When you feature members who have been convicted of church burnings*, your black metal credentials are certainly not at issue. That’s the case for long-running Swedish act, Domgård, though there’s more to the story. The group’s third record continues their appreciation of “Dark Germanic Heathenism” over the course of their long and storied career that’s only had three records to show for it so far. This heathenism certainly shows through in the music. Ödelagt is eerie, pensive, and quite ritualistic in nature, and the emphasis on long, drawn-out songs allows the feel of something ancient and evil to seep into these tunes. The strong opening and closing thirds of the record showcase a strong identity and an impressive take on black metal that’s one part atmosphere and one part musical savagery.
Despite a (relatively) middling section around Ödelagt’s halfway point, the record follows a strong path from a delightfully ferocious opening to a much more esoteric ending. It grabs you by the throat from the onset before lovingly drawing you into this brand of musical madness. “Förgånget”, in particular, is a blaze of glory that feels eternal in its ancient majesty. The sonic chasm between the more extreme and effervescent sides of Domgård’s sound are stark, but the record flows fairly well despite this. No matter how dark the subject matter, nor how evil the music can get, Domgård continue to showcase their mastery of atmospheric black metal on their latest release.
*Note, this may be heresy to the most kvlt among us, but Church burning is a horrible and dumb thing to do, no matter how en vogue it was at the time. Stop glorifying the destruction of private property, no matter your stance on religion.
