#solstafir — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #solstafir, aggregated by home.social.
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Last night's gig was #Sólstafir + #OranssiPazuzu + #Kylesa (Hulder opened but the show started too early for my meetings so we skipped them.)
All were great, but Kylesa's drummer is *amazing*
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Last night's gig was #Sólstafir + #OranssiPazuzu + #Kylesa (Hulder opened but the show started too early for my meetings so we skipped them.)
All were great, but Kylesa's drummer is *amazing*
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Last night's gig was #Sólstafir + #OranssiPazuzu + #Kylesa (Hulder opened but the show started too early for my meetings so we skipped them.)
All were great, but Kylesa's drummer is *amazing*
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Last night's gig was #Sólstafir + #OranssiPazuzu + #Kylesa (Hulder opened but the show started too early for my meetings so we skipped them.)
All were great, but Kylesa's drummer is *amazing*
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Last night's gig was #Sólstafir + #OranssiPazuzu + #Kylesa (Hulder opened but the show started too early for my meetings so we skipped them.)
All were great, but Kylesa's drummer is *amazing*
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Fans of #heavymusic got their fill tonight at #patronaathaarlem Four bands covering a wide spectrum shared the stage: #Hulder #kylesa #OranssiPazuzu and #solstafir The last two had toured together in November 2024. We were reminded how well they complement each other. What a fun, eclectic gig.
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Fans of #heavymusic got their fill tonight at #patronaathaarlem Four bands covering a wide spectrum shared the stage: #Hulder #kylesa #OranssiPazuzu and #solstafir The last two had toured together in November 2024. We were reminded how well they complement each other. What a fun, eclectic gig.
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Fans of #heavymusic got their fill tonight at #patronaathaarlem Four bands covering a wide spectrum shared the stage: #Hulder #kylesa #OranssiPazuzu and #solstafir The last two had toured together in November 2024. We were reminded how well they complement each other. What a fun, eclectic gig.
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back on track. #justdoit and listen some icelandic metal. #solstafir #running #mamil
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🫨 Uuii, kurzfristige Last-Minute-Show von
SÒLSTAFIR im Tower Bremen!Samstag, 20. Juni 2026
Einlass 19:30 / Beginn 20:30
Support: Lazar (Hamburg)„Irgendwo zwischen zwischen Black Metal, Post-Rock und der rohen Schönheit ihrer Heimat haben die Isländer Sólstafir einen Sound gefunden, der jegliche Ratio aushebelt und die starrsten Grenzen zum klingen bringt.”
🎫: https://tortugabooking.ticket.io
#Bremen #Konzert #Livegig #Metal #PostRock #Sòlstafir #Lazar
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🫨 Uuii, kurzfristige Last-Minute-Show von
SÒLSTAFIR im Tower Bremen!Samstag, 20. Juni 2026
Einlass 19:30 / Beginn 20:30
Support: Lazar (Hamburg)„Irgendwo zwischen zwischen Black Metal, Post-Rock und der rohen Schönheit ihrer Heimat haben die Isländer Sólstafir einen Sound gefunden, der jegliche Ratio aushebelt und die starrsten Grenzen zum klingen bringt.”
🎫: https://tortugabooking.ticket.io
#Bremen #Konzert #Livegig #Metal #PostRock #Sòlstafir #Lazar
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🫨 Uuii, kurzfristige Last-Minute-Show von
SÒLSTAFIR im Tower Bremen!Samstag, 20. Juni 2026
Einlass 19:30 / Beginn 20:30
Support: Lazar (Hamburg)„Irgendwo zwischen zwischen Black Metal, Post-Rock und der rohen Schönheit ihrer Heimat haben die Isländer Sólstafir einen Sound gefunden, der jegliche Ratio aushebelt und die starrsten Grenzen zum klingen bringt.”
🎫: https://tortugabooking.ticket.io
#Bremen #Konzert #Livegig #Metal #PostRock #Sòlstafir #Lazar
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🫨 Uuii, kurzfristige Last-Minute-Show von
SÒLSTAFIR im Tower Bremen!Samstag, 20. Juni 2026
Einlass 19:30 / Beginn 20:30
Support: Lazar (Hamburg)„Irgendwo zwischen zwischen Black Metal, Post-Rock und der rohen Schönheit ihrer Heimat haben die Isländer Sólstafir einen Sound gefunden, der jegliche Ratio aushebelt und die starrsten Grenzen zum klingen bringt.”
