REVIEW: Vittra - Intense Indifference

Hailing from the land of metal and cold winters, VITTRA embodies the spirit of Swedish metal, while being open to a multitude of forms of music. With a name inspired by their national folk tales, the band is not only writing about those very tales, but also explores the emotional side of humans, oftentimes connecting the two together.

Following the band’s debut album, Intense Indifference is centred around one’s own emotional journey. Ranging from clear song structures to more experimental approaches, the ten songs are not exactly following a specific set of rules. With each of them being shorter than four minutes, the songs are energetic and full of interesting riffs, making the listen-through feel dynamic, as the songs do not feel too long or overwhelming.

Right off the bat, the first two songs MOFO and Reign Supreme are set to catch the listener’s attention. Both offer up exciting melodic thrashing, highlighting MEANOS’ guitar abilities, GUSTAV SVENSSON’s bass and ALEX SMITH’s drumming skills. The songs are an amazing showcase of the band’s more traditional approach to music, and although the elements are not that innovative, VITTRA still uses its own approach to things even when staying true to the roots. Apart from these two songs, most of them are leaning more towards the melodic and thrash metal side of things, and although the songs always offer something new, the core of the melodies oftentimes stays very similar.

On the other hand, Transylvanian Buffet goes all in with its unique vocals and funky riffs. Vocally, DAVID DÖRAGRIP’s technique is similar to the style of COREY TAYLOR from SLIPKNOT, but wrapped into VITTRA's big drums and energetic melody. Right in the middle of the song, the band brings in a keyboard and surf-rock elements, which are still supported by the raspy vocals to create an exciting blend of sounds.

Another fascinating song is Soul Searcher, which immediately succeeds the previous track. Coming in with metal riffs and fry vocals, the song does not seem to be so different from the rest at first, only to bring in two elaborate solos - one funky, and one sounding exactly like elevator music, that then transitions straight into the heaviest part of the album. The two songs are very different from each other, but are both exciting to listen to as they showcase the band’s ability to experiment with different sounds and incorporate them into their established music, especially when it comes to melodies that are less heavy than their signature sound.

Intense Indifference is a solid album that mostly focuses on thrash metal, although the few songs that experiment with this are very exciting and showcase the band’s ability to incorporate different music styles together to create unusual soundscapes. As VITTRA’s second full-length release, the album’s quality is a great marker for them, and is bound to excite old and new fans alike for any upcoming releases.

Score: 7/10

Intense Indifference will be released on September 19th 2025.

Words: Katerina Stepanikova

Photos: Vittra