From Iceland — MORÐINGJARNIR – Í GÖTUNNI MINNI

Published June 30, 2006

High-velocity trashcan punk from the not-so-gritty streets of suburban Iceland, this scant half-hour of awkwardly political sound-destruction plays and feels tight and well-constructed, but subtleties of direction and vitality are rather lacking, sometimes desperately so. Nevertheless, Morðingjarnir’s debut is a fresh breath of meaningful air that rises head-and-shoulders above the pathetic indie mishmash and tiresome hardcore genre excersises practiced by their fellow scenesters, and is a perfect little album in its own right, blessed with a refreshing purity and well-captured energy, especially on the Slayer-esque frustration and fury of Drep Ykkur Öll and wanton schoolboy recklessness of Lest Það Ekki Í Bók.