ninehertz

Welcome to the latest edition of the Jotnarr fanclub. The Colchester masters of blackened hardcore return, a band with a flawless back catalogue, all featured in our reviews, podcasts and end of year accolades past. This is a band with only two flaws – one I’ll get to later, the other that they’re not ubiquitous – I greedily want releases annually, I want to see them live routinely.

Which only adds to the anticipation and thrill when a new album is announced. They have changed – a new drummer, the addition of a dedicated vocalist – and there is a natural slight fear when reviewing one of your favourite bands, namely: will they ever drop off and is this that time? Feet First on the Corpse Path defiantly quashes such feeble trepidation, but more than that, is probably the best they’ve ever been.

The crusty havoc of the pre-released Every Stone a Grave barrages you into their world immediately, before Lady of the Blade displays their absolute magic. This is hardcore and punk and doom compacted, where black metal tremolo guitars make the world shimmer around you and the vocals bite out ferociously. Here, as on the superb Lychgate later on, the deliver my so called other flaw – they create these incredible passages of music, a searing riff or a hook that utterly destroys you, play it for a few seconds and move on, never to return. I can think of only Torche who do similar, in a frustratingly admirable refusal to not wring them for all their blood, instead leaving a trail of golden nuggets littered through their albums.

It comes down to confidence in their own craft, and Jotnarr’s comfort in this regard comes from the fact they stand on their own with their unique sound. There’s growth too, with offerings of new elements to what has come before – whether on the surprisingly melodic Hold Tight that gives way to a beatdown-ish riff that bulks out the song, the calm The Tremor Beneath All Thigs (with its Andor sample) or the triple hit of successive different riffs on Luminous Veil that has previously unheard death metal vibes.

The album keeps coming, never relenting in quality, in riffs, in the provision of such emotive adrenaline rushes of extreme metal and hardcore. Sit up, strap in and pay attention - the best band around have released their best material to date.