Flukt - Holocaust EP

Wandering in the trenches.

(Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on November 26th 2020)  

Flukt is a black metal band from Norway, who has been around since 2015 and has been releasing material at a steady pace since, culminating in last year's debut full-length Darkness Devour. But what I'll be reviewing today is the band’s very first release, the Holocaust EP. It’s 20 minutes of solemn black metal that perfectly encapsulates the horrors of battle.

Sounds of combat and chaos, followed by a steadily rising drum beat erupt into a frenzied tremolo section, and thus we’re thrust into the opening track “Frontline Brutality”. Despite that chaotic introduction though, the song quickly settles into a slow, ringing riff, which does a great job in establishing a haunting atmosphere. Throughout the track, fast tremolo riffs trade places with slow ones. The slow riffs are subdued, yet stressful, as if building anticipation for the mayhem that’s about to follow with their faster, more violent counterparts, capturing the feeling of being in the frontlines in a war stuck in a trench. 

The other highlight of this EP is the title track, “Holocaust”, which is also the longest track of the bunch clocking in at 6:55. It ebbs and flows through a massive collection of riffs, both slow and fast, in the same vein as the opening track, with a notable section being the slow section that starts at 1:59, with its ringing notes building up to a crushing slow riff, which then gives way to a vicious tremolo riff at 3:20.

While this EP only clocks at 20 minutes, there are moments that do feel a touch overlong and could stand to use some editing, or be removed altogether. On the editing end of the spectrum stands “Dødens Rike”, the second track, that only has 2 riffs, which are being played almost constantly during the song. Its only redeeming factor is the admittedly sweet acoustic segment that starts at 3:05 and breathes some life into the track. The song that could be removed altogether is the short instrumental “Tomhet”, since it contributes absolutely nothing and seems to be there for the sole purpose of getting this release closer to the 20 minute mark.

Lyrically the band deals in death and war, as one might be able to notice from the release’s general aesthetic with the gas mask wearing soldiers on the cover (it’s a good cover, really captures the essence of the music within). All of them are delivered in a rasp that fans of the genre have heard multiple times already, without that necessarily being a bad thing, as the vocals are well executed.

Production wise we have a rather typical black metal recording, which while a touch underproduced, doesn’t sound terrible, which is custom for most releases in the genre. The guitars have a cold, thin buzzing tone, the bass is low in the mix, though it can be heard on occasion. The drums on the other hand are a bit of a mixed bag, as the snare, toms and cymbals sound pretty good, but the bass drum sounds a bit muffled and is hard to hear for the most part.

Holocaust is a solid debut by a band who at the time, had a clear vision of what they wanted to create, though they could stand to refine their craft further. And refine they did, as they’ve been progressively improving since the release of this EP, with their first full length being their best release yet.

Highlights: Frontline Brutality, Holocaust

Rating: 75%