VREID - NORWAY

VREID - KRAFT - CANDLELIGHT
Vreid is both a new and a past one. The result of the dissolution and regrouping of members of Windir, Vreid is a band that needs time to grow on the listener. The material is not immediate and, because of its relative diversity, not easily defined or rated. The material is harsh and occasionally extreme. The music is mostly simple, but varies its setting like a moody melancholic oddball. There are different tempos, different speeds and different level of intensity throughout the album. Some of the album could be compared to Darkthrone, some to Voivod and there is even a Helloween-esque melody somewhere on the disc. There is a song called Helvete here which as recently as two weeks ago was the name of a Tsjuder track and then there is the song before last called Empty which is a fairly proper reproduction of Pink Floyd's Astronome Domine. At least in terms of expression Vreid is a complex band. - Ali "The Metallian"

VREID - PITCH BLACK BRIGADE - CANDLELIGHT  
First we had Callenish Circle and Pitch Black Effects, then we got Scar Symmetry’s Pitch|Black|Progress and here comes Vreid’s second album, Pitch Black Brigade.
At least Vreid’s music cannot be labelled as generic or copycat. The Norwegians do have inspirations and influences and are quite overt with them too, but the band’s music can never be described as obvious or linear. Vreid’s new album sounds like newer Satyricon on certain songs, Voivod on others and incorporates drum machines and electronics elsewhere. Several of the tracks feature damn fine riffing and barbed wire guitars, while others whip out the synthesizers and wimp it up. The lyrics are only partly in English, yet that is enough to convey the message of aggression and a martial attitude.
Rock, techno, metal and attitude have all assembled into one brigade. The question is whether such an ensemble can find takers. - Ali “The Metallian”