Vildhjarta‘s newest effort is a carefully crafted musical miasma that quickly and tragically evaporates from memory.
Release date: May 30, 2025 | Century Media Records | Facebook | Bandcamp
Vildhjarta is very much a name that speaks for itself. This Swedish group of musical savants spearheaded the movement of progressive metal and djent (referred to as THALL) beyond what was already achieved by the legendary Meshuggah towards something that couldn’t have been envisioned by anyone else on this Earth. They’ve inspired a plethora of bands who try to emulate their sound, mostly with little success (MIRAR being the sole exception). After having been dormant for what felt like an eternity, we don’t have to rely on these copycat bands as we finally get to hear the sweet, sweet tunes straight from the horse’s mouth.
I remember a time when we lived purely off ambient teasers that were a minute or so long, which were only posted as a means to indicate there was a heartbeat after all, even if faint. The fiendish thirst during those times was unmatched. Years would continue to go by from one teaser to the next, and eventually måsstaden under vatten was physically in our hands. At that point, especially with it unofficially being a double album (to make up for lost time, the way I see it), it was highly uncertain if Vildhjarta would disappear for another decade or continue to consistently release tunes. The last four years have felt like multiple lifetimes (for various reasons…), which feels surreal to acknowledge that it has already been four years since then as now we’re about to get another full album from them.
Cue + där skogen sjunger under evighetens granar +; the ‘comeback’ album to the comeback album. What immediately strikes the eye is the general aesthetic from a visual standpoint. Absolutely everything about the visuals, including the artwork and album/song titles (once translated; beautiful in various languages, including its native tongue), and even the accompanying merch, is all stunning (seriously, a custom BATH ROBE?!?). The artistic theme itself is a major departure from what they’ve stylistically adopted beforehand, thus hinting that we’d be entering a new era of Vildhjarta. The excitement could not be contained.
All that being said, after having spent the past two months with the album on near constant repeat, I am left conflicted. On one hand, more Vildhjarta is always welcome and that is exactly what we are given here. Nothing less and nothing more. It is characteristically them through and through and not a soul can dispute that. On the other hand, the overall song compositions are nowhere near as captivating and engaging as on their earlier works, notably Måsstaden. No matter how often I listen through the newest release, there are very few moments, if any, that actually leave a lasting impression on me.
You’ve likely heard the term ‘riff salad’ tossed (hehe) around a lot in regards to most progressive metal nowadays, and it is a very real thing indeed; Vildhjarta is one such band, but they made it work in a way that it wasn’t as exhausting and vapid as their counterparts. With + där skogen sjunger under evighetens granar +, you get an overdressed-with-way-too-much-sauce riff salad. Admittedly, this is something that Vildhjarta always sought to execute from the very beginning, yet they waltzed along the absurdly fine line between extreme complexity and coherence. On + album title, the +, the scale has been tipped, and now the cohesiveness they once had has lost its place. What we’re left with is a flamboyant showcase of technical extremity instead of a compositionally fluid musical journey with said instrumental proficiencies tightly woven in.
In hindsight, the back half of MUV partially suffered from this as well (with the exception of “paaradiso” especially) as I can only recall a handful of specific moments, no matter how many countless times I’ve spun the album; the rose-tinted glasses that came with the vinyl caused me to overlook that at first, I’ll admit. On + där skogen sjunger under evighetens granar +, it is so glaringly obvious, as at the end of my very first runthrough of the album, I thought to myself ‘that’s it?!?!’; not in regard to the runtime or quantity of songs but rather the quality of the songs. I can count on one hand the moments that are worth remembering.
Of the (few) special moments that do exist here, the first that comes to mind is the outro to “+ sargasso +”, where the main riff returns at least six times heavier than heard at the beginning. Their sound already is the equivalent of being perpetually crushed beneath a massive hydraulic press, but once the outro to this track hits, the drop is so catastrophic that you may as well be caught between two hydraulic presses pushing against one another. Additionally, “+ två vackra svanar +” and “+ stjärnblödning +” have a gorgeously sinister balance between luscious atmospheric elements caught betwixt apocalyptic, angular riffs. On the latter track, the dissonant guitar leads with the swelling vibratos instill another layer of musical malevolence.
While “+ röda läppar, söta äpplen +” started off with your typical Vildhjarta fanfare, I was caught off guard halfway through as there was this sudden shift into this electrifying, punk-y musical sequence that I’ve never heard from the band before. It is such a shame that it only lasted 30 seconds, as this type of experimentation with new rhythms and styles seamlessly incorporated into their hallmark sound is exactly what I want from them. Finally, we cannot forget the flamenco-inspired outro to “+ den spanska känslan +”. This track is bittersweet as it is easily the strongest song as a whole on the record, yet this closing track was released ten months ago. The lack of surprise in how the album would close was immensely underwhelming. If any other song were to have been released in place of “+ den spanska känslan +”, the album would’ve ended with one hell of a bang upon our first blind listen. That unfortunately didn’t happen, but I suppose that is my fault for listening to the first of three standalone singles which ended up being on this album…
If it wasn’t already obvious up until this point in the review, the newest Vildhjarta material falls short of the bar they previously set. In earlier releases, their intricate compositions were not only technically impressive but also remarkably cohesive, with standout moments woven throughout the chaos. This time around, those moments are far less frequent, buried beneath a deluge of relentless riff gymnastics that, while skillfully executed, leave much more to be desired. The album leans heavily on the band’s established formula (or lack thereof), but the novelty that once made their sound feel so groundbreaking is beginning to wear thin.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am always ecstatic to have more Vildhjarta and am grateful they’re still around doing what they do. At the end of the day, this is still a Vildhjarta release, so it is unique and masterfully executed, but only from a technical standpoint. I’m sure that for most longtime fans, that is all they could want and ask for, but not me. Now, they’re not much different than the bands that are attempting to emulate them, as the one major element that always set them apart (that being engaging songwriting) has been lost to time as they reach for the low-hanging fruit of thall fan-service. With + där skogen sjunger under evighetens granar +, we’re left with a swirling fog of frenetic riffs and textures that never form into anything tangible or meaningful. While there was once a method to the madness that tied everything together, we’re left only with madness and no underlying musical threading.
