REVIEW: Övervåld - Vigarv

The Swedish death metal fury Övervåld has returned with a new aggressive EP Vigarv, to remind us that they indeed are still ready to fight for their rightful spots on the scene. Consisting of three members – Rebecca Holms as the vocalist, Joachim Lyngfelt of Crawls on guitar and an ex-member of the Swedish black metal devils Sethorial on drums, Peter Engström, they are playing around with the raw sounds of instruments in death and black metal, creating furious melodies with lots of tension, that do not let anyone predict their next note.

Vigarv, which the band self-released, is the second EP of the three-person project and shows off Lyngfelt’s masterful skills with the guitars. It is built on four different tracks, with each one of them being written and sung in Swedish language, uplifting the authenticity of their music and lyrics.

The opening track 'Förruttnelse' kicks things off things aggressively, as we delve immediately into the action. Being pulled into a chaotic foray filled with drums and guitars, swiftly accompanied by the gut-wrenching vocals, there is no time to get fully prepared for the deadly riffs the band has in store. Right before we are able to process everything that's going on in the track, we are thrown right into the next one called 'Lögnarnas Tempel', which carries over the furious sounds of its predecessor. This second track proudly reminds us that death metal is indeed etched into the band’s roots, but that they do draw heavily from black metal as well.

The third track is the title track 'Vigarv', which gives Engström more room to show off his talent, as the whole track is based around the sound of his drums. Having the amazing Lyngfelt to follow along with him, the song is even heavier than the previous tracks and barley gives the listener room to breathe. As the EP continues into the final track on the release, you can take a brief second to marvel at the brutality of Swedish death metal. The final track, as with the tracks before, is fully loaded with Holms’s terrifying vocals, Lyngfelt’s genius riffs and Engström’s marvellous drum work, closing off the short, yet memorable EP with a fairly good mix of sounds.

Apart from being very chaotic most of the time and not giving the listeners space to take the music fully in, which is the nature of such releases, the EP delivered stunning plethora of guitar riffs and raw vocals. Being the second release of the band so far, there definitely is a room for improvement or additions such as bridges or transitions, but overall, Vigarv is a pleasant listen-through that is worthy of the attention.

 Score: 7/10

Vigarv was released on April 18th 2025.

Words: Katerina Stepanikova

Photos: Övervåld