We write about tons of bands every year, and the amount of them that we deem as having promise is too numerous to count. That also makes it sound like the band or artist isn’t doing great work yet, which isn’t necessarily the case. It just means there is something there that could push the band into rarified territory if they keep adding to their foundation and find a formula that truly puts them over the top.

Black metal force Hulder is one of those, a project helmed by its namesake and creator that has been on the cusp of true greatness. That level has arrived with the band’s second full-length “Verses in Oath,” an album that captures the spirits of the style’s formative years three decades ago but that burns and bleeds right now, culling current influences and the power of nature into the project as well. This 10-track, 40-minute opus is a fantastical wonder, fully alive in black metal glory and adding more frigid symphonic elements to the music that give the album an extra level of enchantment. Hulder handles vocals, guitars and synth, and her voice goes deeper here, giving a bloodier, raw feel to her expression. She’s joined by bassist Necreon and drummer CK on a record that pays off that promise we knew she had inside of her and now has fully realized on this amazing collection.

“An Elegy” opens with birds cawing and winds whipping, an intro track that pushes into “Boughs Ablaze” where we get an instant taste of the ferocity of this storm. The riffs are glorious, and Hulder’s vocals register the aforementioned deeper growl. Keys chill bones as acoustics blend into the mix, the fire slowly coming to a close. “Hearken the End” brings a mystical sheen, icy playing, and singing that freezes your flesh. Growls then smother as the playing goes dramatic, a symphonic blaze picking up energy, bringing back memories of the early 1990s. The playing then pulverizes, destroying with fiery chaos, blending into the deep night. The title track attacks with vengeance, the drumming plasters, and the vicious tempo shakes your guts violently. Then wintry hell suddenly takes over, bringing scraping howls, frosty synth, and chaotic swirls, the blistering drumming leaving behind rubble. “Lamentation” is a brief instrumental with warped, operatic singing, static spitting, and ghostly wonders chilling your bones.

“An Offering” also is an instrumental track, complete with funereal orchestration, solemn singing, and a thickening sorrow, blending into “Cast Into the Well of Remembrance” a melodic force that attacks with a bloodlust. Growls scorch as the black metal power lurks, pulling back and forth with violence, the ground quaking dangerously. Acoustics sweep in and offer relief, and a wondrous front dashes into oblivion. “Vessel of Suffering” is thunderous from the start with vicious growls pounding and drawing blood, keys glistening, and a cavernous display making you feel like you’re trapped in the heart of a mountain. Mystical fires burn as the playing rampages anew, the growls gut, and the final moments drive the last nails. “Enchanted Steel” brings molten riffs and a blast furnace of intensity, the synth enrapturing and ushering you into the murk. The keys storm as infectious playing chars, drums stomp, and a frigid jolt leaves everything dead in its tracks. Closer “Veil of Penitence” is glorious from the start, the guitars blinding with force, trudging through tornadic weather fronts. Growls engorge as the brutality batters without mercy, crushing and pressing, ending with an iron fist to the chest.

Hulder as a band is growing in leaps and bounds, and “Verses in Oath” is a record that remembers grim and frostbitten are terms that meant something because they were turned into memes. This is a wintry beast raging toward you, a record that is steeped in black metal tradition but also forges a blazing path toward the future. This is a coming-out celebration of a record, a portrait of a band that held and showed incredible power and promise and have put it all together seamlessly on their amazing second record.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/HulderUS

For more on the label, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/hulder

To buy the album, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/