Description After the dissolution of Thou Shalt Suffer, Vidar Våer recorded and released four cassette demos between 1992 and 1994:“Unknown Truths,” “Seven Harmonies of Unknown Truths,” “Ildjarn,” and “Minnesjord.” Though powerful recordings in their own right, Våer, who adopted the simple moniker “The Unknown” on those tapes, was still sculpting his sound and identity. In 1995, he established his Norse-League Productions imprint, which he used for his first two CD releases, a compilation of the demos entitled “Det Frysende Nordariket” and his self-titled debut full-length album. Like all of his recordings, “Ildjarn” was recorded entirely on a cassette 4-track and retains a crude, low-fi quality. The drums, though often mistakenly believed to be programmed, are reduced to a snapping pulse buried beneath necrotic guitars and snarling vocals. Ildjarn’s steady dispensation of scorn continues ceaselessly across the 27 tracks on this album, most of which never cross the 3-minute mark and are often cut unexpectedly mid-song. Assessed in isolation, these songs feel unchanging, almost inhuman, but the complete matrix of sounds, riffs, and tempos on this album reveals Ildjarn’s visionary genius.
