Vorder Announce New Album False Haven May 26; “Introspective” Video Posted
If you recognize the trees at the start of the video below from the woods of Dalarna, Sweden, kudos. The post-metallic outfit Vorder — who threaten extremity even when they don’t actually push that far — count Andreas Baier, also of Besvärjelsen, Afgrund, Oak, etc., as guitarist/vocalist, so maybe you’ve seen those trees in some of the videos Besvärjelsen did for their last album, 2022’s Atlas (review here), or even the ‘Live From the Shadows’ session video (premiered here) that V recorded in suitable garb astride a hilltop in what looks like the same region where the new clip “Introspective” takes place.
And I guess that’s burying the lede a bit, so let’s dive into the fact that V have become Vorder. They’ve got Daniel Liljekvist (also Katatonia, In Mourning, Ambassadors of the Sun) on drums, Marcus Mackä Lindqvist (Blodskam, Lýsis), and Baier‘s fellow founding member Jonas Gryth on guitar, and that’s the same lineup that put out 2019’s Led Into Exile (review here), but with the single-letter name making them almost impossible to find in the digital sphere let alone in the actual world, perhaps they found that willful obscurity has its ups and downs. Can’t blame them, and even better, I can’t think of another band called Vorder, whether you pronounce it ‘vee-order’ or ‘vor-DER’ or ‘VOR-der,’ etc.
Suicide Records will have False Haven, Vorder‘s first LP under the new name, out on May 26. You’ll hear post-metal, and some of the ambience and certainly the visuals in the “Introspective” clip derive from black metal, but the primary aesthetic here is dark, and it’s the dark that draws the different sides of their sound together. It’ll make sense when you listen.
From the PR wire:
Vorder – Swedish Sludgy Doom Collective Ft Members of Katatonia, In Mourning and Besvärjelsen Announce New Album “False Haven”
Share Music Video For Opening Song “Introspective”
Swedish sludgy doom metal group Vorder, formerly known as V and comprised of current and former members of Katatonia, In Mourning, Besvärjelsen and Afgrund will release their third album titled “False Haven” on May 26th via Suicide Records.
The follow-up to their previous effort “Led Into Exile” sees the Swedes further refining their sludgy and doomy post-metal sound, contrasting a dark and bleak atmosphere with glaring, beautiful melodies. There’s a clear dichotomy of light and dark to be found throughout “False Haven,” where heavily dense riffs are constantly interlaced with captivating and beautiful melodies. Vorder experiment with different styles, influences and dynamics throughout these six new songs that not only sound intoxicatingly unique but also demonstrate a thoughtful and impressive cohesion. Tracks such as opener “Introspective” or “Come Undone” are driven by crushing and slow riffs in the vein of post-metal acts like Neurosis or Isis, but are magnificently enhanced by alluring and continuous melodies that brings to mind the darker side of Alice In Chains. Pre-orders are now available at this location: https://suiciderecordsswe.bandcamp.com/album/false-haven
Meanwhile, the band have just shared a music video for leading single and opening song “Introspective”.
The band V has been around since the last century in its current state, although the line-up has changed to a previous installation of the band with Jesper (Perplex, Suffocate for fucks sake etc) leaving the drums to Daniel Liljekvist (Katatonia, Disrupted etc) and also Jonas Kindlund being replaced by Marcus Mackä Lindqvist on bass (Burn the Plague, Maggot Infested Ventriculus).
In the mid 90’s the personnel of V were all heavily involved with the underground hardcore scene of Sweden. A mix of death, thrash, punk and hardcore was facilitating a sound that later was to become the heaviness of V.
Andreas and Jonas G formed the hardcore outfit Amend in 1994, which is the starting point for what was later to become V after its earlier incarnation Clean Shade of Dirty which featured Per Sodomizer Eriksson on guitar (Bloodbath, Katatonia).
After the “Patternbreaker” EP that was recorded in studio Ear 2006, V was on a hiatus for ten years but emerged for another round with the full-length recording “Pathogenisis” in 2016 and the follow up “Led into Exile” in 2018.
The sound has moved towards even more heaviness and depth, laced with the ever-present cynicism of a world crumbling to its knees.
What started conceptually over 20 years ago as a straight path towards a better life with a socio-political agenda has during the years evolved into a realm of survivalism in an ever-increasing nihilistic environment.
V stands for many things, one of them being rebirth into a postmodern, apocalyptic world. The sound is being sculpted out of their misanthropic souls and the harsh weather of the north. Not only with heavy guitars, screaming vocals and pounding drums of doom but also with ethereal, cold and ambient landscapes surrounding the sonic mass being produced by V.
After playing a bunch of shows before the pandemic, including one on a mountaintop with generators etc (available on youtube) V decided to start recording of their third full length album. Due to the pandemic, things dragged out but now in 2023 it is done and about to be unleashed. To celebrate this, V has upgraded to: V order, the order of V which is written as: Vorder.
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