Nattverd, one of Norway’s most underrated Black Metal bands, return with their fifth full-length Tidloes Naadesloes, a ten-track forty-five-minute, raw and brutal sensory assault that, for me, is just simply a superbly exhilarating listen.
Nattverd – Tidloes Naadesloes
Release Date: 21 March 2025
Words: Jools Green
Musically their strong point has always been their ability to focus on well-composed and delivered, straightforward, very typical Norwegian-style raw Black Metal pieces. Each album builds on the accomplishments of the last, with Tidloes Naadesloes continuing to add to their solid collection of releases.
As an extra touch, this time, Nattverd have enlisted two guest vocalists: Taake’s Hoest and Slagmaur’s Dr. Von Hellreich, both adding that little extra to an already superb sound.
Opening piece Iskalde Horn, the first of three pieces featuring Taake’s Hoest, is a brutal beast from the offset. Switching seamlessly between swathes of driving raw riffs and more pounding rhythms that harbour a subtle melodic quality, this adds a hugely engaging edge to the sound. All the while, the powerful delivery of the acidic, protracted vocals cut a raw swathe through the music with menacing intent.
On the next piece, Doedsfugl, Dr. Von Hellreich adds his touch to the sound. The track manifests at a slower pace with a dark but eerie ebb and build with the rawer, deeper semi-spoken element towards the close impacting hugely on the atmosphere. A very reflective and thought-provoking piece.
The pace is back up with the arrival of For Aa Kunne Bli Doedt. Here, the vocal layering and protraction are superb. It really builds on the overall depth of the sound. It plummets away to a very reflective and slow pace just after the minute mark, and the vocals are replaced by a spoken soundbite. In the final minute, the original pace and intensity return with full force, with the track end arriving suddenly and abruptly.
Hvisk Deg Vekk smothers you in waves of Bursum reminiscent tremolo picking with the raw protracted vocals weaving in between and the pummelling drum work adding depth to the sound. I love this piece. It is raw yet fluid and hugely engaging. It is a great piece of well-delivered, no-frills Norwegian Black Metal.
Next is the second piece featuring Hoest. Raate Og Raatt is a slower, denser crawling beast of a track that is vocally superb. There is a dark, hypnotic repeat beneath the waves of tremolo picking. Suspenseful with latent anger, the distant backing vocals in the second half really add to the already unnerving atmosphere.
De Sviande Ord Vaagar Ikje For Sitt Liv is one of those great up-tempo, undulating, driving Black Metal pieces that just sweeps you along in its wake. Midway, you get a sudden drop to a brief reflective, clean guitar interlude before returning to the original pace and mood. Just before the end, that reflective mood is revisited once more.
Udyr is another hypnotically undulating driver. Despite the vocals being raw they are still very fluid thanks to excellent protraction. There are segments where the drive levels out into a more reflective one but still remains raw-edged. In the latter parts, the pummelling drums add a beastly intensity and the closing leadwork elevates the mood to a very reflective and contemplative one. This is a piece that harbours a dark beauty. I really love it!
Med Kniven I Oeyet is a dense, intense pounder of a track guaranteed to send the pit wild when played live. It is a hugely exciting listen that is unrelenting in its brutal vitriol, especially in the vocal department. Even when the direction shifts, there is little to no yielding.
The penultimate piece is a cover of Naar Vi Har Dolket Guds Hjerte from Dødheimsgard’s ’95 release Kronet Til Konge. Once more featuring Hoest, I really like this version. It is true to the original in its rawness and it also feels gutsier. The sound quality, being thirty years on, is obviously better too, but Nattverd have not over-polished it. An excellent choice of a cover track and very well delivered.
Final piece Ens Egen Grav ends the album memorably. It is a powerful piece with a dark sinister mood. The pace is almost funereal for the first half, with haunting moaning vocalisations emanating from the depths of the track along with a spoken element. Midway, the pace ramps up to a superb haunting repeat with the return of the scathing raw vocals, developing into a piece that is as crushing as it is haunting. The closing dropping away with its haunting voices and other eerie sounds, makes a superbly haunting and dramatic final statement.
Tidloes Naadesloes is one of those albums I will be revisiting time and time again. It is such an enduring listen.
Nattverd – Tidloes Naadesloes is released on 21 March 2025 via Soulseller Records and is available to order from here. For Bandcamp, visit here.
