Auðn is that one band from Iceland with members that are not a part of every other band. Yeah, the island of ice and snow has a unique, small black metal scene, with passionate musicians. These gents have been active since 2010 and now are finally returning with their second album. ‘Farvegir Fyrndar is an absolute gem in the modern black metal landscape and from its artwork to sound oozes a unique flavor.
Not just within the black metal realm is Auðn a noteworthy name, even within the Icelandic scene they stand apart. Their first self-titled album came out back in 2014 and in my humble opinion, it simply stands apart from the scene at large thanks to its refinement in the sound of the Hveragerði band.
There’s something vibrant and lush in the music of Auðn. Their atmospheric music often simply relies on generating just that, the feeling of an environment full of life and with a flourishing energy to boot. At times the band can sound utterly melancholic, like on ‘Skuggar’, but the best version of the Icelanders to me is when they create such a throbbing, invigorating burst of energy and warmth. This is what you get on ‘Lífvana Jörð’. The piercing vocals of Hjalti Sveinsson have a fire in them that really hits the mark.
‘Prísund’ is another stand-out track, because it utilizes the wall of guitar, that creates the sensation of rain. Coming down like showers, on one of those miserable days when everything feels grey. At times Auðn moves in an even more and more postrock-defined direction, pushing together the elements to create an almost tapestry of sound. Then a slight tremolo shimmer emerges in the pattern and shakes it all apart again.
It’s a remarkable record, that shows how the right soil produces greatness.
Stephen Lockhart is a man of dedication and after leaving his native Ireland, he has hooked up with the Icelandic scene ever since. The man played in Sinmara but has also returned to his own project RebirthofNefast after almost 10 years. The album ‘Tabernaculum’ is an extraordinary work of art and one that has been in the making for years due to the desire of Lockhart to make something monumental.
Rebirth of Nefast has not released a full length before ‘Tabernaculum’, but a demo and a split. Lockhart has in the meantime also played in Myrkr, the epic Wormlust and Haud Mundus. There’s a reverie with which to approach a record, that took so much honing of the craftwork to make. I feel awed by it’s magnitude and force, but what a great listen it is!
Great, but not easy, because ‘The lifting of the Veil’ opens with an 11-minute bombardment, introduced with eerie tones, which surges over you like a tidal wave. As the abyss itself slowly unfolds, the warped, guttural words creep out. Whispers and soft picked notes create an even more dense atmosphere as if fumes rise up and envelop the listener. And then… you go off into the deep end with Rebirth of Nefast.
The trick is not to rely on sheer ferocity, but the suggestion of that. When this band has swallowed you whole, everything starts to sound huge and foreboding. Sure, when ‘The First Born of the Dead’ kicks of, the blast beats are heavy and hitting where it hurts, but they’re balanced, controlled and carry the atmosphere with them. The sound simply flows, like a dark horde in the night. Full of strength, but never needing to fully put it on display, the record is one of the best things I’ve heard in a while.
Closer ‘Dead the Age of Hollow Vessels’ feels ashen grey, full of vitriol and with a mild hint of melancholy. It’s all there on this album, ready to be absorbed into your bloodstream and cool your heart.
Label: Gilead Media Band: Yellow Eyes Origin: United States
In the cabin of Yellow Eyes
I don’t know every band, but sometimes names just keep hanging in that ‘need to listen to’ list. I never got around to YellowEyes, but the frequency of them being mentioned around me definitely makes me excited to get into ‘Immersion Trench Reverie’. The latest album by the New York group, two years after their last effort ‘Stick With Bloom’.
Featuring Mike Rekevics of Vanum, Sleepwalker and FellVoices, expectations rise. Other Yellow Eyes members play in various other projects too. This means that this band is a particular project with a clear sonic direction. For recording this album, the band went into a cabin in Connecticut and stuck with similar methods as on their previous album. Yellow Eyes are not an iconoclastic breaker of bonds in the black metal scene, but they definitely are pushing the genre in new directions. This new record is a testament to that.
The inspiration for this album was also drawn from a visit to Siberia. After the gentle sounds of the bells ringing out over a sleepy town, the record launches in earnest with ‘Old Alpine Pang’. The guitar sound offers an urgency, a need for movement and action. The tremolo playing style and high notes give a sound that is slightly of the beaten path for the listener. The tortured screams are a bit muddled away in the mix but stick to a more traditional expression. The band likes to put in some atmospheric interludes here and there, that convey an otherness. An almost ritualistic vibe, which expands in songs like ‘Blue as Blue’, which is a vibrant, bombastic assault.
