Ragnarok - Psychopathology

Published March 12 2016

*=Staff's pick	Dominance & Submission* I Hate Psychopathology My Creator Infernal Majesty Heretic* Into The Abyss The Eight Of The Seven Plagues Lies Blood Where Dreams Come To Die

Genre	Black Metal	Jontho	Vocals
Tracks	11	Bolverk	Guitar
Running time	49 Min.	-	Guitar
Label	Agonia Records	DezeptiCunt	Bass
Release	March 25, 2016	Malignant	Drums
Country	Norway	-	Keyboard
Producer	Devo
Similar artists	1349, Marduk, Naglfar

Ragnarok is another one of those bands that has been around forever steadily releasing albums but never getting their big break. My previous experience with the Norwegians has been limited to the awareness of their existence. But with their eighth studio album 'Psychopathology' out soon I thought it was time to grab their music by the horns.

What strikes me first on 'Psychopathology' is the obvious origin of the band. The composition and riff style are undoubtedly Norwegian bringing acts like Taake and 1349 to mind. Behind the Norwegian facade however the listener will also find notable influences from the Swedish scene, the grinding speed of Marduk and even more prominent are the melodic passages of acts like Naglfar. At times the music also strays into the folkish territories of Winterfylleth's more epic side.

Some of the eleven tunes are quite enjoyable indeed, most notably 'Dominance & Submission' and 'Heretic' which serve the listener with a nice slab of speedy Norwegian black metal with good riff structures. In theory I ought to enjoy this a lot more than I actually do given the influences. The main problem is that listening to the album from start to finish will give a much unfocused impression. Although sticking consistently to the well-established Norwegian formula, the melodic sections, above all, are a prominent part of the overall sound but fails to flow smoothly with the rest of compositions.

The extremely soulless (in a bad sense) production just enhances this schizophrenic feeling and further fails to bring out any prominent atmosphere or brutality from these songs. I was surprised to see Devo (Marduk) had signed the production job as he is usually one of the more consistently good black metal producers.

My feeling is that this album could have been given a proper boost by either a production with a razor-sharp subtle atmosphere or an upfront brutality Tsjuder-style. The actual end result though is just bland and harmless. As an additional icing on the moldy cake the vocals of Jontho, who left his drum stool for the microphone on this album, has a nice fundamental tone but quickly becomes monotonous.

Even though there are several enjoyable riffs and melodies to be found on 'Psychopathology', the end results is a plain and divided album. The former much due to the failed production job. I have a feeling Ragnarok has taken a slightly different direction on this album compared to their previous efforts regarding the songwriting style and/or the production job. If not I guess the old fans will safely appreciate this even though I prefer my black metal more focused.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
7	4	2	3	6

Summary
5 chalices of 10 - Tengan