Vreid

Vreid have always been a band that stands alone -- in that tough, 'loner metal' way. Rather than do the typical cold, windy, dark metal one would expect from Norway, the band infused elements of '70s rock and shoved them into a black metal frame creating a sound many have labeled black and roll. "We have a sound we're comfortable working with," bassist Hvàll Kvåle told Noisecreep about the process it took to create the band's fourth album 'Milorg.' But for this album, the band wanted to try something new, something they've wanted to do since the band formed in 2004 from the ashes of Windir, and that was to record an album themselves.

"It's something that's been evolving, you know? I actually built our studio when we were working on the first album," Kvåle revealed. "But we had to gain experience in order to do everything ourselves. After the previous album, 'Krieg,' we were ready to do that."

However, the band did not record the drums at their studio, 1184. For the analog capturing of drums, which the band has done on every one of their albums -- which helps create the foundation for their black and roll sound -- they were put to tape at Subsonic Studio. But the rest, such as the mixing, the guitars, the vocals, were all done in a comfortable space and at the band's own pace.

"We could do everything whenever we wanted. We had good working partners on the previous Vreid albums, but when I can work in my own studio that's connected to my house, then I can work whenever I want, which is a really good thing," says Kvåle. "Even the mixing process took a month-and-a-half to two months, but it was only seven or eight days of total work. We could split it up. If I got sick and tired of songs, I could just leave for a couple of days and come back."

'Milorg', much like all of the previous recordings of Vreid, never veers from the path the band set on their first album, but it is crisper and refined – almost an entire anthem to fist pump to visuals of tank explosions, but that might be rooted in the World War II themed lyrics. "We just evolve on our same musical path," Kvåle said describing the new album as "more esoteric" than the previous album 'Krieg', which had no lyrics in English. "What I'm satisfied on an album is not each song, but the wholeness of the album. We have a good connection all through the album.

"Still a year after recording it, I'm still happy with it. I think next album we're going to do everything ourselves, including drums."

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