Draugsól - Volaða land (2017)

To think I can remember a time when Icelandic black metal was unanimous with Sólstafir and Sólstafir alone, but in recent years the country is literally exploding with harsh, cold, and compelling sounds that transmute their parent genre into something not quite so readily predictable, but still recognizing the fundamentals of their other Scandinavian forebears. Draugsól has only been around for a year or so, but with their debut full-length the trio is easily able to make a name for itself among fellow countrymen like Svartidauði, Sinmara, Zhrine, and Misþyrming, although I think it's obvious that they have a marginally more conventional feel to how they put together their material, drawing on a lot of propulsive blast beats, grinding black/death rhythmic undercurrent and spikes of dissonant chords that puncture through the roiling, earthen tones of the rhythm guitars like high speed tectonic shifting.

But Volaða land brings quite a lot to the table, from its more agonizing, spastic rhythmic elements to moments of architectural glory where the melodies spew forth and reign supreme. Vocally they use a more low-end, death growl rather than the raspy norm, and it's ugly and nihilistic and only vaguely seems to care about adhering to the riffing structure. But this functions fairly seamlessly whether they're sputtering out low-end tremolo picked riffing or the various breaks and changes coursing through their often 7-9 minute compositions, which also benefit a lot from a willingness not to lay into endless cycles of mundane repetition, instead becoming these explosive, cracked landscapes that are worth crossing even though your feet are likely to be burned and stabbed numerous times. I catch a little Marduk and Immortal here, in the utter relentlessness when they're firing at a full clip, and manifestation of a lot of angular, edgy bursts of rhythm that channel the same Morbid Angelic death metal roots that those other bands helped script into the black metal lexicon.

The debut also knows when to concede the aggression to a more atmospheric touch, as in "Spáfarir og Útisetur" which opens with cleaner guitars and then erupts into a powering Viking-like mid pace momentum with grooving drums that reminded me of some of the earlier Enslaved discs. But for the most part it can get rapid-fire to a fault, where the band seems almost ready to stumble over itself once it hits a certain crescendo. There is also a noticeable dearth of really interesting progressions in the guitars themselves. Enough variation and intensity that they avoid tedium, but there weren't a lot of moments at which I felt like I instantly wanted to replay a particular riffing section. In the end, though, Volaða land is an estimable, if not entirely formidable statement of arrival, one not lacking in potential for evolving further. If you're a fan of both fast-paced 90s, synth-less black metal out of Norway or Sweden, as well as some of the current crop of Icelandic upstarts, then Draugsól is at least worth checking out, even if this didn't quite leave me with as strong an impression as an Aphotic Womb, Unortheta or Söngvar elds og óreiðu.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

https://draugsol.bandcamp.com/

Angist - Circle of Suffering EP (2011)

Angist is one of a number of promising Icelandic death metal acts to emerge in recent years, alongside Beneath and Ophidian I (in fact, the drummer of the latter is currently performing in this group), but by comparison, they've got a slightly more atmospheric and old school aesthetic about their writing which brings in 90s influences as broad as Immolation, Morbid Angel, old Suffocation, and even Human-era Death (what with all the textured, melodic tremolo picking they use as a main ingredient). Perhaps even a hint of Norwegians Molested, though this material isn't quite so unnerving and dissonant. While I think it would be a mistake to dub the band 'black metal' in any strict sense of the genre, I feel like you also get a mild taste of that inspiration in spots throughout the EP; yet, for myself, the biggest boon to Circle of Suffering was how it threads its resonant atmosphere over the bedrock of thrusted tremolo riffs and bludgeoning, dark grooves.

Granted, I did not find that the actual riffs themselves were all that strong, if only because we've heard these sorts of patterns countless times before. Angist does not exactly configure its note progressions into highly memorable sequences, but they are least performed with competence, and there is variety if one is willing to capitulate to the album's savagery, as with "Death Incarnate", a song that rifles through much of the band's stylistic range without sacrificing its satisfactory, gruesome momentum. Vocalist/guitarist Edda Tegeder Óskarsdóttir belches out a consistent death metal guttural, broad and bloody, her inflection seemingly evolved from the inspirations of forebears like Karl Willetts and Martin van Drunen. The vocals are often a fraction monotonous, but this can be forgiven to some extent due to their contrasted resonance over the thinner riff structures, and the fact that she's also busy PLAYING those riffs while she growls. Also I'd point out that the drums feel great here, never too polished like on a technical death record, but voluminous and crashing with a sort of live sensibility, and they lend a particular desperation to the guitars that helps darken the entire experience.

