Here at RPM we have a love of guitar bands be it punk rock or Black Metal and everything in between. Iselder is a one-man army celebrating Welsh Black Metal. Yup Venom might have paved the way back in the early years and is still the go-to leader of the extreme metal scene but it has been through some transformations over the years since Black Metal seeped into the heavy scene via the extreme Norweigan Black Metal, pure Black Metal True Black Metal whatever you want to call this Genre, fill yer boots, be it 28 hole doc martins or a pair of goats hoofs. If you were never aware of the existence of Welsh Black Metal or that there was even a scene here in the UK for the extreme side of Metal then go check out Hellripper from Scotland or this here Iselder album. In the land of song, it is a thing and it’s getting bigger with every release.

Proving that every day is indeed a School day ‘Cynefin’ which is pronounced “ku-nev-in,” is A welsh word for “Place” ‘Haunt’ or ‘Habitat’. It all makes sense when you hit play and take in the black-and-white cover of the CD. As soon as the doomy intro of the opening track ‘The World Turns To Black’ you are immediately taken to a dark corner of the world inhabited by the lines of Dark Throne with the chiming, doomy chords that hit your ears after the musical intro has played out. Sole Member Gofid leads you on a merry dance as the song twists and turns through choppy yet familiar waters that are the more modern blackest of metals. The vocals are often so grim you could never work out what’s being put forward but, Iselder goes for a style that might be dark and low you can indeed work out what’s being sung which in my book puts them at a great advantage of reaching a wider audience and not just being a scenester and going for the bleakest darkest corner of the genre.

Previous offerings have painted quite a nationalistic portrait of Gofid and have even got him in trouble with the powers that be for his inflammatory t-shirts. Personally, I loved ‘Metel Du Gwir Cymreig’ where Gofid mixed languages but here on this new album, he’s gone to reach that wider audience with just English lyrics.

‘Ingest The Bile They Spew’ is a six-minute grinding slog of slower heaviness that twists and grinds through the verses. The thing here is that all seven songs on offer are bloody long. Not necessarily a bad thing if like ‘Dead Inside’ it shifts through those Black Metal gears like a stolen Ford GTI. The comparison to Dark Throne shouldn’t be dismissed. More down to the tone of the guitar as it pierces the speakers with that nails-down glass style. For the best example go to ‘As I Gaze Upon The Stars’ especially in the intro before it shifts speed. The track ‘Home’ leans on some monumental Tony Iommi riffage whilst ‘Moonstruck’ is an altogether faster number before the album signs off with the epic ‘End Of My Time’ with its funeral march pace in the intro it briefly builds up a head of steam then falling back into the march.

In summary, I’d say musically and as far as the song structures go Iselder has taken a step up in all-around quality it might not have that one killer song that will enable a much wider audience but it’s stepping in that direction. As far as authentication and being a one-man band it’s an absolute triumph much like one of its main inspirations Dark Throne only has two members and Hellripper is also a one-man band. I guess the next step is for Gofid to recruit a band and take these huge tunes out on the road and see where that takes Iselder.