Underground Sounds: Bròn – Ànrach

Label: Kunsthauch
Band: Brón
Origin: United Kingdom

The word Ànrach hails from Gaelic and means as much as forlorn person, which is very much the mood of this debut album by the Brittish band Bròn. Apparently a liking has been taken to the Gaelic Scotland by its member, since the bandname is also in the language, meaning sorrow.

Bròn is the project of Krigeist, also known from his band Barshasketh. Where that project is relentless black metal, Bròn appears to be much more focussed on the atmospheric with a lot of synths and keys in the sound. After two demo’s is this the first full length album for the project.

The eerie sound with which the record opens, is more akin of a haunting ambient album. Gently droning, it grows and it feels fitting to the mesmerizing artwork. A nature depiction of mountains and trees and the majestic play of light in the sky by Diana Tuchs. It smoothlymelds in with a piece of blistering black metal, holding the dense atmosphere of the keys intact. This is only the title track yet, a wavery, majestic piece that lasts about 20 minutes. The synths are prevailing here

‘Lutalica’ comes from Serbo-Croatic and means wanderer. It’s also the second track, where static guitars announce the opening of another long tune. The slow reverberation is like the ripples on a lake with the mountains in the background, before it all truly unleashes with a frantic burst of guitar work, laced with synths again. The vocals come from deep, they’re almost squeeled as if constricted, choked off and offer a strange contrast with the peaceful trickling of the synths. The final track is ‘Tipiwhenua’, which means pretty much the same, but then in Maori. Another slow thredding, thickly atmospheric track that seems to drag you to the Abbyss with a vibe that comes close to some Burzum albums. Nature beckons.

It’s funny how an album can sound almost desperately blissful and make those two into one. I have to say it feels very fitting. If you take a walk in the forest, drifting by yourself through the nature, there’s always a risk or danger to it. But there’s also the bliss of being free of the constraints around you. I think that this album perfectly illustrates that feeling.

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