Review contributed by Seth Berg.

The only available demo from their brief term in black metal, Myrkskog managed to make a simple homage to In the Nightside Eclipse era Emperor whilst infusing it with their own distinct, though simple, mode of expression.

Unlike its primary influence, Apocalyptic Psychotica does not range far and wide across the cosmos, instead they opt to maintain power by routing all their focus unidirectionally, resulting in songs with only two or three distinct riffs which go through slight sinuous mutations to build tension punctuated by the occasional burst of frantic, phobic intensity. The second positions itself as a stoic, militaristic counterpoint to the former’s emotionally evocative outbursts, allowing it to breathe and build imaginative perspective, rather than become boring and irrelevant through constant intensity.

A short, but poignant demo, Apocalyptic Psychotica manages to maintain dramatic tension and allow a sense of wonder and vastness to seep through with minimal variation in technique. However, it’s abrupt beginning and end left me with the sense that this was just a small snippet taken from a more complete composition.

Tags: 1998, apocalyptic psychotica, Black Metal, demo, emperor, myrkskog, norway, Norwegian Black Metal, review