The Pacific Northwest seems to be awash with cool and exciting underground acts. One-woman black metal outfit Hulder is no exception to this! Hulder brings a classically rich approach to raw black metal, but one that doesn’t lack strong production and depth. The black metal community is notoriously fickle with who they do and do not accept as trve cvlt, but have openly embraced Hulder for good reason!
The Eternal Fanfare opens with an ethereal composition, with fire crackles in the background (what is she burning I wonder…), before breaking free on “Burden Of Flesh And Bone” which keeps some of the ethereal elements, but used in a way that is deeply unsettling. “Sylvan Awakening” has the right amount of atmosphere to be emotionally evocative rather than just brutal. The title track is as engaging as it is disturbing. Album closer “A Perilous Journey” is as mournful and frosty as any black metal from the Scandinavian motherland.
The thing that really stands out to me about Mulder is her attention to detail and her quality production. Too often bands that could be great get caught up in the race to be the most low-fi, the most cvlt, rather than embracing what modernity can bring to the genre. Hulder balances modernity with classic structure and composition for something that freezes the soul.
Released on July 1st via 20 Buck Spin, you can get your copy of The Eternal Fanfare HERE.
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