The Black Diamond Remasters Series, Vol. 1-3

Blodulv - "Blodulv"

Originally released in August 2003 on CD only, Blodulv’s self-titled debut album introduced the Swedes with utmost crudeness and rudeness.

Immediately, the quickly-characteristic Blodulv aesthetic is established: hypnotic riffing teetering between triumph and tragedy, inhumanly howled/hissed vocals, everything coated in a strange sort of “clear static,” and the guiding lifelessness of their undisguised drum-machine, here charmingly monikered “the one and only Sir Electro.”

On paper, these foundational stones may seem underwhelming or at least par for the black-metal-underground course, but in execution, there was little to nothing like Blodulv back then. Even for ears well attuned to that underground, from the most minimalist Ildjarn recording to contemporaneously-young Bone Awl, Blodulv’s cooly cruising attack was exceptionally alien. 

The Devil was truly in the details here. “Street black metal” before there ever was a thing, Blodulv reveled in its staunchly Spartan contours: the songwriting moved at a sprightly pace, whether it was polka-fast or stomping-slow, either way excising any sort of aggression for something dead in its energy; the component riffs were few, but expertly threaded together in a weirdly hummable manner; even drowning in said static, the vocals were articulated to the extent that key phrases could blanch even the hardiest listener; and the secret star of the show, Sir Electro made drum-machines cool for the first time since the classic Greek recordings at Storm Studio.

Dingey and dungeonic, absurdly simple but sinfully sublime, Blodulv’s first full-length party-crashed a black metal underground that was soon about to have a second renaissance. 

Out of print since 2005, Blodulv will now be reissued on both CD and vinyl as part of Ophidian Sun’s campaign to bring the noble Blodulv catalog to a new generation starved for authentic mystery & mysticism in black metal.

Each of the band’s three albums will feature remastered sound courtesy of Temple of Disharmony – bringing Blodulv’s necrotic & narcotic sound to 3D “unlife,” as it were – and new layout inspired by the old. This is the sound of glorious times!

Blodulv - "II"

Originally released in January 2004 – and, thus, only five months after the release of their self-titled debut album – Blodulv’s tellingly titled II seemed possessed, right from the beginning, with sowing discord and disarming even those listeners already onboard with the duo’s depravity.
 
(Dis)graced with iconic cover art, Blodulv’s second album featured the same devilishly inscrutable fade-in as the first album – suggesting a Dionysian infinity or a vacuum of narcotic narcolepsy, depending on your psychic coordinates – but artfully antagonized with the liner notes of an “unproduced, unrecorded, and utterly perverted” recording. And indeed, Blodulv accomplished exactly that…but the fuller truth was even more frightening, and even more artful.
 
Make no mistake: Blodulv were true black metallers for true black metal people, but there existed a wider scope of diabolism within their sick minds. So, while they could no doubt create all-caps BLACK METAL, theirs was one perhaps running parallel to even the truest of the true.
 
To wit: II featured songwriting that was much more involved melodically – still stripped down, sure, but the phrasing was longer and more “complex in its simplicity.” Each riff unfolded nonchalantly, at first sounding majestic but soon turning mournful. Suitably, this elevated Spartanism moved at more deliberate downtempos compared to the almost-Oi! gait of Blodulv; once again, credit “unhuman angelpounding: the uncompromising Mr. Maachinaa,” the coolest drum-machine this side of Storm Studios.
 
And while many of the original wave of Scandinavian black metal were inspired by Bathory (and were always eager to tell you so), perhaps here on II was Blodulv’s closest link to the alien classic Under the Sign of the Black Mark, in the sense of a raw-yet-ghostly soundfield and an atmosphere of nocturnal ceremony and, arguably, a sympathetic style of melodicism.

Out of print since 2006, II will now be reissued on both CD and vinyl as part of Ophidian Sun’s campaign to bring the noble Blodulv catalog to a new generation starved for authentic mystery & mysticism in black metal.
 
Each of the band’s three albums will feature remastered sound courtesy of Temple of Disharmony – bringing Blodulv’s necrotic & narcotic sound to 3D “unlife,” as it were – and new layout inspired by the old. This is the sound of glorious times! 

Blodulv - "III-Burial"

At the time of its release – November 2005, this time through the short-lived Eerie Art Records – Blodulv’s III – Burial didn’t necessarily signal an end for the band.

The year prior to that third album, the Swedes had released a steady stream of EPs and splits, as well as the Diatribe EP (through the always-cult Forgotten Wisdom Productions) earlier in 2005. But, with hindsight, the appellation Burial should’ve said everything: this was the end of Blodulv.

In most perverse fashion, they finally revealed photos of themselves in the liner, including vocalist Morn (longtime lyricist Aeifur was never revealed). Three photos of three official members…third album. The tombstone was there.

But what a way to end such a beautifully belligerent career! III opens (and closes) with a barrage of noise, suggestive of Morn’s successive work in Deadwood, Keplers Odd, and Culted; he would be the only member of the band to (publicly) continue musically. From there, the K-hole opens wider and devours the listener whole, revealing something that splits the difference between Blodulv’s two albums – the cooly cruising attack of I, the hypnotic near-Oi of II – but brings forth an intensification of both poles.

“Street black metal” to the very end, again before there was ever a thing, Blodulv upped the hooliganism here, incorporating both more thug-life stomp and running-from-the-law speed to the unsettlingly metronomic pulse. One need only listen to the arrogant-and-proud stride of “Imperial Sanctum (Bleeding Mercury)” to understand the fertile fields of filth that the trio were beginning to trample…if only one was unaware that this was also the end.