🎫: https://tortugabooking.ticket.io
#Bremen #Konzert #Livegig #Metal #PostRock #Sòlstafir #Lazar
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🫨 Uuii, kurzfristige Last-Minute-Show von
SÒLSTAFIR im Tower Bremen!Samstag, 20. Juni 2026
Einlass 19:30 / Beginn 20:30
Support: Lazar (Hamburg)„Irgendwo zwischen zwischen Black Metal, Post-Rock und der rohen Schönheit ihrer Heimat haben die Isländer Sólstafir einen Sound gefunden, der jegliche Ratio aushebelt und die starrsten Grenzen zum klingen bringt.”
🎫: https://tortugabooking.ticket.io
#Bremen #Konzert #Livegig #Metal #PostRock #Sòlstafir #Lazar
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🔴 LIVE NOW ON VORTEX
📻 Vortex Night 🚀 (Krautrock & space rock)
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🎵 Sólstafir - Fjara▶️ Écouter / Listen : VorteX [Radio]
https://lesonduvortex.net💬 Join us on Discord:
https://discord.gg/d82hJZBeDE -
🔴 LIVE NOW ON VORTEX
📻 Vortex Night 🚀 (Krautrock & space rock)
──────────────
🎵 Sólstafir - Ótta▶️ Écouter / Listen : VorteX [Radio]
https://lesonduvortex.net💬 Join us on Discord:
https://discord.gg/d82hJZBeDE#VortexWave #Sólstafir #PostMetal #AtmosphericBlackMetal #2010s
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Lamp of Murmuur – The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy Review
L.A.-based M., the mastermind behind Lamp of Murmuur, has been busy this year. In addition to releasing two…
#NewsBeep #News #Music #2025 #3.0 #AmericanMetal #BlackMetal #Entertainment #GothicMetal #Immortal #KëkhtAräkh #LampofMurmuur #Nov25 #OldMan'sChild #review #Solstafir #TheDreamingPrinceinEcstasy #UK #UnitedKingdom #USBM #WolvesofHadesRecords
https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/261466/ -
Lamp of Murmuur – The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy Review
By Tyme
L.A.-based M., the mastermind behind Lamp of Murmuur, has been busy this year. In addition to releasing two other solo projects—Silent Thunder’s EP, Soulspear, and Magus Lord’s full-length, In the Company of Champions—he’s readying to unleash his fourth Lamp of Murmuur long player, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy, this November. Far removed from the very lo-fi, kvltish cassette-only demos of 2019, Lamp of Murmuur has steadily matured over the years. Our resident shark, Carcharodon, had ‘tons of fucking fun’ with 2023’s Saturnian Bloodstorm, highlighting its heavy Immortal influence. When I spied The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy sitting unclaimed in the sump, I reached out to our scrivening squalus, who graciously ceded his seniority, hoping I had as much fun with LoM’s newest outing as he had with its last. Will The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy build off the excitement of Saturnian Bloodstorm, and further M.’s musical momentum, or will we discover that Lamp of Murmuur’s shine has dimmed a bit?
At first blush, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy extends Saturnian Bloodstorm’s thrashing black metal template before wading into waters teeming with new wave and gothic metal elements. Immortal’s influence still lurks amidst M.’s swirling, rapid-fire tremolos and galloping chugs (“Hategate (the Dream-Master’s Realm)”), while twinkling, Këkht Aräkh-like keys lace the guitar-driven melodies on “Forest of Hallucinations,” its intro emitting South of Heaven-era Slayer vibes from the harmonized leads. M.’s vocals, as blackly metallic and viscerally lethal as ever, are dichotomously connected to the music and venture into minimally explored cleaner climes while sharing the spotlight on “A Brute Angel’s Sorrow” with guest vocalist Crying Orc (Këkht Aräkh).1 For beyond the Nightmare on Elm Street meets Black Aria2 vibes of instrumental opener “The Fires of Seduction,” lie the equally moody atmospheres of mid-album interlude “Angelic Vortex,” which serves as a portal, ushering listeners from Lamp of Murmuur’s past into what The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy represents for the project’s future.
