Hekseblad – Kaer Morhen

After a considerable amount of demo’s and EP’s that were released in the last couple of years, the American duo that together form Hekseblad thought it was about time to come up with their debut full-length album. Something that they must have been forging over the majority of 2023, a year that only saw the release of a very limited promo tape – which I was never able to hear, something that definitely paid off on ‘Kaer Morhen’.

Starting with the cover art, I am quite sure that many of you will have the same sort of first impression that I had when I first saw it. This breathes a certain Kristian “Necrolord” Wåhlin atmosphere at brings you back to Emperor’s ‘In The Nightside Eclipse’ or the classic Dissection, Dark Funeral and Sacramentum albums or maybe Ninkharsag’s latest offering (although not decorated by Wåhlin). For sure that was fully intentional as the music is not miles away from these genre-defining giants.

As I have been watching Hekseblad from their very start, see the reviews of their older material somewhere else on these pages, I can honestly say that this young duo has really outdone themselves on ‘Kaer Morhen’. Although especially the later recordings prior this album were already a good step up from earlier work, there was still some polishing and refining to do. Something that the band clearly succeeded in for a very large part on this album.

The cornerstones for ‘Kaer Morhen’ are definitely the more versatile parts of both the aforementioned Emperor and Dissection, yet they do tend to build more upon a basis of Folky structures instead of a thoroughly Heavy Metal-based fashion that especially the Swedes are known for. Just listen to the start of ‘The Taste Of Ash’ for instance, the influence of Dissection here is undeniable, but these more Folk inspired song structures do prevent it all from sounding too much copycatting. The versatile vocal approach is also something that puts Hekseblad a bit apart from their musical examples.

That diverse nature and the dynamics of the music, makes a slight comparison to the modern day heroes of Symphonic/Melodic Black Metal, Moonlight Sorcery, not too far-fetched. Yet, it might not be a surprise that Hekseblad has yet to further perfect their craft to be able to be measured against the likes of Moonlight Sorcery or even Ninkharsag. In comparison to some of their musical peers, ‘Kaer Morhen’ sound a little stuffy. The music would certainly benefit from a more clear and in-your-face sounding production, but overall the band is increasingly able to bring their musical capabilities to the light.

A tad long maybe, as a slower track like ‘The Fall Of The Northern Realms’ feels like a killjoy to the album’s natural flow, this debut album certainly lives up to the expectations set by the earliest recordings. In fact, they have surpassed them by a landslide. And judging from the presented new material and overall great song writing and musicianship, the end of their potential is not yet in sight.