At times you could really put this band in the post-black metal corner, thanks to its smooth flow and post rocky vibe, but every time you feel getting comfortable the fun ends. Blistering guitars and frantic blast beats hit you with an uncanny ferocity. The field recordings from Siberia in between tracks offer moments of respite, before the doom and gloom of a tune like ‘Velvet on the Horns’ launches once more into big, arching glory. Sometimes the band sounds truly estranging and off-beat. It works in making the listener feel a bit more uneasy. Fortunately, the traditional black metal assaults in torrentuous force are still just as much a part of the Yellow Eyes sound.
Yellow Eyes combines forward-thinking, almost experimental black metal with the traditional narrative. That makes them exciting and daring. The use of the field recordings adds an organic vibe to the complete image. A great piece of music for sure.
Label: Shadowplay Records (album released independently) Band: Isa Origin: Russia
It seems that Russian act Isa has now determinedly started to move away from their black metal sound on ‘Небо в солёных колодцах’, which translates as ‘The Sky in the Salty Wells’. Not only in sound, but also in artwork and track titles. From the first release onward, Isa numbered their tracks in a continuous sequence, stringing the songs on four releases together into one descriptive piece of art detailing the pastoral Russian country life.
Previous releases would feature covers with landscapes. An almost still life of rural life depicted on them. This record shifts to a new dimension, where it seems like the human aspect takes the forefront. The cover features a collage of images of people land and nature, cut and paste together in an odd manner. It feels like a logical next step in the career of this Novosibirsk band, who constantly amaze with their beautiful music.
The result is a shimmering, brooding record full of melancholy. It is as if the winter has covered all the land, all life, and passion submerged by the mercy of a white blanket over its soil. Warm tones creep by, never really taking on any sort of force. The drums sound muffled, buried in the music that flows like a warm bath. Noteworthy is the collaboration with Lesnoy Tanets on the track ‘Poplars’, where hushed vocals speak raspy words over
On ‘Blind Man’ it is as if an accordion is woven into the sound. It feels folky, but also hazy. Almost as if you’re listening to memories of the past in abandoned streets. Yet, streets where only the ghosts of a better time dwell. The gentle murmurings never feel urgent. The music progresses slowly, which feels a lot like the daydreaming on a winters day, staring out over the frosty landscape. The melancholic sound of Isa is a mellow swamp of keyboards, guitars, and drums, all melting together. As a result, the music becomes an immersive dream. Melancholic and cold, most noteworthy on ‘Singing Skyline’ with its wonderful intro, is a highlight.
Isa has made a remarkable new album and found a direction to explore musically. I’m keen to hear what new works may come in the future, but this one is a record to keep coming back to.
Books I read recently by Coetzee, Murakami, Becket and Ikäheimonen on black metal, barbarians, women, and men that are waiting.
J.A. Coetzee – Waiting For The Barbarians
source: goodreads.com
I started this book on a whim and rather soon I was captivated by it. It’s not a pretty book, in fact most of it is rather grim and the main character only really finds any shine at the end or in his suffering. Before that, you merely sympathize with the sad figure he is. What I like most, is that this story to an extent feels relevant to today. Not in the sense that there is still uncharted ground with wild tribes about, but in the need for one people to tell another how to be and how to live. This, unfortunately, has not changed over time I fear. The writing is quick paced and miraculously evokes images more than it describes.
The story takes place in a border town. Regardless of how you read it, it’s an imperialist force at work, trying to subdue the world and telling the ‘savage’ what is right and what is wrong. Sounds familiar? I read this as if it concerns Brittish colonialism, but this goes for most of those forces. The magistrate of the town welcomes a military man, who is investigating the tribes. He then goes and captures a lot of these tribesmen, tortures them and then leaves. The magistrate feels an affinity with one crippled woman left behind and feels all his previous views of the world break down in the sleepy border town. His world changes then. This book is a good read, I recommend it to anyone.
Tero Ikäheimonen – The Devil’s Cradle: The Story of Finnish Black Metal
source: Goodreads.com
Finnish black metal is something else. It’s dirty, raw and violent, much more intense in a way, compared to their western neighbors. When the history of metal is written, the country is often overlooked but that is about to change with this fantastic book by Tero Ikäheimonen, who tracks the history of the genre in Finland through a string of bands that made it what it is today. He does this through interviews, which are lengthy and sincere.
From Barathrum, Beherit and Impaled Nazarene to the stranger bands that still are active in the scene, this is a work that may not be complete but gets close to painting a total picture. The author sometimes doesn’t manage to really pierce the surface with bands and get to the bottom of things, but that leaves the band as they chose to be. Personally, I was disappointed to not see the build-up towards the nazi-question concerning Satanic Warmaster remain unanswered. Ah well, can’t win ‘m all. Anyone who is into black metal should have this. Really.
Haruki Murakami – Men Without Women
source: goodreads.com
In this book with short stories, Murakami seems to explore the relationship between men and women and what happens when it’s separated. Not as in lost to one another, but more as if there’s a glass plate separating the two. The Japanese setting often feels slightly alien to me, which makes the stories more significant and poignant, because it’s not really in the book but in the back of my head where this alienation takes place. The loneliness and alienation is embedded in the protagonists that walk the pages of this short story collection, which was published in 2017. Interestingly enough, that is 90 years after Hemingway released a collection of similar stories under the same title.
Like the critics said about Hemingway’s stories, there is a certain vulgarity to the characters in the books. Their humanity shines through in every expression and act. Their banal activities all seem so exhaustingly significantly when Murakami illuminates them with his pen. Where further deduction might lead to finding a common denominator through the stories, I think it’s more the overall feeling that they leave with the reader. It’s a sense of recognition, of looking into a mirror that shows the flawed nature of us men when we are without women. Maybe it shows women the same, like the Platonic split whole human, we are simply not complete when we are on our own (regardless of what sort of partnership, gender or orientation, this works in all cases).
Samuel Becket – Waiting For Godot
source: goodreads.com
I’ve had this book on my reader for a while and finally got around to checking it out. It’s not the longest bit of reading, but as this is a play, the form requires a different form of focus on the words and acts that occur. The story is an absurd tale of two men, who are waiting for Godot. It’s not clear who Godot is and why they are waiting, but they keep asking eachother random questions, trying to figure out the nature of their situation. The story is circular as in that it repeats the same pattern over 2 nights, where they wait and Godot doesn’t show. Another character shows up with his mute servant, who they seem to clash with in a particular manner, but nothing really leads them anywhere.
The peculiar thing about this story, is that it is completely open. Interpret it as you will and experience it whatever way you like. I’m still not entirely certain what meaning I derive from it. For me it conveys a feeling of meaninglessness that the human condition is now in this time. We move towards a horizon that never emerges to find what we never find, because contentment has become a myth. That’s the faith of Vladimir and Estragon it seems…
Label: PRBM.co.uk Band: A Village In Despair Origin: Sri Lanka
Black metal from Sri Lanka? Really? Yes, this band hails from the island near the south of the Indian subcontinent. A Village In Despair has chosen this style for their message of, well… despair in fact. They tell the story of the rural villages on their island nation, through this music style. This EP is their debut, and it’s one hell of a calling card.
The group from Colombo started out as a band last year and signed to a label, dedicated to music that shakes it seems, signing this Sri Lanka band among electronic music acts. A bold move, but also an important one for the band, who released a single and EP in the same year. It’s some astounding music that sticks.
The opener is ‘The Promise’, which kicks with a grim riff and a guttural howl, evoking the classic imagery of a gibbering moon and solemn nature as classic black metal does. The pace is like that as well, creeping and slow, but as the song progresses it becomes even more languid. The vocals seem to bubble up like they’re trying to break the surface of a swamp that keeps sucking them down. The guitar work sounds very much classical and melodic, which is working well for the atmosphere and attractiveness of the song. But damn, those vocals creep the hell out of me.
This guitar perseveres on ‘Hope & Longing’, which oozes the same despair, but soaring, tremolo riffs create a particular hollow in the song. It, even more, expresses a void. It’s that emptiness of the subsistence life that they try to convey. To really embed the song in the locality, spoken word passages are added in the native language. A shiver runs down the spine when you hear this in combination with the almost painful atmospheric black metal from A Village in Despair.
We close with the even so painful ‘Helpless’. This is one exceptional record and it should be out there more. Listen to it and let it all sink in. Not tombstones, satan, and demons, but the reality of despair.
Label: Avantgarde Music Band: Mountains Crave Origin: United Kingdom
Maybe it’s the rich cultural melting pot Britain has become over the centuries. It might also be the ancient myth and wonder, still hidden in some hidden parts of the land, but somehow bands from the island seem to have a special approach to black metal. Mountains Crave is no different, with a very particular approach to the genre and distinct theme. Their album ‘As We Were When We Were Not’ is special and well worth listening to.
The band is actually delivering their debut with this record. The group from Leeds has been around for a bit and did drop an EP in 2014. It might also help to know that there’s two members of A Forest Of Stars in the line-up, a band that never ceases to amaze me. Other members had previous experience too, amongst them in Old Corpse Road.
Opener ‘Ynisvitrin’ immediately sets the bar with passages of Mongolian throat singing (or something very close to it), woven into the fabric of the song. That is strangely working out well and sounds pretty natural as some unearthly vocals. For this record, the group drew inspiration from Aldous Huxley’s 1962 lecture on visionary experience. This is part of the exploration this album undertakes in its dense and heavily atmospheric sound. The lyrics read like mantra’s, fitting right into the hypnotic sound of guitar walls. The drums really make you feel it all in your gut as you ponder these cosmic ideas of death, spirit, and afterlife the band is hinting at.
On ‘Clear Light of the Void’, the band samples a recording of Gerald Heard. A historian, scholar, and LSD-expert that fits in with the enlightenment-seeker theme of the album. Such facts seem trivial, but to me, the interwovenness of theme, music, and material is what can make an album so much more convincing and attention-grabbing. The flow of music, the odd little pace shift in the track and it’s overall harmony make you easily float along on its notes. Whether it’s in the bath of sound that is the guitars or the haunting female vocals, there’s peace and tranquility to be found in the music of Mountains Crave.
One of the highlights is the instrumental title track. Minutes long only the cosmic experience of the music. At the end of the record, there’s a glimpse of that light. A sense of the enlightenment we seek as normality returns.
Eldamar is an atmospheric black metal project from Norway, with a sole member in its ranks. Mathias Hemmingby from Askim has a profound love for the fantastic, which is evident from the projects name (a reference to Tolkien’s elven realms). ‘A Dark Forgotten Past’ is the second album of the band.
This is the second full length for Eldamar, which has existed since 2015. The debut ‘The Force of the Ancient Land’ came out in 2016, so respect for unleashing the next work only a year later. Most of the music is generated on the computer and inspiration comes from the likes of Elderwind and HowardShore alike.
The sound of Eldamar lingers somewhere between dungeon synth and atmospheric black metal. The guitar riffs sound as tight as your most epic sword-guitar wielding power metal band. Due to the production all is rather polished, yet the atmosphere is vastly different. The grimy, abyssal vocals match up with clean, angelic singing. A broad spectrum of sound unfolds, with the mission of casting a spell you with magical, harmonious songs.
The melancholic chanting might remind you of the Lord of the Rings soundtracks or even some moments in the World of Warcraft lore. Its profound sadness works well in line with the steady blast beats and solid riffing. You journey to an otherworldly place with a song like ‘In Search of New Wisdom’. It’s as if the guitars and drums merely function as rhythmic devices. The synths dance their very own dance in harmony with the vocals. It works marvelously and after listening to this record for a while, I’m finding myself thinking of mighty mountain peaks, deep dwarven halls and fiery craters of doom.
In conclusion follows the particular highlight of the climactic ‘A New Understanding’, which closes the record. It completely swoops you up and carries you to the realms far, far removed from where you normally reside. Nothing quite sounds the same as Eldamar.
There’s a chance that you’ve never heard of Belize. It’s a small country in Central America, bordering on Mexico and Guatemala. It’s surprisingly very thinly populated. Pictures make it look like a paradise, with beautiful nature, green forests and sandy beaches. The ruins of the ancient civilizations are also an attractive element. As a small country, Belize also has a metal scene and Hanal Pixan is as Belizean as it gets.
In a country that has only been independent since 1981, the search for roots is still going on. The cultural diversity in Belize makes it probably even more tempting to find out more about this now before tourism and migration completely ruin the artifacts of the past. This pre-Hispanic past is what Hanal Pixan explores in their lyrics. It’s what I am most curious about and Halach Uinik Chuc is willing to tell more about this.
Most fascinating to me is that for Halach the Mayan civilization is not something of the past. It’s still there and deeply embedded in the history and culture of Belize. We keep learning.
How is Hanal Pixan doing?
First of all, thank you for the interview, Hanal Pixan is doing good.
How did you guys get started as a band? You are all active in various other bands. Can you tell a bit about that?
The band started in 2013 as a one-man band to play extreme metal with lyrics based on the Yucatec Maya culture. As time went by, I wanted to expand so I invited Nojoch Brujo to join the project in 2015. Later i invited Thiago C. We all meet through internet as they are members of other bands and they liked the idea of Hanal Pixan. Nojoch Brujo plays in Flames of Apocolypse (melodic death metal) and Down in Flames (metalcore). Thiago C plays with Neverchrist (black metal), CrepusculicShadows (black metal) and we both play together in Kill The Whore (goregrind/brutal death metal). I also have other projects like SickMutation.
The name Hanal Pixan is derived from a particular tradition in your part of the world. Can you tell us about that and why you chose it for your band?
Yes, Hanal Pixan, which is pronounced as “Hanal Pishan”, is a tradition which is practiced in Belize by people of Yucatec Maya descent. I am a Yucatec Maya of Belize and Hanal Pixan in our native language means “Food for the souls”. It is a tradition done to honor our loved ones, who have left this world and now are the spiritual one. I chose the name because I thought it would go well with the band’s theme. In other words, Hanal Pixan is a tradition to honor the dead.
In Hanal Pixan you express through your themes and lyrics Mayan history and culture. How do you go about this and can you tell a bit about those themes for people not familiar with them?
The lyrics are mostly based on the history of my people. Stories of war, which were told to us by our grandparents, about the Maya Social War from 1847-1930’s. This is more commonly known as the Caste War. Also about how the culture is today, the traditions, folklore and our daily struggles etc. So it is basically what I see every day and what our grandparents have told us.
Hanal Pixan’s music is mostly based on the last rebellion of the Yucatec Maya from 1847-1930’s to retake their lands which were stolen by the Spanish. This rebellion happened 300 years after the conquest when the Spanish reached the Yucatan peninsula. The Maya were able to put a Maya state in modern times called Chan Santa Cruz and were able to control territories in Northwestern Belize and southern Mexico. It was one of the most successful indigenous uprisings in the Americas. My great grandparents were Maya rebels who fought during that war also. So it is a way of telling my people’s history and struggle.
When you make an album, do you take specific themes and concepts to build them around? For example, your recent album. What story does that revolve around?
Our recent album name is U K’aayo’ob K’uyo’ob which in our native language means ‘The Singing of the Gods’. This album was more based on the modern Yucatec Maya culture of Belize. While our past album In Lu’umil Belice which means ‘Our land Belize’ was more based on the history of the Conquest of this region.
How do you go about making music as a band? Do you start with music or words and what roles does everyone have in creating the music? As I understand, Hanal Pixan was originally a solo project, has the process changed as a band?
Well, the band started as a one-man band but it has changed. In Lu’umil Belice was composed entirely by Nojoch Brujo except the lyrics. Our latest release U K’aayo’ob K’uyo’ob was done differently. The music was composed by Thiago C and myself. For both the albums, I wrote all the lyrics. First, we do the music and then by how the music feels we decide what name to give it.
What is your message on the Mayan themes? Is it simply interest in the past or a resurgence of awareness?
First of all, we want to show our Maya youths that we can still use our culture in the modern world and preserve our Maya identity. Also, it is a reminder of the struggle of our people. Many of our themes are basically ignored in Belizean schools. Belizean schools do not teach our history. It is a resurgence of awareness among the people of Yucatec Maya descent from Belize of their heritage since many do not know our history. To be honest, it is a resurgence of awareness happening right now for our people, who want to preserve their Maya identity in northern Belize.
How does a live show of Hanal Pixan look like?
Sadly, because we have other musical projects, distance and other responsibilities we have not played live. We have been planning to though…
I would like to ask you about the metal scene in Belize. What is the scene like there? And how did metal come to your country, what bands pioneered it and shaped the scene of Belize?
The Belizean metal scene is small and very underground. There are Metal concerts two or 3 times a year. The most known Metal shows are Metal Mayhem in Corozal and Metal Haven Bash in Cayo. Metal was brought by those who traveled to the USA in the late 1980’s. When they came back they brought the music and the dressing style. Also, MTV in the 1990’s helped the scene develop. Those were the days when MTV use to put Metal music videos, not like today. Also, our contact with Mexicans influenced us. I would say that two bands who are pioneers in Belize were Of the Fallen and Lasher Zombie.
Do you as a band face any sort of censorship or restrictions? And is everything like instruments, rehearsal space, music and venues to play in available to you easily?
Most of the scene is underground and seems like we do not exist. We do not have any censorship except in the mainstream media. Bands like Lasher Zombie, being a death Metal band, have been played for a rock special on mainstream Belizean Radio but most of the time the radios ignores the Metal bands. Most Belizean radio stations will not play metal music. Most instruments are purchased from mostly Mexico or the USA.
Space to rehearse is a problem, because of many people, especially religious groups, condemn this kind of music, labeling it Satanic. Venues are also a problem because many do not want Metal bands to play in their venues. Most Venues used are from family members of Metalheads, who are willing to give us our space to make shows. Religious groups have complained to the authorities about our music being too loud and crazy etc. Anyhow, we are still here, doing what we love.
Are there places in Belize that a metalhead should definitely visit?
Of Course, The metal events like Metal Haven Bash that takes place in October and Metal Mayhem in December.
Which bands from your part of the world should people definitely check out (and why so)?
I would recommend the Belizean Metal bands, so people hear how these bands sound in a country so small and with little support. My list is Kill the Whore(goregrind), Flames of Apocalypse (melodic death metal), Verge of Umbra (rap metal), LasherZombie (death Metal), DeathSupressor (deathgrind), Of the Fallen (melodic death metal), SickMutation (grindcore), Hypnopompia (death thrash) and Zro Dclpine (hard rock).
From your social channels it seems that even though you are dealing with history, the band is very much in the present and politically aware too. Can you elaborate on that and is there to you a connection between the two?
We try our best to keep away from Politics in Hanal Pixan and just focus on our Maya history. Sometimes it is difficult to ignore politics because they get involved in everything!
What future plans does Hanal Pixan have?
Play live is one and the other record a third album. We want to continue doing what we love Musically and culturally.
If you had to compare your band to a type of food or a dish, what would it be and why?
I would compare it to Pib. Pib is a traditional Maya foodstyle, where it is cooked underground. Why? Because it is a food done for the Hanal Pixan tradition. Pib is very nice, just like our band sound!.
In k‘aaba’e‘ Halach Uinik Chuc ,Jach yuum bo’otik ,Kanantabaa( Yucatec maya language) Translation: My name is Halach Uinik Chuc, Thank you so much , take care (English translation)
Label: Napalm Records Band: Summoning Origin: Austria
Summoning is a must-listen band for anyone who feels strongly about black metal and Tolkien, but Silenius and Protector have long since left behind their musical roots. The band stands apart, thanks to their programmed, composed sound. On ‘With Doom We Come’, that is once more extremely clear and within the dungeon synth world the band is hailed as if they’re venerated, liberators. Unfortunately, the biggest impact this far from their new album came through an interview with Noisey. Well, as long as they talk about you.
Summoning was born out of musicians from Abigor and Pazuzu (and many others), started out as a fourpiece playing black metal, but switched to their current approach in 1995 (two years after starting). Since then the members Protector and Silenius are responsible for the sound of Summoning, which is much more sountrack-like and composed rather than created in a rehearsal space. On the side they duo occupies themselves with some side projects. Silenius plays black metal with Amistigon and industrial with KreuzwegOst. Protector occupies himself with IceAges, creating EDM.
‘Tar-Calion’ is the epic story of the last king of Númenor, told in solumn progressing tones. Spoken passages and grunts illuminate segments of the tale. The song is highly repetitive, which immerses the listener into the unhindred and fatalistic path of this Tolkien-saga figure. A journey towards ultimate doom. That is the overlying theme for this record, the doom-laden parts of the Silmarillion and other writings, with electronically enhanced music, featuring flutes and heralding trumpets. The music is sonorous, slow and never really building to any sort of climax. Vocals are hoarse whispers, grittedly spat at the listener on tracks like ‘Silvertine’ (a reference to the place where Gandalf battled the Balrog, that even movie watchers must know) or ‘Carcharoth’ (Silmarillion).
A swelling sound can be heard on ‘Herumor’, where a choir appears to sing over the meandering, ambient-like metal of the Austrian band. It’s a noteworthily more expressive part of the record, amidst the static sound of the group. They never seem to really waver much from their flowing music. Generally, the atmosphere oppresses and sounds dense and hazy. This is of course one of the main reasons why this band appeals to the dungeon synth genre-fans so much because it clearly bridges between the two worlds. Playful melodies now and then create interesting nuances in the songs, filling the gaps between the vocals on a tune like ‘Night Fell Behind’.
On ‘Mirklands’ we get a bit grimmer, mostly thanks to the vocals, but the song stays synth heavy. With over 10 minutes of music, both this tune and the title track are powerful compositions that evoke Tolkienesque visages and imagery. ‘With Doom We Came’ offers the doomy, grand finale of the album. The voice is raspy, but clear, a bit like Rob Miller from Amebix/Tau Cross. The highlight of the album for sure.
