Alfahanne - Det Nya Svarta album review

Blackened goth-glam-goons excel their malevolent selves

Cover art for Alfahanne - Det Nya Svarta album

You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.

It might be a bit silly to pretend that black metal has no glam rock or goth-pop in its DNA, but the way Alfahanne have established a sound that encompasses all three makes them a continually exciting proposition. Somewhere between the black’n’roll onslaught that drives a good half of these songs and the unapologetic nods to Bauhaus and The Cure that dominate the rest, Det Nya Svarta pulls off the remarkable of trick of sounding both entirely original and like an enticing sonic smorgasbord of revered underground rock and metal tropes. Opener Satans Verser nails the formula in four motoring minutes, with an insistent refrain of ‘666!’ that never threatens to undermine the sincerity behind Alfahanne’s dark façade, and a palpable sense of nailbiting tension keeping all atmospheric edges rough and jagged. In contrast, Avgrundsgravitation is gothic post-punk to the core, replete with Spaghetti Western guitars and a Monster Mash beat. Like everything else here, it wouldn’t work if the men behind it were bullshitting. But no, Det Nya Svarta is the real deal.

Dom Lawson
Writer

Dom Lawson has been writing for Metal Hammer and Prog for over 14 years and is extremely fond of heavy metal, progressive rock, coffee and snooker. He also contributes to The Guardian, Classic Rock, Bravewords and Blabbermouth and has previously written for Kerrang! magazine in the mid-2000s.