Hulder, the doom/black metal project led by Marz Riesterer returns to the ring with its second studio album, 'Verses in Oath', a work that has the magnifying glass of lovers of the genre after the great response caused by its debut 'Godslastering: Hymns of a Forlorn Peasantry' in 2021 and the applauded 'La Eterna Fanfarria' EP from 2022.
Let's start with the obvious: 'Verses in Oath' is a great work and should position the project among the most striking of the genre worldwide. It is dark, powerful, dense, hypnotizing and full of an ethereal atmosphere that takes you on a disturbing journey throughout its 40-minute duration.
The album opens with 'An Elegy', a mysterious, ambient intro whose tranquility is suddenly broken by the powerful riffs of 'Boughs Ablaze', a powerful song, full of of ferocity but that also integrates the most melodic part of Hulder and from the beginning highlights the impeccable production work that we are going to find throughout the album.
'Verses in Oath' manages to create a wonderful symbiosis between all the elements that have made Hulder a new fan favorite, from the power and the savagery of black metal, the darkness and thickness of doom, and of course the well-known folk sounds that have been an integral part of their music, but now much better interwoven, forming a final product worth mentioning.
Tracks like 'Hearken the End' or 'Cast Into The Well Of Remembrance' remind us enormously of the old school of European Black Metal and should appeal to even the most purists, those who only spend their time listening to songs by the original bands of the genre. …but well produced.
Without a doubt, Hulder shows itself as a serious contender for the future throne of contemporary black metal and 'Verses in Oath' puts the reaches that it can achieve if it continues to deliver this quality. We're only in February, but with 'Verses in Oath' we have a serious contender for album of the year.
