ZORNHEYM
Where Hatred Dwells and Darkness Reigns
Non Serviam Records
4/5
At long last, the debut album from the symphonic Swedish black/deathers is here. I waxed poetically about the band’s single “A Silent God” feeling that it was one of the most refreshing songs that I’d heard in this style, and sitting there in it’s proper home as the third track on the album, I feel that it fits the style and mood here perfectly. There’s a great deal of this that might come off similar to Dimmu Borgir, but this record doesn’t boast Satanic musings of any sort, instead preferring a concept based on a mental asylum. So for those of you who’ve gotten tired of the whole black metal = devil worship scenario might find something a bit more refreshing here. Breaking it down a little finer, I’ve noticed that of the nine tracks here, only six of them are what I would consider to be full-length heavy metal pieces, which cut even shorter the playing time of a thirty-seven minute recording. At most, Where Hatred Dwells comes in at the same length as an EP, which is not quite something you’d expect for a band of this genre, nor for a debut. Nevertheless, they went with short and terrifying as the disc seems to contain only the best songs out of those recordings. For a band who has been around since 2014 I’d sense that there probably are more songs out there, waiting to be perfected and placed on future albums – assuming this one does good, and believe me that it does. (The Grim Lord)