HULDER (USA) – ‘Godslastering Hymns of a…’ CD Digipak

Within the eight songs comprising the 40-minute record, Hulder spans myriad generations and idioms of black metal, but all deeply rooted in ’90s classicism: from the paganisms of earliest Enslaved, Ulver, Isvind, and Kampfar to the hypnotizing grit of classic Judas Iscariot and Grand Belial’s Key, on to the mystical majesty of unsung Greeks like Zemial and Kawir and even over to the woodland wonder of old Opera IX. Which is all to say that HULDER here not so much mimic their forebears so much as meld the idiosyncrasies inherent to each into a masterclass in all-caps BLACK METAL songwriting: dynamic, engaging, nuanced, and transportive, but undeniably physical in its pulsing vistas of darkness and mystery.