Moderate Rock

Depending on how you look at it, Golden Core’s debut album was adorned with one of the best or worst album covers of all time. Fans of stock goat photography will be disappointed but sophomore effort ‘Fimbultýr’ features more fitting, grown-up artwork, and it reflects a startling newfound sonic maturity within. You can hear it in the first minute of the title track- where this duo previously relied on imitation and stoner rock cliché, here there is satisfying fuzz and tons of original ominous energy. Some of the longer tracks drag and black metal burst, ‘Villist Vaettir’, should be three times longer but while consistency wavers, there are riffs here that could soundtrack a war, the percussion is poised and powerful throughout, and Kurt Ballou’s presence as a producer is both a sign of the material’s quality and a prominent seal of approval. Golden Core have taken a great leap forward then, a notable achievement even without considering that both members of the band are still in their teens. The future is bright, and very black indeed.