Avmakt 'Satanic Inversion Of...' LP

The sinister debut album of pure Norwegian black metal feeling, featuring members of Aura Noir, Obliteration And Condor. From the depths of Norway looms a new rising beast of hate & misanthropy in the form of Avmakt. Featuring the duo of Kristian Valbo and Christoffer Brathen - known for their work with such acts as Aura Noir, Obliteration and Condor - their debut album, The Satanic Inversion of...., is a grim and revelatory offering. Primitive in a way that captures the early magic of Kolbotn's metal kings, Darkthrone, as well as the stark chaos of early-era Bathory along with their very own distinguishable stamp on the genre, The Satanic Inversion of.... is a masterclass of real Black Metal feeling, wrapped up in a hypnotic frenzy of ice-cold riffing.Though both members had played in bands covering different genres since their early teenage years, Black Metal had always been one of the most important as a vehicle for an honesty and fierceness that resonated deeply within the duo, without the need for extravagant clothing or pretentious concepts. And so Avmakt itself was born as the vessel for channelling this stripped-down raw feeling.Formed in 2020 and with their one and only demo release gaining traction in the underground, the Norwegians quickly came to the attention of Darkthrone's Fenriz and Peaceville Records and Avmakt was swiftly included on Peaceville's Black Metal Compilation, 'Dark Side Of The Sacred Star' which launched at the end of 2022.Avmakt itself means "powerlessness", the sense of being overwhelmed and not able to have any influence - without choice, voice, or hope. And so, it is from far down in this psychological abyss that Avmakt's ideas and expressions manifest with the completion of their debut studio release; 6 sprawling epic tracks recorded with the assistance of Arild Torp, also of Obliteration and encapsulating such themes as emptiness, desolation & alienation in a powerful display of sinister, uninhibited Black Metal.

This Session found them fortuitously roadburned from several weeks in the European Theatre. So much the better for our archival ears, as OG-M’s signature minimalist long-fuse sizzle is thrillingly intact here; in fact, even more so, as the tunes are jammed out past the studio versions’ originally delineated borders, reaching rudely across the table in moments of liveness that the studio-bound project might have decided against when conferring only with the walls.

For fans of their epic version of “Turn Turn Turn”, this is more sweetmeats from that raucous old skull – but if you’ve not been down this road before, be prepared: the taste wi