“Dark Grave”, so the English translation of one of Norway’s latest discoveries MYRKGRAV, does not exactly hint at Scandinavian Happy Metal, now does it? The brainchild of 21 year old Lars Jensen (here operating under his pseudonym Leiðólfr), has chosen a different path, not less common from the lands of the north, a mix of Folk and Black Metal, but he does not stop there in his pursuit of something special surrounding his project. No, not the fact that LUMSK bassist Espen Hammer is guesting on the four string, but the fact that the lyrics are based on old stories from Ringeriks, Krokskogen etc and are sung in the rare Ringeriks dialect. Now my Norwegian was a little rusty to begin with, but this kills it completely, LOL.

But jokes aside, what Lars is delivering here on his debut is more than remarkable, because the only band that I could use as potential comparison for this concept album are old ENSLAVED, I guess I have the attention of a few more people now, eh? But yes, the mix of mostly mid-paced Black Metal and some folky passages and epic elements together with some great clear vocals and melodies is something that more than once makes me think of the band around Grutle Kjellson and Ivar Bjørnson. “Gygra & St.Olav” begins very Folk Metal like, with some choir, before the gruff rasp comes in and adds its edge to the slow- to mid-paced music, but the clear vocals and choir return every now and then in this very well flowing song, which is a great start for this album.

And this roughly is the vein that the songs after follow as well, very variable in structure (so despite technically following down the same path, there is no danger of boredom) and with equal amounts of atmospheric parts and a bit heavier sounds, equally alternating the gruff and some clear voice, but always keeping a big emphasis on brilliant melodies that thread through the whole album. One particular gemstone is “Om Å Danse Bekhette“, which has it all and culminates in a great clean-sung, epic chorus, I love this song!

I honestly have not detected a song on this album that is not at least above average, rather the contrary, “Tre Skygger Tel Kølabrenner'n Kom” has some truly refreshing melodies and closing “Endetoner” finishes things off on another high, putting a worthy end to a highly interesting debut effort for this one-man project.

Heavily recommended for anybody into the more folky side of Black Metal with great melodies!
8,5/10