Three-part title track, “The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy,” is the album highlight. Without jettisoning its black metal roots, Lamp of Murmuur shrouds this triptych in a Sólstafiric, proggy haze of spacy, 70s-style rock guitar solos and cascading Phantom of the Operatic progressions (“Part I – Moondance”), melodic, soaring leads (“Part II – Twilight Orgasm”) and a romping, symphonic paganism (“Part III – The Fall”) reminiscent of early Old Man’s Child. In addition, M.’s broadening, clean vocals inject new-wave intensity into the non-harsh moments of “Moondance,” a Moroder & Bowie “Cat People (Putting Out the Fire)” feel into the latter croons of “Twilight Orgasm,” and an effective, Cattle Decapitation-esque tonal rasp into “The Fall.” I think I had as much fun diving in and out of the waters of this stretch of TDPiE as our beloved sharkster had ingesting the whole of Saturnian Bloodstorm.
As often as dichotomy spearheads musical diversity, however, it can also foster unintended inconsistency, and in the court of The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy’s case, the latter unfortunately testifies loudest. As many moments of greatness exist on both halves of TDPiE’s whole, so too do some missteps. M.’s first instance of cleans, for example, at the end of “Hategate (The Dream-Master’s Realm)” sound out of tune and pulled me from an otherwise enjoyable listen during every spin. In addition, “Part I – Moondance” contains some awkwardly off-key musical transitions, and at times, the staccato, machine-gun riffage in “Part III – The Fall” feels out of sync with the drumming. And as much as I enjoyed the acoustically well-executed and clean-sung “A Brute Angel’s Sorrow,” its off-putting, last-batter-in-the-lineup positioning completely saps the majesty from the silence left in the wake of “Part III – The Fall”‘s last powerful chord.
A tenet often adhered to despite its obtusity is that broadened popularity for a band that launched its career from the darkened shadows of the kvlt black metal world usually leads to its death or disownment. In the case of Lamp of Murmuur, a forerunner of the current USBM scene, opinions may vary. As it stands, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy is a full-length that, if released as a pair of EPs, might have transcended its holistic inconsistencies. I’ve grown past the distaste I felt on initial listens to appreciate both sides of what Lamp of Murmuur has done here and look forward to M.’s continued growth, as should you.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Wolves of Hades
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: November 14th, 2025#2025 #30 #blackMetal #gothicMetal #immortal #kekhtArakh #lampOfMurmuur #nov25 #oldMansChild #review #solstafir #theDreamingPrinceInEcstasy #usbm #wolvesOfHadesRecords
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Lamp of Murmuur – The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy Review
By Tyme
L.A.-based M., the mastermind behind Lamp of Murmuur, has been busy this year. In addition to releasing two other solo projects—Silent Thunder’s EP, Soulspear, and Magus Lord’s full-length, In the Company of Champions—he’s readying to unleash his fourth Lamp of Murmuur long player, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy, this November. Far removed from the very lo-fi, kvltish cassette-only demos of 2019, Lamp of Murmuur has steadily matured over the years. Our resident shark, Carcharodon, had ‘tons of fucking fun’ with 2023’s Saturnian Bloodstorm, highlighting its heavy Immortal influence. When I spied The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy sitting unclaimed in the sump, I reached out to our scrivening squalus, who graciously ceded his seniority, hoping I had as much fun with LoM’s newest outing as he had with its last. Will The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy build off the excitement of Saturnian Bloodstorm, and further M.’s musical momentum, or will we discover that Lamp of Murmuur’s shine has dimmed a bit?
