+ där skogen sjunger under evighetens granar +

4.00

PICKMETER

4.00

HMB

N/A

CRITICS

band:

Vildhjarta

release date: May 30, 2025

label:

type: Full-length

HMB´S REVIEW

If you’ve ever ventured into the stranger, denser side of metal, chances are you’ve come across the name Vildhjarta, a name that’s always sounded to me like an enigmatic whisper from deep within the woods. Something that stands apart, even in a genre as diverse as djent or progressive metal. They’ve never been just another piece in the modern puzzle of technical heaviness. They’ve always been that odd, intricate fragment that refuses to fit neatly. And now, with + där skogen sjunger evighetens granar +, the band’s third full-length album, that impression only grows stronger.

It’s curious to see a release come so quickly after the last one, especially considering the more deliberate pace they’ve kept over the years. That alone sparked anticipation. And when I hit play, I was immediately pulled into a sonic wall as dense as a Scandinavian forest under fog. The sound here is massive, complex, crushing, and calculated to the bone, the riffs thunder in deep, low frequencies while the drums trace patterns that feel like secret codes from another realm.

What fascinates me most, though, is how, amidst all that carefully sculpted brutality, Vildhjarta still finds space for the ethereal. There are passages that shimmer like beams of light filtering through branches, atmospheric, melodic moments that breathe gently, adding a dynamic that goes far beyond heaviness for heaviness’ sake. The album’s title, roughly translated as 'Where the forest sings beneath the eternal spruces', isn’t just poetic. It captures the experience. Listening to this record feels like walking through a vast, shadowed forest where beauty and menace live in silent balance.

Knowing that Daniel Bergström, despite no longer being an official member, still contributed to the compositions, adds a sense of continuity, as if the band’s spirit remains intact, yet always shifting, much like the nature they so often evoke.

In the end, + där skogen sjunger evighetens granar + is an album that makes no compromises, but also never forgets to touch the listener with sensitivity. It demands full presence, it’s not background music. But if you allow yourself to enter this sonic forest, you’ll find far more than branches and shadows. You’ll find a band that continues to assert its unique identity in modern metal and does so with conviction, technical mastery, and an unexpected sense of soul.

Review by Troadie - HMB´s Staff