Metal Underground.com

Having only released a demo previously Norway's Framferd entered the studio in 2005 to record their debut-full length album of Norwegian Black Metal. A two-track promo was also created for this album, which is reviewed hereafter.

Of the two tracks on the promo, Framferd plays a style of symphonic Black Metal that is heavy on synthesized keyboards and ambience, while the guitars and vocals are not too in-your-face but still have a suitable presence. Not being intimately familiar with too many black metal bands, I can only liken them to the style of Dimmu Borgir's "Stormblast."

"Ulvetid" begins with a soft and eerie sound of organs that is soon accompanied by a pounding, yet not overwhelming, double bass and guitars. The vocals are sung with a fitting black metal growl that is neither overly aggressive nor caustic as many black metal vocalists are. However, the lyrics remain undecipherable to me, as they are entirely in Norwegian. The three-minute song builds in intensity, alternating back and forth between heaviness and ambience while building this momentum. The end result is indeed pleasing.

"Erotic Murder" also starts off - after an initial extended growl - darkly symphonic with mid-paced guitars and drums. This song's lyrics are in English, and while understandable at times, it makes little difference to the end result. The song steadily builds up, both in pace and heaviness for its first half, at which point there is a major changeup. The changeup seems something more of an interlude at first, with acoustic guitars and cleaner vocals before building back up to the double bass, progressively faster riffs and finally blast beats by song's end. Clocking in at well over seven minutes and having such varied musical undertones, "Erotic Murder" certainly has an Epic feel to it.

As someone gradually getting more into black metal, Framferd's dark, foreboding style suits me just fine. The band manages to strike the right balance of atmosphere and heaviness. Stereotypes of black metal vocals similar to that of a cat being raped do not apply. This ten-minute taste of Framferd's debut full-length is intriguing to say the least, and enough to warrant further investigation into the band and their full-length release.