Bornholm
Inexorable Defiance

They are described as a more mature Dimmu Borgir which would place them in the pensioner’s category as Dimmu Borgir feels like one of the most mature melodic black metal acts out there. This band called Bornholm could be named from a danish island just south of the southern tip of Sweden which in history long passed saw a group of langobards (or lombards) from there journey to Carpathia and join some hungarian pagans. They could also be named from the Bornholm disease which is caused by the Coxsackie B-virus and causes severe stomach cramps and is also known as the devil’s or the phantom’s grip and is generally a non-lethal condition. The virus itself is said to be biggest cause for unexpected sudden death, but what about the band Bornholm then? They are hungarian and all the hungarian bands I have heard prior to this one are either bad or totally worthless and I cannot really come to think of a single good hungarian band when I attempt to think of one, maybe there is one I forget but I can’t think of one. So, can the hungarian musical honours be somewhat redeemed by Bornholm.

Well, black metal is what we have here, think of the bigger and more pompous norwegian counterparts and you will have a slight idea about what to expect from this album. Perhaps not the most inventive or unique of melodic black metal I have ever heard but it is well performed built from grande arrangements and plentiful use of keyboards with the guitars taking a less prominent position and with furious, frantic drumming. Quite aggressive and heavy yet controlled, the singer is growling in a fairly typical manner and does some clean stuff and spoken words where you can clearly hear that english is not his first language. The lyrical themes are a bit silly of storytelling from pages of history and stuff like that, pagan themes which generally is quite ridiculous if I am honest. But in the case of this band you cannot really make out what he is singing anyway so it is not something that bothers anyway as the lyrics becomes very secondary to the musical journey. It is an album with an epic touch devoid of instantly rewarding hit-type songs and more focused on an epic feel rather than a song based one and it is an epic that lasts just shy of fifty minutes.

It is a very good album this one, the arrangements creates a fascinating and great atmosphere through the entire album. It is an album that works as a whole rather than a collection of songs where some are hits and some not, it is not one for those buying songs from pietunes and all of those, it is a unit this album and the songs stands more as chapters of a story rather than standalone tracks and because of that they all go in a rather similar style which as I was already alluding to something like they are telling a story rather than performing a collection of songs. It is grande, exciting, pompous and really good and one to enjoy especially for those of you who are really into this kind of melodic black metal. Then of course it is also a showcase that all black metal from Hungary does not make you vomit, there is some that is really good.

A bit of a surprise with a good hungarian band, this third album by Bornholm is a good one to take a close look at since it is a great showcasing of how to make good melodic black metal. Sure it may not be the most unique album ever but it is still great, have a look at it.

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