The name Svarttahrid was familiar to me. Once I saw the back of the slipcase, and the CD itself, it only confirmed that point since I had seen that picture before. The central character is a scarier version of Twisted Sister's singer, without the curls in his hair.
When I reviewed their last release I wrote that their best work had yet to come. Although not totally there, Malicious Pride is a very good step in the right direction. The songs are not too similar, with just a few generic numbers here and there, like "Eberstet" and "Scorched". This Norwegian trio did their homework and came back with good melodic Black Metal compositions. Their songwriting did mature, and an epic touch has appeared, all of which being improved by better harmonies this time around. They added variation to their paces, and beefed up the riffing department. Svarttahrid make crafty use of keyboards, never over-using them. "Death to All", is my overall favorite track for its epic tremolo picking, great crushing riffs, clean arpeggios, and varied tempos. Quite a few other songs are worth mentioning too such as: "The Coven", "Likbaal" as well as the title track.
Keep up the good work guys, but please do another photo shoot!