The song which stood out to me most here was "Silence", a slower, moody number which developed nicely into some haunted, melodic guitar lines cast out above the drudging undertow. It's simply more fulfilling and effective than the others, which more or less follow samey contours, even if those involve an appreciable dynamic range unto themselves. Most importantly, it's evidence that the band knows not to repeat itself unto monotony, and gives me hope that a full-length, which will give the band a lot more time to explore, will see even further experimentation and atmospheric embellishment. As it stands, Circle of Suffering was a decent recording, in both tone and execution. Angist has wisely eschewed the trends of ultra-atmospheric cavern death/doom and Swedish cloning that are so prevalent in today's scene. What they offer is something less common, and while few out of this particular set of songs were able to captivate me for more than a few spins, I think all the pieces are in place here to rain great annihilation upon death mavens in coming years. I doubt this is the last I'll hear of Angist, and for what it's worth, I will be listening.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://www.facebook.com/angisttheband

Vansköpun - Alsæla Gegnum Endurfæðingu [DEMO] (2011)

Iceland's Vansköpun ('Deformation') have chosen a name all too apt for their brutal, oppressive brand of black metal. Essentially the antithesis of subtlety and intricacy, this three-track cassette demo is almost morbidly direct as it crushes the listener with cycles of repetitious dissonance, while the enormous black rasps elevate to intense and harrowing extremes, a corpulent membrane of blood and pestilence that allows not a moment of peace for anyone. At the same time, though, the 19 minutes of this recording do tend to come off rather monotonous and recycled, with little to no nuance and painfully simplistic song structures.

Not to imply that the Icelanders are incapable of variation, but their ability to transition from the slower, drudging morass of their opening riffs into an open rush of blasting seems somewhat forced and jarring. In "Genesis 6:17", they don't try this at all, but jam out on the same, minimal riff for nearly 3 minutes, initiating a few of the band's lyrical lines in their native tongue. The other pieces, "Botnlaust Tómið Hungrar" and "Alsæla Gegnum Endurfæðingu" are substantially larger, each over 8 minutes and with vaster dynamic range. The mixed tempos go off without a hitch, granted, but the foundations from which they are wrought don't seem especially apt at building or shattering anticipation, and there's very little excitement when a blast arrives in the midst of some dense, lurching miasma.

What I admired most about Vansköpun was the sound itself. Bold, pumping bass anchors the distraught progressions of the guitars, and the vocals are such a massive swell of vitriol that it feels like the sky has been torn off and some universe-sized leviathan is about to defecate down all our necks. It's incredibly difficult not to be convinced of the darkness in this group's being, because they continue to hit you in the face with it all as if they were some feral boxer stuck in a temporal loop. That said, a recording of under 20 minutes is not generally the greatest means to fully gauge the breadth of a black metal band, and with one of three tracks being disposable, I didn't derive much out of this other than a beating. With a bit more variety in the writing and perhaps a broader meter to the vocals, this could easily become one of Iceland's darker exports.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://vnskpn.bandcamp.com/

Sólstafir - Svartir Sandar (2011)

It won't come as a shock to anyone that Iceland's Sólstafir have by this time severed almost all connections to their black metallic roots, seeking to further themselves in the psychedelic, airy post-rock that their gloomy masterwork Köld first manifest. Gone are the snarling, tremolo patterns and aggressive tendencies, and with their new double album Svartir Sandar, gone even is the absolute bleakness of that last album. Pretty much the entire core of the band remains, so it's not as if there were some disagreement and a few of the members suddenly hijacked the band's direction: this is the sound the band will likely continue until further stages of evolution have manifest. As for Svartir Sandar, the problem isn't so much that the music has taken a dip in quality, but that there's just a little too much of it, and not all of these creations are equally poignant or memorable.

There aren't enormous differences across the discs in content, and with a total of about 78-79 minutes of music, I'm wondering why they couldn't have just squeezed it onto one. Surely this would have proven less expensive? At any rate, the musical content is a lot like Köld: desperate swells of driving post-rock angst alternated with periods of spacey, open calm. Vocalist Aðalbjörn Tryggvason is mildly more intense this time out, with an angry bark to his style that reminds me of the shouting parts form the old Fugazi post-hardcore records. Simple, distorted bass lines create a substrate of leaden grooves while the guitars are dowsed in reverb or other effects and left to simmer and settle atmospherically, or escalate into explosions of shoegazing majesty as in the thundering bridge of "Ljós í Stormi" or the title cut. There are a handful of tracks which might seem 'excessive' in duration (10 minutes or more), but thankfully these don't drone on endlessly under any burden of monotony.

