Mistur - Attende (2009)

Attende is the debut from a Norse band called Mistur, whose membership is drawn from another band called Sigtyr. I might add that Stian Bakketeig of Windir plays the lead guitars on this album, and that 'r' sounds great when preceded by just about any vowel, doesn't it? If you couldn't guess from the cover image, Mistur is a Viking/folk/black metal band, but they differ somewhat than the usual crop in that they include heavily symphonic elements in their music. This creates quite a powerful atmosphere and an album bordering on epic.

"Slaget" is the first longship to shore, opening with an orchestral swell before weaving a dense hammer of melodic black metal. The band is excellent at weaving minor melodies into the main riffing while a synthesizer shines against the backdrop like a killing moon. This song is certainly a winner, a worthy charge into battle. The fray continues with the slower, powerful symphonic doom chords that initiate "Svartsyn", soon eclipsed by the driving mid paced rhythms and the inevitable charge. "Armod" uses some nice pianos amidst its blazing verses, as does "Skuld". In fact the pianos are so prominent in these tracks that they can often create a gothic/Viking hybrid atmosphere, which is pretty rare in black metal. You feel like you're in some old haunted manor where the souls of Norse raiders were left to rot in the basement. It's creepy. The band's namesake "Mistur" is a glorious six minute instrumental which is actually one of the highlights on the disc. "Skoddefjellet" is from the band's 2005 demo, and holds up quite nicely, with winding melodies and lush atmospheric synths. The 13 minute closer is the title track "Attende", which opens with a lengthy, sad piano composition before creating more of the band's latent, powerful melodies, sorrowful windows into a lost age of honour, warfare and tears.

Attende benefits from a bold production that captures each note like a fly in amber. Though the keyboards are omnipresent, their presence is always welcome and well-constructed. Busy during the piano parts, but purely atmospheric outside of those sections. The riffs are simple and perfectly carry the driving, somber weight created by the keys. The lyrics are all Norse. Mistur is not your average Norse black metal band, but they've got a sound which should appeal to fans of anything from Windir and old Enslaved to Mactatus and Moonsorrow. A very good debut here, especially if you dig pianos in your midnight wanderings.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.myspace.com/attende