MONUMENTAL POSSESSION

The second album from Dødheimsgard called Monumental Possession is a little better than their debut Kronet til Konge which I found to be a waste of time. The style hasn´t changed much though, it´s stil primitive and raw black metal of the early Norwegian School. A style that is very much inspired by the early eighties thrash and hardcore/punk scene. Notable influences are Sodom, Kreator, Destruction, Venom, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Bathory and Possessed.

The songs are a little better than on the debut but still very primitive both in structure and instrumentation. It has to be noted that the lyrics are in english this time. The lyrics on the debut was on Norwegian.

The musicians have become a bit better even though I still think Dødheimsgard is a bit untight. It might be on purpose to emphazise the dark and brutal atmosphere though. You never know with these black metal guys. One thing I´ll complain about when comparing Monumental Possession and Kronet til Konge is that Aldrahn´s vocals are not as good on Monumental Possession as they were on Kronet til Konge. Aldrahn´s vocals were one of the only highlights on Kronet til Konge but on Monumental Possession the vocals are processed. It´s very seldom that works for me and this is no exception.

The sound quality has become a little better too but it´s still not very impressive. I guess TRUE black metal fans probably enjoy this sound.

I said it when reviewing Kronet til Konge and I´ll say it again here. If you want to listen to Dødheimsgard I´ll strongly recommend that you listen to 666 International and Supervillain Outcast instead of these early efforts from the band as those two albums are some of the best experimental extreme metal ever made IMO. Monumental Possession receives a small 2 star rating from me.