What saves the experience from ever growing stagnant is the amount of texture and variation on exhibition. While a number of guitar melodies and bass lines might utilized familiar sounding patterns, they are approached with such a beautiful, ailing breadth that they can't help but to feel fresh upon the ears. The band has incorporated some lofty, angelic female vocals on a number of tracks which are breathtaking, and there are also electronic beats and pianos (as in the song "Kukl") which feel resplendent against the music's snowy late afternoon glow. There aren't many moments on the album which would feel 'heavy' from a metal context, but that's not to say the band don't ramp up the intensity where it suits them; i.e. the screams cutting through "Þín Orð" or the jarring, accessible discord inclement to "Sjúki Skugginn"'s bad weather. There's also a bit of the Cult-like rock and roll aesthetic from the last record, but if feels more heavily confined to the second disc tracks like the instrumental finale "Draumfari".

All told, there's much to experience here, and what Sólstafir might lack for in the complexity of their earlier material they compensate for with volume and emotional contrast. That's not to say that Svartir Sandar feels as cohesive or astonishing as its predecessor: it runs on too long, and there are certainly moments in which the mind begins to wander AWAY from the soaring and soothing sonic landscapes and into thoughts of listening to something else instead (particularly true of longer pieces). The production is beautiful here, delivered with bruising clarity, and fans of Köld will not be heavily disappointed by the music or the lovely artwork panels. The album might also appeal to fanatics of other aerial post-rock acts, and should earn them due comparisons as a more 'rock-fueled' variant to their popular countrymen Sigur Rós.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.solstafir.net/

Haud Mundus & Wormlust - Oblivio Appositus Split EP (2009)

Oblivio Appositus brings together the talents of two of the younger, dour acts of the North Atlantic Ocean, a form fitting collaboration that sees its share of both atmospheric metal riffing and long, beautiful passages of ambiance. Ireland's Haud Mundus is the product of Wann and Gast, both members of the more traditional black metal band Myrkr; Gast also late of the promising Sol Axis and Slidhr. Wormlust is the brainchild of H.V. Lyngdal, who spends time between his native Iceland and England. I had already some exposure to the latter, reviewing the 2009 Wormlust demo called Seven Paths, which consisted of a single, 12+ minute long track, and a damned good one at that. But outside of Sol Axis and Myrkr, I had not heard Haud Mundus prior to the split...

Clearly, judging by their contributions to this release, I have been missing out, because their two tracks here are quite magnificent examples of the balance possible between the black and ambient genres. "Veins of Stone" is over 13 minutes, opening with a cavernous cacophony of morbid gloom and ringing hammer-like strikes, from which a slicing, huge guitar tone soon erupts, and becomes even huger as the duo lumbers through a number of devious, crashing poles. "Forever Desiccate the Seed" is briefer, at around 8 minutes, but its also denser and faster, more of a traditional black metal at first, then branching out into a number of ambient segues, like a mix of Shining and Raison d'Etre. I'd also point out that the production used by Haud Mundus is massive and accessible, a sure sign that the band could be taken very seriously in this particular sub-strain, courted by labels who value fidelity alongside other credibility.

Wormlust, too, has adopted a more bold if calamitous sense for production, and his two pieces here trumph the Seven Paths demo by measure of aggression alone. Truly, this is a frightening experience, Lyngdal's full, bloodied throat casting a ghastly pallor over the surging threads of "Surge - About the Death of a God" and the dusky, swelling phantasm that is "The Larvean Inauguration (Or: A Feast for the Animal of Reflection)". Thematically and stylistically, the material is not a far shot from Haud Mundus, so together the two flow like of wet stream of cursed concrete, its mortar drawn from the blood of angels and innocents. I felt that Wormlust was inherently more caustic and chaotic, with almost random segues into wild ambient, but he compensates by being the more horrific entity of the split.

