Band: Ondfødt
Album: Dimsvall
Genre: Black Metal
Country: Finland
Label: Eisenwald
Released: 16th of May 2025
Introduction
In the dense, frostbitten wilds of Finland, Ondfødt stands tall among a new generation of black metal bands wielding old fury with a refined sound. With Dimsvall, they’ve unleashed an album that is both punishing and deliberate—a testament to the kind of focused aggression that one should expect when listening to Black Metal. Drawing on their Scandinavian roots and bolstered by a modern, cold-blooded execution, Ondfødt offers a work that doesn’t just echo tradition—it sharpens it.
Dimsvall
Tracklist:
- Dimsvall
- Födärvis tid
- Tuonela
- Futuria
- Svartsyn
- Grymhejtins ansikt
- Längton efter mörkri
- Bakom blekna skuggor
- Stormin
Dimsvall opens with a quiet, rain-drenched instrumental—folk-tinged and haunting. It sets the stage not with fire, but with fog—and then the storm breaks loose. The second track is a straight-on blitz: fast, tight, and merciless. This isn’t chaos for its own sake—it’s calculated fury. Drummer Tommi Tuhkala (also known from Outlaw) anchors the album with surgical precision, his performance driving the record like a war engine. From there, the album maintains a near-relentless pace.
The third track makes it clear: this album isn’t easing up. Yet for all its intensity, Dimsvall avoids monotony. There’s enough variation in tempo and tone to keep the listener engaged, even as the overarching mood remains bleak and aggressive. Vocally, the album hits that cold, viciousness that I prefer—suited perfectly to the sound. A standout moment comes in the fourth track, where a scream erupts with such anguish it feels torn from the soul. That’s the kind of moment on an album that resonates with me the most—it hurts, and that’s precisely the point.
The title Dimsvall—Swedish for “Fog Valley”—deepens the experience. It contextualizes the cover art: a ghostly boat drifting through a mist-choked forest, bones on the banks, a sun that gives no warmth. It’s not just a grim aesthetic—it’s a passage. A journey through myth and death, echoed in every note of the album’s sonic violence.
Conclusion
Dimsvall doesn’t reinvent black metal—and it doesn’t need to. Ondfødt understands that evolution can come through refinement and intensity, not reinvention. This album is cold, furious, and unapologetically focused. While it’s hard to say whether it will stay in rotation five years from now, what matters is that it demands attention now. Like their earlier work, Dimsvall proves that Ondfødt isn’t just participating in the Finnish scene—they’re helping define its current peak.
BMZ Score: 8,5 out of 10
Support the artist here: https://ondfodtofficial.bandcamp.com/album/dimsvall
Your thoughts on Dimsvall by Ondfødt
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