Hulder – Verbolgen
Hulder – Verbolgen
Season of Mist
Release Date: 07/08/2026
Review by: Rory Bentley
9/10
It’s a brave artist that releases a Black Metal album in a heatwave and an even more foolhardy reviewer that plucks it out of the inbox. But here we are- your boy who doesn’t usually fuck with Black Metal is here and ready to give you the lowdown on the new album by rising American Black Metal Hulder. So impressed by their previous release was I that I swiped this new release from under the noses of my many necro peers on the website.
I’m delighted to say that “Verbolgen” is a superb follow-up and one that I’ve been happy to pause the breezy summer punk anthems for. The 90s Satyricon vibes that drew me into them are still all over this record, from the Folky elements to the epic, yet earthy arrangements. I don’t go to Black Metal for fist-swinging brutality- I go to be pulled into another world and swept up into a different sonic plain, and Hulder deliver on this.
Kicking the album off with the sound of ravens and folky guitars that sound like they’re being plucked by a downtrodden peasant who’s made their own instrument out of twigs is the perfect intro on ‘Drie Raven’. From there, ‘The Crowning’ is pure “Nemesis Divina” worship, with the titular Hulder releasing sandpaper-dry growls between dramatically delivered spoken word sections that feel like war is on its way.
‘Thy Blinding Oath’ lives up to its esoteric title with a lumbering, distorted Folk melody underpinned by chanting backing vocals and subtle synths that create a feeling that the song is from an ancient time. Meanwhile ‘…And We Shall Sing’ puts the pedal to the metal and feels savage and feral with all the blastbeats that you could wish for if you’re a kvlt kid.
Impressively, the release is self-produced and strikes the perfect balance to deliver these songs in a way that emphasises every facet of Hulder’s sound. It is clear and pristine when it needs to be for the more towering, cinematic moments without going full Dimmu Borgir (great band, but that kind of polish won’t work here) and raw and ragged for the meaner moments like the wall of distortion on ‘In Blood and in Earth’.
It is also beautifully sequenced, with interludes and stripped-down acoustic intros forming the perfect bridge between the bluster so those full-tilt moments aren’t robbed of their impact by overfamiliarity. They even get away with a fade-out on ‘The Glow of Dawn’, which is usually the last refuge of a coward, but really works as an elegant way to stick the landing.
Hulder are an excellent band that has fully earned the ripples they are making in the extreme Metal landscape, and “Verbolgen” is their most accomplished work yet. When the nights start getting darker, and the icy winds start to hit in a few months I can see this being cemented on my regular rotation.
TRACKLISTING:
- Drie Raven (Intro)
- The Crowning
- Thy Blinding Oath
- Verbolgen
- …And We Shall Sing
- In Blood and in Earth
- Den Nacht Zijn Lied
- View From Nemeton
- The Glow of Dawn
LINKS:
https://hulder-official.com
https://www.instagram.com/hulder_official?igsh=MWI2MzZuYWVxd2hnaA==
https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/hulder/1476065947
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Rory Bentley and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities
