Helfró emerged from desolation. When his previous band Ophidian I went into hiatus in 2015, drummer Ragnar Sverrisson started chiseling away at his own cruel vision of black metal, late into the brutal Icelandic night. From that intense period of loneliness, Helfró carved their own way into the extreme metal landscape. Their self-titled debut was released right into the fires of the pandemic, but its chilling melodies and raw aggression slithered onto several year-end lists. Now, the hooded duo are returning with their follow-up. `Tálgröf' rips off plenty of Helfró's signature, furious tremolo riffs - "Flárád Frædi" shakes with the fury of a hailstorm. But while their new album delves deeper into addiction and intrusive thought patterns, it also expands beyond the rigid world of black metal. Helfró are still as cold and unforgiving as the winters in their home country, but `Tálgröf' is prime to light a fire beneath Icelandic metal.