{"id":376586,"date":"2026-03-09T22:19:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T22:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/376586\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T22:19:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T22:19:11","slug":"vreid-the-skies-turn-black-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/376586\/","title":{"rendered":"Vreid – The Skies Turn Black Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It\u2019s been a long five years since we\u2019ve had an album from this Norwegian foursome. Which is probably a good thing, considering their last few releases haven\u2019t been their best by a long shot. Basically, since 2011\u2019s V, the band has struggled to retain their days-of-yore sound while trying to expand on it and deliver something fresh. Having left Season of Mist and returned to Indie Recordings, now is the time to drop something new and exciting\u2014especially if you\u2019ve once again enlisted the mighty Mistur<\/b>\u2019s keyboard wizard, Espen Bakketeig, to lend a hand in the finished product. One spin in and Vreid<\/b> fans will find a lot of what you\u2019ve come to expect from the band, while also exploring some surprising new directions that are sure to drop your jaw. But, is that a good or bad thing for The Skies Turn Black?<\/p>\n

As has become the norm for the band, we\u2019re blessed with some killer guest appearances by the aforementioned Espen Bakketeig and Djerv<\/b>\u2019s Agnete Kj\u00f8lsrud, a smart decision by Kampfar<\/b> on the amazing Ofidians Manifest. While Bakketeig\u2019s performance on 2021\u2019s solid Wild North West<\/a>, I felt he was underutilized when crafting his key atmospheres or lustful piano passages. Thankfully, that is not the case for The Skies Turn Black. Outside of the emotional piano interludes, you\u2019ll find plenty of powerful, spacey, and quirky key atmospheres throughout. And Kj\u00f8lsrud\u2019s contributions to the almost gothy \u201cLoving the Dead\u201d make it one of the best songs the band has ever penned. <\/p>\n

The album begins on a strong note with \u201cFrom These Woods,\u201d which is one of the longer and more epic tracks. After opening with some soothing clean and acoustic guitars, the black metal assault ensues. After passing through a dark alley of echoing clean-vocal support, the new riff change is nastier and heavier than ever. But the moment you get settled in, the song comes to a screeching halt, unloading beautiful piano, soaring guitars, and lush, clean vocals. When it concludes, you\u2019re whiplashed with a vicious attack because the fucking song still has two minutes to go. Another track that has similarities is \u201cSmile of Hate.\u201d This one has a simple but headbangable riff in the vein of Amon Amarth<\/b>, that marches along at one point and collapses into another impressive piano passage. This time, a little less ethereal and more like the piano and key work of Dimmu Borgir<\/b>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But, like all Vreid<\/b> records in the last decade, there\u2019s a point where things get real weird. Not in a negative way, like some previous material. On The Skies Turn Black, it begins with \u201cKraken.\u201d It turns out this track is part of the soundtrack to this year\u2019s Norwegian \u201cblockbuster,\u201d Kraken. But being more synth-driven than guitar-driven, it has an eerie vibe that actually would work equally well in the movie Sorcerer. It\u2019s not a standout track, but it\u2019s the perfect introduction to \u201cLoving the Dead\u201d because it uses the same elements. As mentioned, this song stands way out because Kj\u00f8lsrud dominates on vocals. This eight-minute epic takes you through so many emotions, from Kj\u00f8lsrud\u2019s vocals to the intertwined guitar work and the climactic finish. This special piece is definitely a Grier<\/b> SotY contender.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of other high moments on this record, which is hella nice to hear for a change. The track that really loses me, though, is \u201cEchoes of Life.\u201d It\u2019s not a bad song, but it\u2019s an odd duck of \u201970s progness. While it\u2019s smooth and clean, it\u2019s too old-timey to fit with the rest of the album. Thankfully, the follow-up closer \u201cThe Earth Rumbles\u201d reignites the fire before the album concludes. If \u201cEchoes of Life\u201d ended the record, I might be a bit more upset. But, I\u2019m pleased to say The Skies Turn Black is Vreid<\/b>\u2019s best album since V. Which is wild to say considering there are four full-lengths in that time. The master is nicely done, letting everyone shine when it matters\u2014especially the bass, which has always been a major staple to their sound. If the skies really are going to turn black, I\u2019m here for it. After all, that\u2019s better than the color they are these days.<\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: 3.5\/5.0
DR<\/strong>: Stream | Format Reviewed<\/strong>: Stream deez nutz
Label<\/strong>: Indie Recordings<\/a>
Websites<\/strong>: vreid.bandcamp.com<\/a> | vreid.no<\/a> | facebook.com\/vreidofficial<\/a>
Releases Worldwide<\/strong>: March 6th, 2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been a long five years since we\u2019ve had an album from this Norwegian foursome. Which is probably…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376587,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[264],"tags":[24248,12054,158274,7740,173460,173461,18,117,19,173462,17,173463,170526,337,32884,1142,1143,173464,173465],"class_list":["post-376586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-24248","tag-3-5","tag-amon-amarth","tag-black-metal","tag-dimmu-borgir","tag-djerv","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-indie-recordings","tag-ireland","tag-kampfar","tag-mar26","tag-music","tag-norwegian-metal","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-the-skies-turn-black","tag-vreid"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116201545377517981","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}