Album Review: Tsjuder – Helvegr (Season of Mist)

Carl Fisher 2 min read

Since their inception in 1993, Oslo’s Tsjuder have been responsible for some of the most hate-filled ferocity perpetrated under the banner of true Norwegian black metal. Now, in the year 2023, they return with their brand-new opus, ‘Helvegr,’ out on June 23rd via Season of Mist.

You’re never going to believe this but Tsjuder’s Helvegr is a black metal album in every sense of the genre. It is a savage and uncontrollable beast, filled with hate and with a blood-thirst that seems insatiable. Who would have thought it?

Sarcasm aside, few do ‘true’ black metal as well as this band and Helvegr is the epitome of who this band are and what they are capable of.

We normally balk at the word ‘true’ being used to describe any kind of music. It’s a word often used to diminish the qualities of others and make excuses for something sounded dated. Black metal, like all other genres, comes in different shapes and sizes, so whose to say what ‘true’ is?

Yet, upon hearing it used, especially in conjunction with black metal, we all get an idea of what that means. It means black and bleak music from a Nordic country. It means rough and raw speed. It means a stripped back and uncompromising approach to heaviness and intensity.

It means Tsjuder. A band that bleeds black, breathes ice, and has the fires of hell burning in their veins. Present from their very first release, up to this latest album. An album of anger, pain, hate, suffering, and so much more. This far into their career, few would be expecting major changes to the sound, but few would expect them to still be going as intensely as they are. It’s why they continue to draw so much love and admiration, which will only be enhanced upon hearing Helvegr.

It’s an album to please the Tsjuder fan. An album to please the old-school black metal fan. If you don’t fall into either of those categories, you’re s**t out of luck here.

It’s bloody mayhem from the word go, and it’s bloody good mayhem.

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Tsjuder – Helvegr Track Listing:

1. Iron Beast
2. Prestehammeren
3. Surtr
4. Gamle-Erik
5. Chaos Fiend
6. Gods of Black Blood
7. Helvegr
8. Faenskap og Død
9. Hvit Død




Links

Merch | Facebook | Instagram | Season of Mist

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Tsjuder - Helvegr (Season of Mist)
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