VITTRA: Swedish Melodic Death/Thrash Unit To Release Blasphemy Blues Full-Length November 11th; New Video Now Playing At No Clean Singing + Preorders Available

September 2, 2022 Infrared Magazine News, Press Releases Comments Off

Photo by Glen Mountford

“What youâre about to see is a beautifully filmed and edited video that matches the frantic and fluid interpretive dance performance of a pair of lithe ladies with the hard-charging musical performance of the Swedish band VITTRA, all of it interspersed with brief slo-mo frames that help make the experience even more interesting. Everyone gets a chance to shine, and shine they do…” — No Clean Singing

Swedish melodic blackened death/thrash unit VITTRA will unleash their debut full-length, Blasphemy Blues, on November 11th^,today unveiling the recordâs artwork, track listing, and first video/single.

Originally called Vildvittra, based on the characters created by Astrid Lindgren as part of Ronja RÃ¶vardotter [Swedish for Ronia, The Robber’s Daughter, a children’s fantasy book first published in 1981], their name later evolved into VITTRA, inspired by the mythical creatures appearing in Swedish folk stories. And while Swedish folk is a recurring theme weaving in and out of their music, the band is firmly rooted in melodic death and thrash metal in the veins of Dissection, early In Flames, Megadeth, and At The Gates.

Founded in 2017 by vocalist David DÃ¶ragrip and guitarist Johan Murmester, the lineup was complete in 2018 with drummer Alex Smith and bassist Gustav Svensson. Since 2021, VITTRA is also joined by Lars Elofsson on lead guitar both on stage and in the studio.

In 2021, VITTRA released their debut EP Wardens, recorded at SolnaSound Production, Sweden, with the support of Simon Johansson (Soilwork, Wolf). Championed Metal Temple of the release brief but potent offering, âthis fifteen minute, four-track long debut EP is absolute in its ability to take the listener on a blistering ride of carnage and mayhem. They are heavier than your average melodic death band, tighter and more forward thinking than most thrash bands and have a keener sense of melody and style than a lot of black metal. The Razorâs Edge concurred, âThe band sound incredibly accomplished with their debut release and have four songs written and performed to an extremely high standard.â Added Rock âNâ Load in a 9/10 rating ,âTo say that this is a debut seems ridiculous when you hear how good this EP is.â

In October 2021, only a few months later, VITTRA entered SolnaSound again, this time supported by both Simon and Mike Wead (King Diamond, Mercyful Fate), and in April 2022 Blasphemy Blues was finalized. Lawrence Mackrory (Bloodbath, Lik, Firespawn) handled the mixing and mastering. Hjules created the cover artwork.

Notes the band of their first single, âMusically, âSatmaraâshowcases one of the VITTRA trademarks, being the combination of death/thrash with strong songwriting and catchy hooks. In the veins of Megadeth meets â80s Ozzy, it comes with a heavy metal-ish twist to it, having that âchuggingâ on the A-string, but surprises with an overall upbeat pop feel. This inspired the idea of having a dance performance in the video, replacing the same-old guitar solo closeups with an explosive interpretation of movements, celebrating what connects humankind on the most primeval level: âA shared desire / A crime so vile angels wept apocalyptic fire â¦ Do you feel my pounding heart?ââ

Adds No Clean Singing, âAn exotic acoustic melody dances at the outset, but soon enough âSatmaraâ picks up that melody and races with it, propelled by darting and skittering fretwork, neck-cracking drums, and scorching blackened howls. The feeling is wild and glorious, and the music blazes in the chorus. At just the right time, the band give your pulse an extra kick with a compulsive chugging and jolting sequence, and quickly follow that with a fleet-fingered but mesmerizing solo (another solo arrives to bring the song to a scintillating close)â¦â