Norwegian-based musician, Roman, hails from Russia but relocated to black metal’s homeland in the late 2000s. Since 2019, Bizarrekult has been his main vehicle of expression, resulting in an EP and two albums. Alt som finnes is his third LP, and it might underwhelm those that enjoyed 2023’s Den Tapte Krigen. This is a record of two contrasting styles: one is dull and generic, and one is more experimental.
A slow helter-skelter of twisted guitar notes acts as the foundations for a second channel of slow tremolo picking in the intro to track one, ‘Hun’. The blast beats enter exactly at sixty seconds like a pre-timed tumble dryer. To call this jarring is an understatement. The unmelodious sounds seem determined to induce vertigo in the listener. ‘Blikket Hennes’ does not ignore western music theory as much as its predecessor. An unexpected switch from blazing guitar to a lonesome bass movement reminds you that there’s more to this than noise. Roman’s screams are superior to the generic shrieks. He might even be damaging his cords for the black metal cause the way hardcore vocalists do it to prove their integrity. The problem here is the fetishisation of all things dissonant. A first-time holder of an electric guitar could produce more melody by dropping their instrument on the floor. The fact this is deliberate does not make it any less alienating, despite a brief appearance by Vicotnik (Dødheimsgard) at the end, which adds a brighter timbre to the black and grey canvass.
One listen to ‘Avmakt’ raises a question: have death metal and black metal ever been as far apart as they are here? There are no traces of rock music or traditional heavy metal in the guitar approach. Black metal is too elitist to take pleasure in entertaining the listener, but would this music enthuse anyone based on the guitar riffing or the vocals? Making the former imitate the pitch of a hair dryer at a low semitone range is not something that’ll excite anytime soon. Perhaps the interesting thing here is how you can trace some of the musical ideas back to post-punk. The post-rock sensibility of ‘Håp’ is far more interesting before the doom metal strumming takes over at 01:15. Roman shows us there’s more to his vocals than self-indulgent screaming. The man can even sing with a modicum of harmonic value. Listen how the female singer here conjures images of a woman tendering a brood of young chicks in her hand.
There’s no doubt that side B is where the gratification lies. Lina R of the excellent Predatory Void is the guest vocalist on ‘Drøm’. Musically, it’s the closest thing to a black metal song constructed around power chords, like 1349 or even Bathory. You might call it post-metal in sound and spirit, and adding dream pop melodies into this soundscape for the spoken word part is a pleasant surprise. By contrast, ‘Verdens Verste’ is a thumping palm-muted affair that had no place on side A. ‘Aversjon’ is also willing to step out of the shadow of introspection and into the glare of the moonlight. Observe the power of Ignat Pomazkov’s drum combinations. The mix in this respect is superb. Likewise, the atonality of earlier tracks is absent for most of this song.
Closing track, ‘Tomhet’, brings in Kim Song Sternkopf of Danish blackgaze unit, Møl, to expand the dimensions beyond dissonance and dissatisfaction. It works for the most part with a melodic solo and a floating sensation of rebirth in between the sizzling black metal parts. A spirited second half to this record is not enough to warrant a second listen, but it reminds us why we could say something as positive as, “Here is an artist with good reason to be optimistic about the next few years of musical output,” in our review of 2023’s Den Tapte Krigen.
Kirk Houghton
Verdict
Release Date: 20/02/2026
Record Label: Season of Mist
Standout tracks: Håp; Drøm; Verdens Verste
Suggested Further Listening: Mannveira – Vítahringur (2021), Mork – Dypet (2023), Ba’al – The Fine Line Between Heaven and Here (2025)