ninehertz

If the hope and vitality of the British doom scene holds true, then it lies in the future of bands like Jotnarr. Our deeply rooted hardcore scene has been viscerally vibrant for decades, but the doom and black metal uprising has been a recent underground upsurge, taking inspiration from bands such as Army of Flying Robots and Hammers, basing their sound around the honesty of a hardcore sound grounding it so the more phantasmagorical themes of the host genres don't override the vital and primal need to surge onwards and upwards.

Jotnarr promise much, their releases and numerous gigs to date making Burn and Bury a highly anticipated release. Only Bast have gone so far in promise and subsequent delivery of a crossover doom sound, and Jotnarr's black metal hardcore amalgamation still offers a different angle altogether. It's clear within a minute that they've upped their game from the already impressive double set of demos and deliver against the expectation, and by the time it ends, a sadly short less than seventeen minutes later, you are compelled to simply play it from the start again.

There's the marvellous Rise By Sin, pinning you back with a couple of enormous riffs running through it, satisfyingly heavy, with chaotic whirlwinds of crust and doom riding along with you, coming back louder, heavier, more dangerous intent. Sunless shuffles towards the hardcore end, while the fidgety Hernswolf - never resting on a riff or style and over in under two minutes cannot hide the fact that all component parts are awe-inspiringly brilliant, proof of a band with ideas, ability and healthy inpatient exhuberance. Waldeinsamkeit - a gentle and lush intro deceives as it descends from beauty and light towards an uglier, harsher ending, the post-black metal leanings providing an uplifting air that saves you from suffocation.

Alongside Dune, Meadows, Torpor, Bast and many more, the meddling of genres is a high point calling card of the best of the British doom uprising. And Jotnarr rise straight to the top; this cacophony, this almost perfect concoction of potions delivering a spell that is troublesome, nose bleedingly heavy, and ultimately enchanting.