Helvetestromb - Apocalyptic Fires
Stockholm primitive thrashy black metal trio Helvetestromb released their third album, Apocalyptic Fires, on 21 December 2024 via Masters Of Kaos Productions on CD.
Helvetestromb started on a drinking binge—three inebriated friends texted a fourth, and just like that, the foundation for the band was laid. Their ambition was to forge a wrathful coalescence of black metal, crust, hardcore, thrash, and good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll. Over time, the crust punk influence waned, giving way to a speed- and thrash-fueled first-wave black metal core, enriched by the profound atmospheres of Swedish and Norwegian second-wave black metal.
Initially operating as Skoll, they released two demos and an EP, with another recorded but shelved for a couple of years. In late 2014, they were reduced to a trio before recording their first EP, Helvetestromb. From 2010 to 2016, they carried the name Skoll until discovering that another band had already claimed it. The revelation came during a trip to a picturesque village outside Parma, Italy, where they were recording their first full-length, Demonic Excrements Cursed with Life. This prompted them to adopt the name Helvetestromb—Swedish for “hellstorm”—a moniker they had already used for their debut EP, originally released in 2014 and reissued in 2021.
Under the Helvetestromb banner, the Swedish three-piece released two full-length albums along with a few mini releases before embarking on their third album, Apocalyptic Fires, recorded between live shows in Gothenburg, Norrköping, and Stockholm throughout 2022 and well into 2023. The eleven-track album channels darkness through simplicity, interspersed with schizophrenic and chaotic passages. While much of the album captures raw, unhinged energy, akin to their previous work, Assault from the Hell, it also features tracks deeply rooted in the somber, tenebrous glory of black metal.
From grandiose depictions of divine obliteration to deeply personal reflections of torment, Apocalyptic Fires wields an unrelenting force of blackened intensity, with tracks touching on themes like ritual sacrifice in ancient Mayan culture, war-torn landscapes, and metaphysical descent. The track “Slaves of Tjernobylon” expands the band’s ongoing lore— first introduced in the second album’s closing track, “Abyssal Terminator”—portraying a post-apocalyptic world where the remnants of humanity struggle against mutated horrors. Others take a more sardonic turn, such as the grotesque vision of a hulking Satan rampaging through the ruins of Christendom.
Helvetestromb is set to play at Stockholm Extreme Sounds on 01 March 2025, alongside headliners Bloodbath and Benediction.
