Svärd started out with Tim Nedergård and Björn Pettersson , the guitarists from Swedish progressive death doomers In Mourning. On bass, they called upon their former bassist, Pierre Stam and on drums none other than their old friend from Ahab, Cornelius Althammer.

Remarkably enough, both bands share a fascination with the oceans which is deeply reflected in the albums of either. Their new band’s first EP together, ‘The Rift’ , however, is definitely sailing different waters than the seas of nautical doom.

After the ominous jungle sounds of the intro ‘A Rift in the Green’ cracks open the sky with a raspy howl and a stoned out groove. ‘Palaeocine Flames’ is even more fired up, if you pardon the pun. It burns through its rowdy riffing like a Crowbar on speed. ‘The Burning Asylum’ takes a mind-bending twist halfway in, until the expedition finally reaches ‘The Portal’.

Being the longest track here, it doesn’t burn through all its fuel as quickly. It starts comfortably numb in a quite Pink Floydesque way until the riffs and drums start hammering down and the song picks up speed again as it gets sucked into a a trans-dimensional vortex in the company of Oranssi Pazuzu. If his little EP is but a teaser of what is to come on a future full length, then we can expect wondrous, out of this world works from this out of collaboration.

Release Date: July 3rd, 2020
Label: Argonauta Records
Tracklist:

1. Hallowed Grounds
2. A Rift in the Green
3. Palaeocene Flames
4. The Burning Asylum
5. The Portal