The release itself is quite attractive, with a striking bloodied crown on its face, and a lyric booklet included with the digipak. I'm not accustomed to splits with great art direction, and though by all appearances this is minimal, I really loved the cerebral imagery it projected as I was listening to these interesting bands. Haud Mundus and Wormlust are both worthy of taking the reins from the now-defunct Xasthur, perhaps Leviathan, oining their voice into the chorus of obscurity championed by many devotees of Burzum and other dire progenitors. Their pairing here can be no accident, because they both share the same skill at creating discomfort through laxing and swelling climes of glacial fascination.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://wormlust.blogspot.com/

Sólstafir - Til Valhallar EP (1996)

Newer listeners, whose entrance to the Sólstafir sound begins at the amazing Köld, might be quite perplexed if their curiosity takes them back through the years, for the amazing atmospherics the band is conjuring today are far removed from their primitive origins. Til Valhallar was the band's first formal release, an EP boasting 6 tracks of raw and aggressive black metal with only the barest hint at the voluminous, swelling guitars and terse atmosphere of future offerings. Yet, if listening through their work chronologically, one would not find it so difficult to trace a line through the albums and notice a very natural, positive trend to their evolution.

Sólstafir have always been a different band, and though the writing here fits every familiar definition of the 'black metal' medium, there are some subtle differences in texture and approach. These could be conscious decisions, or these could be cultural and regional (there has always been something to the band's that simply howls of their homeland) influences. For one, there is a noticeable punk and post-punk taste to the riffing. Though it doesn't neglect the speed and fury of the band's metallic kin, the raw fervor feels wild and uncaged. Aðalbjörn Tryggvason's, while similar in tormented tone to something like Burzum, also carry this off the hinge feeling that recalls screamy underground punk and hardcore music. There is also an influence for moody folk, delivered through the band's streaming, melodic acoustics. The tin of the drums and the popping bass really carry the taint of these outside influences into the Viking themes, and Til Valhallar is rather something to behold in its brighter moments.

The surly and beautiful sample of a folk singer inaugurates "Ásareiðin", which then proceeds through a mid-paced shuffle under the surging, buzzing guitar lines. While the band is raw as fuck, there is a melodic, sovereign grace carried through the chords which betrays the rather simple and straight forward barking of the vocals. A synth drops in briefly for the bridge, to highlight a simple rock chord pattern, before the track once again enters its rapid fire verse. The title track "Til Valhallar" opens with a churning, post-punkish guitar scape, like an Icelandic Sonic Youth, over the driving drum rhythm and the bloodied ice. Again, the track breaks for a mellower bridge segment, in which the guitars soar, but the track is really made interesting through the bass and drumming. "Dauðraríkið" is an even more impressive song than either of them, for it swells with sadness, turbulent and raw double kick hammering, and carries more of a Viking feel. The bass thunders, the guitars are ripping like a longship across the cold sands of the shore, but what really shines is the gloomy, psychedelic acoustic breakdown, that abruptly blasts forth once again into the chaos. "Hovudlausn" is an instrumental piece that closes out the original release of the EP, with acoustic guitars flowing into some heavier chords like the first waves of spring that break through the ice on the North ocean surface.

The re-release of the EP also contains two bonus tracks. The grungy, aggressive "Huldulandið" once again features the punkish angst, while the "Í Helli Pólýfemosar" is a morbid, crawling piece which uses several vocals in tangent to create an unnerving effect. Here, Tryggvason straightens out his vocals to a more Viking-like level, and then astride there are another dub of deeper vocals which feel like they are talking along. The track also breaks out into a straight, crunchy punk rhythm. It's very interesting, in fact the most curious piece on this release, and in some ways this also best foreshadows the band's later progression.

So, while Sólstafir's sound was not nearly at the range of moody post-rock influence it currently dispenses, there has always been something tweaked, something strange about the band. This was a grim and wondrous introduction to a band that was, both geographically and pscychologically, left of the scene ongoing in mainland Scandinavia. I'm not entirely enamored of it, but I certainly appreciate the ground that this unsusual act has and will travel.

Highlights: Dauðraríkið, Í Helli Pólýfemosar

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.myspace.com/solstafir

Carpe Noctem - Carpe Noctem EP (2009)

I readily admit that an unhealthy obsession with Sólstafir and Björk has kept my ears fixated on nearly anything to emerge from Iceland, and Carpe Noctem does not disappoint, though the band performs a far more traditional brand of black metal than their countrymen. Brazen, hostile melodies and the bloodthirsting rasp of Alexander Dan Vilhjálmsson are the hallmarks of this four track, self-titled EP, and I was fairly impressed by the boxy, dense tone the band emits.

