In black metal, singer Kristian Eivind Espedal, aka Gaahl, is best known for his work with the notorious
Gorgoroth. But before Gaahl joined
Gorgoroth in 1998, he led his own Norwegian black metal band,
Trelldom. Gaahl brought his sinister rasp to
Trelldom's first album, Til Evighet, in 1995 and to
Trelldom's sophomore album,
Til et Annet, in 1999. But because
Gorgoroth kept Gaahl so busy -- that, and Gaahl's well-documented run-ins with the law --
Trelldom fell by the wayside in the early to mid-2000s. 2007's
Til Minne,
Trelldom third album, is the band's first release in eight years. The 2007 lineup that Gaahl leads on this 39-minute CD (Gaahl on lead vocals, Valgard on guitar, Sir Sick on bass, and Are on drums) is by no means a carbon copy of
Gorgoroth; although both are Norwegian black metal outfits,
Trelldom and
Gorgoroth have their own personalities.
Gorgoroth is a lot more disturbing, and is one of the few extreme metal bands whose music can be genuinely unsettling. Nonetheless,
Til Minne is a solid example of old-school black metal, and scorching tracks like "Bortkomme Svar," "Vinternatt," and "Fra Mitt Gamle" (all performed in Norwegian) are a throwback to the punk-drenched, garage-like rawness that characterized the black metal pioneers of the late '80s and early '90s. There isn't a trace of symphonic black metal to be found on this album;
Trelldom keep things brutally raw and don't forget black metal's punk and hardcore roots. Anyone who expects
Til Minne to sound like a
Gorgoroth CD is bound to be disappointed, but this solid, if less than groundbreaking, effort demonstrates that
Trelldom are a worthwhile band in their own right. ~ Alex Henderson