Mylingar has released some of the most twisted and nightmarish black and death metal out there, as their initial trilogy seemed to only get denser with each effort. Their initial trilogy came in rapid succession, as the first EP dropped in 2016 and then the following two albums came out only a year apart in 2018 and 2019. Despite the rapid development it was clear each one built upon the foundation and took things to additional extremes, and it was the final piece of the trilogy Döda själar that stuck with me the most. Following that effort the band seemed to completely vanish, leaving me to wonder if they had ultimately disbanded. But here we are seven years later and Mylingar has re-emerged with Út, which takes the dissonance and noisiness of past efforts and amplifies them further. It’s the type of album that actively seeks to break down the listener by its conclusion, and while that may not be for everyone those that like their metal to continue to push towards the highest levels of extremity will find Út has real staying power.
Upon pressing play it does seem like Mylingar hasn’t deviated too significantly from their established playback, as you’re greeted with dense and ugly riffing from the get-go where the dissonance and overall tonality sounds like it’s trying to drown you in a thick sludge. But as you make your way further into Út it becomes clearer how the group has twisted and re-shaped elements of their sound, as not only is the dissonance and atmosphere somehow even more warped than before but things slow down a bit more often in ways that lets the riffs expand outwards. “Blóð” is a great early example, as it has its share of early blasting but takes some pauses around the minute forty-five mark for a mid-tempo groove where the tonality is downright filthy. Admittedly despite the sheer impact, it’s the second half where Út left the strongest impression for me as this is where things reach downright maddening levels and seem to be actively trying to harm the listener. “Jarðveginn” gives you a first taste with a slower intro that lets much noisier electronics bend and twist over the recording in ways that have a similar effect to power electronics, while “af” has a repeating cadence and dissonant lead that makes it feel like you’re descending through a burning building or watching a plane crash in slow motion. Closer “Neðan” also ups the noise level, placing ear piercing guitar work over top of the pummeling black/death metal foundation while also layering even more noisy bursts over top of them. It’s a lot to take in, and even as someone that clicked immediately with Döda själar this one took more time to fully get a feel for. But the extremity of the approach and tension created by the slower passages really set this one over the top, encouraging the listener to dive deeper each time into the sheer chaos on display.
One of the main things I noted when reviewing Döda själar was how over the top the vocals were, and they’ve only seemed to have gotten more twisted on Út. The core approach remains the same, meaning you’ll hear some extremely distorted and inhuman sounding growls tower over the layers of sound, but there are a lot of little details that make each track leave an impression on the listener. Early on this comes in the form of some raspier screams and other shifts in the pitch, particularly on “Rækta” where the slightly higher scream gets some extended airtime. But on the second half things only seem to get crazier, as “Jarðveginn” and “af” have echoed pitches that find ways to get under your skin, while “Neðan” shifts over to spoken word around the halfway point that’s still just as distorted and unsettling as the rest of the performance. I can’t think of a lot of albums where it sounds like you’re hearing a psychotic episode in real time, but this one reaches levels that come close to what I imagine this would be like. Mylingar only seems to find new ways to become more nightmarish with each effort, and each time I think they’ve hit the peak they push past it.
Compared to Döda själar I do think that Út isn’t quite as consistent, as it isn’t until the second half that it truly reaches its peak level. But the sheer amount of dissonance, power, and small details that take time to discover are still a step above what the average black/death metal band is able to write, keeping Mylingar in a tier of their own. The group has indicated this is the first of a new trilogy, so it’ll be interesting to hear just where they go from here and how their music continues to push the limits of the genres. Út is available from Amor Fati Productions.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg
