This was another “mystery” selection from the Debemur Morti Productions sale.  Arckanum traffic pretty solidly in 90s second wave black metal, although one of the interesting things about third full length Kampen is are the clear nods to thrash and early heavy metal.  Sole member Shamaatae has a firm grasp of the music he wats to make and the message he wants to send, and despite the language barrier the song really come across as a great example of the genre in its early form.

There was more than a little humor when I originally opened the Debemur Morti box and all the CDs were black or variations of black.  And while that was also certainly the case for Kampen, it at least came in a hardbound book cover, with eight pages recreating the original cover and beautiful (if completely indecipherable) lyrics.  The songs are interspersed with the sounds of the forest, evoking pagan mysticism and satanic spirituality that was par for the course but still effective when coupled with strong enough tracks.  And the low fidelity fury of tracks like “Pa Gruvstiigher Vandrum” and the burnt black and roll of “Trulfylket, Raþz Ok” are epic and raw and exactly what I want when I’m looking for this kind of music.

Not sure if I need any more Arckanum in my life besides Kampen but it more than does the job.  Surprisingly good and worth standing next to some of the more popular classics in the field.