

From the start, the heaviness of Sibiir’s new record is front and centre with Divergence and Deceit. A thick and pacey instrumental section that slips effortlessly into varying genres, and vocals that command a ton of attention, results in a memorable start to things.

Placid Waters is up next, and here, Sibiir let their blacker side emerge, but keep things harmoniously heavy sounding. Expanding into more blackgaze territories as it goes on. Followed then by Ruinous, a track with rapid rhythm and these colossal weighty explosions of wickedness. Before the instrumental Engerdal slows things down with more melody, but from a chilling standpoint, building to a heavier section that sounds delightfully epic.

The tighter song-writing approach is certainly paying off as there’s no sense of wasted time or momentum. Even when tracks get a bit longer and more elaborate, such as with the pairing of The Flood and Watch… from a House on Fire, everything feels necessary. There’s a strong sense that what we’re hearing here is the sound of a band at the height of their musical powers and with creativity flowing out of them.

A return back to something a bit pacier and thrashier with The Plague is certainly welcome, but the vein of blackness running through it makes it so much more special. Before the longest track on the album at over six minutes arrives with Wearing the Weight and if you thought Sibiir had sounded thick and heavy before, you’re in for a surprise. This track squeezes to the point where bones crack and break, with Sibiir really taking their time to make it feel even more constricting.

Then, finally, it’s The Famine, one last immense sounding head-banger. Where the big building intro gives way to a cacophony of familiar thrash intensity, before the tone shifts again to something crunchier. This back and forth is continued throughout, right up to the end when things just fade away. A breathless closer to a dynamic album that captures Sibiir’s complexities and simplicities in all their glory. It’s a combination that delights, resulting in a very strong album overall.

Sibiir – Undergang Track Listing:

1. Divergence and Deceit
2. Placid Waters
3. Ruinous
4. Engerdal
5. The Flood
6. Watch… from a House on Fire
7. The Plague
8. Wearing the Weight
9. The Famine

Links

Bandcamp | Merch | Instagram | TikTok | Fysisk Format Records