"Vargsfæðing" fades in with some low register ambience before the cold streams of barbaric riffing commence, gradually transforming into a brighter flash of blood as the vocals begin to share their despotic torment. "Jötunborinn" yet again creates a flow of rime tinged, Norse black metal over streaming, biting melodies, with an eerie breakdown. "Metamorphoses Maleficarum" is longer than both of the previous tracks combined, through it's 10+ minutes you will visit some samples, grim rhythms and another excellent breakdown, complete with beating drums and a nice vocal buildup to the climactic, wintry beast of a riff to come. The finale "Skálholtsbrenna" is another lengthy track with more of the band's cold riffing.

I am yet again impressed by the production on a self-released EP. Carpe Noctem sounds grim and unforgiving, but not like it was recorded in a toilet. These are no strangers to an unforgiving climate and this is reflected in the music. There weren't any riffs on the EP that blew me away, but taken as a whole it's a decent diversion which immersed me in its savagery. At 30 minutes, it's a good length for 4 songs. Will be waiting for the inevitable full-length. If you enjoy this you can snag their previous demo from a link on their MySpace (below).

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.myspace.com/carpenoctemiceland

Wormlust - [DEMO] (2009)

Icelandic Wormlust was previously known as Wolfheart, having released several demos in the past. With the change of name has come a shift in tone, and for this s/t demo the band has produced a single 12 minute track that travels from droning, aggressive black metal to periods of stark majesty across a desolate grey landscape.

"Seven Paths" is quite good and hopefully an omen for what is to come. The guitars are churning vortices of disturbing chords, and whenever the band breaks for some sort of interlude we are treated with introspective guitar work and ringing explorations. The vocals are hoarse and troubling, like someone whispering at you from a sewer while the sounds are amplified. I've been exposed to a great many underground black metal acts touting atmosphere or ambience, but Wormlust sounds quite original. Well worth tracking down this demo.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

Sólstafir - Köld (2009)

Arguably the premier metal band from Iceland, Sólstafir have come quite a ways from their pagan black/Viking metal roots. So far that any resemblance between Köld and their earlier releases has become marginalized, or merely thematic. They retain the cold core of their sound, that into which the imagination carves endless white landscapes and blowing winds, but this is packaged into haunting, angst-fueled post-rock, or shall I say post-black metal, or who cares.

When the result is this beautiful, there is little cause for complaint.

Köld is an album of glowering peaks and depressive valleys, where the geologic blood of the band's homeland can clearly be heard to run through every selection of phrase and tone. Eight tracks, most of which check in above the 8 minute mark, create a compelling and thorough journey through the (deceptively) empty and pale spaces of the musicians' environment. Instrumental "78 Days in the Desert" swells as its layered, shoegazing chords and subtle yet thundering percussion strike out across the wastes. "Köld" is just a wall of power, chords cutting the ice and Aðalbjörn Tryggvason's wandering vocals begin their tortured poetic delights. "Pale Rider" is a more harmonic vision, yet shares many of the same qualities: the simple yet soaring guitars, and some of the most aggressive vocals on the album. "She Destroys Again" may begin with some simple, folk/blues guitars ringing in a glistening distortion, but it picks up quite nicely. "Necrologue" is a gloomy piece, with calmer vocals and a series of acoustic chords lavishing the omni-present, looming bass. "World Void of Souls" is instrumental post-rock save for some spoken word. "Love is the Devil (and I Am in Love)" has some nice gothic hard rock sensibilities, imagine if The Cult tried their hand at a more gothic Finnish metal sound successfully. The beautiful and tranquil "Goddess of the Ages" closes off the record lovingly.

I admire the production of the album because it perfectly captures the many layers of emotion, but maintains a raw edge (similar to previous albums). All instruments sound fantastic. The drums are suitably tinny; the guitars echo through the gray and white clouds of the arctic vista; the vocals are clear yet mysterious. And when it needs to, the bass thunders through.

You do not hear an album like this every day. Though their material has always hinted at distinction; Sólstafir have evolved into something truly unique with this. I've heard others describe this band as the 'metal' Sigur Ros, and with Köld you can actually, sort of feel this bond between sonic architecture and a climatic, geographic influence. Whatever compelled this sound, I do hope it continues, because this is a brilliant album, joyous and haunting and immortal. It is easily the finest hour yet for Sólstafir, and I'd heartily recommend this to any fand of post-rock, or mellow post-black metal, even though it's obviously much more...

Verdict: Epic Win [9.5/10]

http://www.myspace.com/solstafir