Hailing from the cold mountains of Oslo, Norway, Dødskvad brings their death poetry in honor of the ancestors who’ve died in honorable battle. These two demo releases work off of each other, despite being released two years apart, they flow organically and thematically as well. The imagery of medieval Norwegian battlefields fits so well for the old school death metal being played on these two releases. Sounding as if straight from the late 80s and early 90s, they’re able to emulate an almost early Bolthrower type sound, before all the groove and breakdowns.
There’s just something so viscerally satisfying about this style of death metal. The leathery style drums banging away along side clanky cymbals and dirty guitars with guttural vocals just warms the cold soul so well. The guitars are just dripping with old school sensibilities with wailing guitar solos being thrown around on top of the dirty and at time slow riffs that play away, dissonant, in the background. That goes for both of these releases as well. Though I think part II has a bit more higher quality than part I, they’re both very dirty and lofi. Through out the two releases are these ambient dungeon synth tracks, helping bridge the gap between some of the tracks. They’re very fitting and just helps cement that old school style. Someone on Bandcamp made a fitting comment, its a great fit for those late nights playing away at old DOOM and Hexen games. Something about the 32bit sounds and the look of pixelated demon blood and swords is a good look for these releases.
Between the two, Krønike II is a much stronger release than the first. Yes it is lengthier and could be considered an EP more so than the other, they are similar enough in style that they’re both demos in my opinion. Fact of it is II is still the better release with stronger song writing, better production, solid instrumentation and more personality. The first is a true demo through and through, almost testing the waters, while still delivering the goods very well. The second really drives home the voice of the band, and we’re not talking about vocals. The creativity and charisma really bleeds through here thanks to the fantastic guitars mainly, some very memorable riffs that had me humming them through out the day.
Its great seeing a band honoring the old school death metal sound and not just copying the formula and playing the same recycled riffs. Dødskvad on these two small releases created something massive. An impact the death metal world I think much needed, though went mostly unheard of. Which is truly a shame since these two have been some of the most fun releases I’ve heard in a while. I always get excited for great OSDM such as this and really makes me hope for more from this Norwegian act from the future. Those who worship the classics should defiantly give these a listen. Together, the Krønike releases are about the same length as a regular album, so no harm in giving it a shot.