Review ILLT ‘Urhat’

Illt hails from Norway (not to mix up with the band from Russia) and is the brainchild of composer and guitarist Roy Westad who started as a guitarist. Westad is well-known in Norway since he became a film composer that was involved in many films and TV projects. The highlight was certainly the winning of the Norwegian Emmy for Best Original Score in 2014.

Westad describes himself as a person that is „quickly bored,” and that “hate rules and boundaries”. This, combined with a strong beating metal heart was the initiator for the guitarist to start Illt. ‘Urhat’ is the outcome of his metal undertaking, and it is a furious one.

‘Urhat’ combines a lot of influences, from doom to blackened death metal and everything in-between. The album is a fierce metal release that isn’t shy of a good melody either. ‘Every Tree a Gallow’ is a good representative. We are looking at a song that is racing fast and an energy blast. Hellish vocals and an uncompromising tempo are the main pillars of this tune that also includes a rather melodic lead in the bottom half of the song.

Mentioning vocals and leads, Westad didn’t do the album entirely on his own. The guitarist could convince some well-known names in metal to join him on this blackened ride. Björn Strid shows what he can do with his vocals while drummer Dirk Verbeuren supplies the devilish drums beat. Both are masters of their craft and the same goes for Karl Sanders and Mr. Damage, both taking over the lead guitar on ‘Urhat’.

‘Urhat’ is brutal and evil in its expression. This longplayer isn’t built on any compromise. Instead, fans of extreme metal get a massive sonic blast when dropping the needle to start the longplayer. Fasten the seatbelt and press ‘Start’.