Korp – And Darker It Shall Become

Korp (Swedish for ‘Raven’) is an old school quintet from Sweden. They released their debut Until Eternity Calls almost three decades ago, so we are talking of highly experienced outfit, that has released three full-length albums, a few EPs, compilations and demo releases. Korp’ fourth offering, released through Grind to Death Records, is entitled And Darker It Shall Become and it consists of following ten tracks.

Tracklist:

1. Blood Upon the Throne

2. Furious Tempest Rise

3. I Swear Allegiance

4. Bloodstorms

5. The Ritual

6. Heaven Ablaze

7. The Nights Embrace

8. Black Winter Masses

9. Feast Upon the Spineless

10. Graced by Flames

Korp might not be the most active band, but when they finally release an album, they definitely know how to create some engaging, interesting and varied compositions. Unlike some of the other black metal releases, the energy is mainly high here where the main focus is on aggressive shredding and coherent songwriting, rather than on the atmospherics. Speaking of the atmosphere, it’s obviously still dark as one should expect from an extreme metal release of this kind.

The vocals are equally aggressive and to times terrifying, riffing is sinister, inspired/original and gripping, bass lines are strong holding the pieces together effectively, and last but not least we get to hear some savage and hellish drumming. The overall sound and production is immersive and involving, so I don’t have anything to complain about when it comes to the sound of this savage yet strangely beautiful record.

Although all ten tracks are well composed and perfectly crafted, I will pick two of my favourites here. The first one is actually the second song on the record, called “Furious Tempest Rise” (watch video below), mainly due to its driving and insane riffing, varied pace (with some dramatic puases) and bursting and roaring vocals. Another album highlight for me was “Feast Upon The Spineless” because of even more typical black riffs interspersed with melodic drops and once again engaging, gurgling and growling vocals.

And Darker It Shall Become successfully combines black, thrash and death metal, resulting in a brutal, devastating and crushing sound, that I would especially recommend for worshippers of the likes of Lord Belial, Dissection, Sacramentum, Necrophobic, Celtic Frost, Marduk, Devastator and Toxic Holocaust.

As briefly mentioned above, And Darker It Shall Become is the first album from the Swedish band in twenty-four years, marking a significant comeback for the underground metal scene. After three spins I have to admit it was well worth the wait! The unnervingly intricate artwork for And Darker It Shall Become is created by Balázs Pénzes of ‘Grafit Hamu Artworks‘.

Prepare for an onslaught of darkness and do not hesitate to give And Darker It Shall Become a fair chance! For more information on this ten-tracker opus from Korp visit label’s bandcamp or facebook page.