Nevertheless, at 47 minutes, III – Burial marked the album as Blodulv’s longest recording: their epitaph written in the boldest and most brazen strokes, the coffin lid closed with deafening punctuation.

Out of print since 2007, III – Burial will now be reissued on both CD and vinyl as part of Ophidian Sun’s campaign to bring the noble Blodulv catalog to a new generation starved for authentic mystery & mysticism in black metal.

Each of the band’s three albums will feature remastered sound courtesy of Temple of Disharmony – bringing Blodulv’s necrotic & narcotic sound to 3D “unlife,” as it were – and new layout inspired by the old. This is the sound of glorious times! 

The Black Diamond Remasters Series, Vol. 4-6

Blodulv - "Kristkrossare"

Originally released in March 2003, Kristkrossare was the public debut of Blodulv and their first (and only) demo.

Wasting no time, the filth flows freely – a blown-out surge of claustrophobic minimalism that soon reveals subtle twists of detail. Indeed, Kristkrossare is undeniably the most direct of all Blodulv recordings, wholly intent on attacking the listener remorselessly and rabidly…at first. 

Even within such intensity, there was still something alien about what the band were doing and where they were going, and those listeners who were not repulsed by the band’s soon-to-be-characteristic metronomic ways will discover a bounty of psychedelic delights as the lengthy demo plays on. 

Their beloved drum-machine, who would next receive the name Mr. Maachinaa among successive nom de plume, would be crucial in setting the foundation for that freezing filth to cut deeply into the soul; guided by its steady, almost-soothing pulse, riffs get lengthened far longer than any sane person would suggest, and a total trance-out is all but certain. Blodulv may’ve been “raw” for the time (or any time, really), but there was already a sense of refinement to their aesthetic, and Kristkrossare could’ve just as easily been their first official album.

Out of print for 20 years, Kristkrossare will now be reissued digitally as part of Ophidian Sun’s campaign to bring the noble Blodulv catalog to a new generation starved for authentic mystery & mysticism in black metal. 

Each of the band’s three short-lengths will feature remastered sound courtesy of Temple of Disharmony – bringing Blodulv’s necrotic & narcotic sound to 3D “unlife,” as it were – and new cover art inspired by the old. This is the sound of glorious times! 

Blodulv - "Pagan Panzer"

Originally released in March 2004, just a few months after their classic second album, via the enigmatic Miriquidi Productions, Pagan Panzer was Blodulv’s first – and only – 7″ vinyl release.

Totaling two tracks in a relatively epic 16 minutes, the sick Swedes no doubt maximized that short space, including the “hit” title track and adding the restless-yet-relentless “Dead Star Rising” on the B-side. 

Like any Blodulv record one had the great (or bad, depending) fortune to hear, the two-song Pagan Panzer was as exemplary of their caustic, characteristic aesthetic as it comes: they never deviated from that aesthetic, nor did they linger idly within it, neither, always finding the subtlest of ways to further that sickness. 

So, you either were already hooked on their black drugs or you weren’t – no middle ground, not then and especially not now – but the EP was nevertheless essential listening for the former group, with the B-side showing the band’s solemn side by track’s end, something Blodulv rarely got enough credit for.

Out of print for nearly 20 years, Pagan Panzer will now be reissued digitally as part of Ophidian Sun’s campaign to bring the noble Blodulv catalog to a new generation starved for authentic mystery & mysticism in black metal. 

Each of the band’s three short-lengths will feature remastered sound courtesy of Temple of Disharmony – bringing Blodulv’s necrotic & narcotic sound to 3D “unlife,” as it were – and new cover art inspired by the old. This is the sound of glorious times! 

Blodulv - "Diatribe"

Originally released in February 2005 via the cult Forgotten Wisdom Productions, the Diatribe MCD would prove to be Blodulv’s second-to-last recording – the final, of course, being III – Burial in November of that year. 

Perhaps feeling the final, crypt-cold touch of death on their shoulder, the always-defiant Swedes made Diatribe arguably their most hypnotic, near-catatonic recording ever. Where so many of Blodulv’s riffs slashed with metronomic nonchalance – briskly, yes, but always with an overtly malevolent intent – here on this four-song/31-minute mini-album do those riffs instead simply sizzle and then simmer. “Aggression” could be implied, or it could be lacking altogether; Blodulv, for their part, seemed wholly unconcerned. 

Everything across Diatribe feels DEAD or maybe just “dull”…hell, even Mr. Maachinaa – the coolest drum-machine this side of Storm Studios – sounds like he’s tired and totally checked out. Which, in a perverse manner, all feels wholly in line with their depraved ways: not for nothing was Diatribe recorded in Gray Dementia Studios. Granted, they kick up a classic, quasi-Oi! chug with the tellingly titled “Famine Pulse,” but even its resigned hooliganism sounds like it could’ve just marched on infinitely, GRAY and all alone…

Out of print for nearly 20 years, Diatribe  will now be reissued digitally as part of Ophidian Sun’s campaign to bring the noble Blodulv catalog to a new generation starved for authentic mystery & mysticism in black metal. 

Each of the band’s three short-lengths will feature remastered sound courtesy of Temple of Disharmony – bringing Blodulv’s necrotic & narcotic sound to 3D “unlife,” as it were – and new cover art inspired by the old. This is the sound of glorious times!