At first blush, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy extends Saturnian Bloodstorm’s thrashing black metal template before wading into waters teeming with new wave and gothic metal elements. Immortal’s influence still lurks amidst M.’s swirling, rapid-fire tremolos and galloping chugs (“Hategate (the Dream-Master’s Realm)”), while twinkling, Këkht Aräkh-like keys lace the guitar-driven melodies on “Forest of Hallucinations,” its intro emitting South of Heaven-era Slayer vibes from the harmonized leads. M.’s vocals, as blackly metallic and viscerally lethal as ever, are dichotomously connected to the music and venture into minimally explored cleaner climes while sharing the spotlight on “A Brute Angel’s Sorrow” with guest vocalist Crying Orc (Këkht Aräkh).1 For beyond the Nightmare on Elm Street meets Black Aria2 vibes of instrumental opener “The Fires of Seduction,” lie the equally moody atmospheres of mid-album interlude “Angelic Vortex,” which serves as a portal, ushering listeners from Lamp of Murmuur’s past into what The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy represents for the project’s future.
Three-part title track, “The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy,” is the album highlight. Without jettisoning its black metal roots, Lamp of Murmuur shrouds this triptych in a Sólstafiric, proggy haze of spacy, 70s-style rock guitar solos and cascading Phantom of the Operatic progressions (“Part I – Moondance”), melodic, soaring leads (“Part II – Twilight Orgasm”) and a romping, symphonic paganism (“Part III – The Fall”) reminiscent of early Old Man’s Child. In addition, M.’s broadening, clean vocals inject new-wave intensity into the non-harsh moments of “Moondance,” a Moroder & Bowie “Cat People (Putting Out the Fire)” feel into the latter croons of “Twilight Orgasm,” and an effective, Cattle Decapitation-esque tonal rasp into “The Fall.” I think I had as much fun diving in and out of the waters of this stretch of TDPiE as our beloved sharkster had ingesting the whole of Saturnian Bloodstorm.
As often as dichotomy spearheads musical diversity, however, it can also foster unintended inconsistency, and in the court of The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy’s case, the latter unfortunately testifies loudest. As many moments of greatness exist on both halves of TDPiE’s whole, so too do some missteps. M.’s first instance of cleans, for example, at the end of “Hategate (The Dream-Master’s Realm)” sound out of tune and pulled me from an otherwise enjoyable listen during every spin. In addition, “Part I – Moondance” contains some awkwardly off-key musical transitions, and at times, the staccato, machine-gun riffage in “Part III – The Fall” feels out of sync with the drumming. And as much as I enjoyed the acoustically well-executed and clean-sung “A Brute Angel’s Sorrow,” its off-putting, last-batter-in-the-lineup positioning completely saps the majesty from the silence left in the wake of “Part III – The Fall”‘s last powerful chord.
A tenet often adhered to despite its obtusity is that broadened popularity for a band that launched its career from the darkened shadows of the kvlt black metal world usually leads to its death or disownment. In the case of Lamp of Murmuur, a forerunner of the current USBM scene, opinions may vary. As it stands, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy is a full-length that, if released as a pair of EPs, might have transcended its holistic inconsistencies. I’ve grown past the distaste I felt on initial listens to appreciate both sides of what Lamp of Murmuur has done here and look forward to M.’s continued growth, as should you.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Wolves of Hades
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: November 14th, 2025#2025 #30 #blackMetal #gothicMetal #immortal #kekhtArakh #lampOfMurmuur #nov25 #oldMansChild #review #solstafir #theDreamingPrinceInEcstasy #usbm #wolvesOfHadesRecords
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Lamp of Murmuur – The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy Review
By Tyme
L.A.-based M., the mastermind behind Lamp of Murmuur, has been busy this year. In addition to releasing two other solo projects—Silent Thunder’s EP, Soulspear, and Magus Lord’s full-length, In the Company of Champions—he’s readying to unleash his fourth Lamp of Murmuur long player, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy, this November. Far removed from the very lo-fi, kvltish cassette-only demos of 2019, Lamp of Murmuur has steadily matured over the years. Our resident shark, Carcharodon, had ‘tons of fucking fun’ with 2023’s Saturnian Bloodstorm, highlighting its heavy Immortal influence. When I spied The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy sitting unclaimed in the sump, I reached out to our scrivening squalus, who graciously ceded his seniority, hoping I had as much fun with LoM’s newest outing as he had with its last. Will The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy build off the excitement of Saturnian Bloodstorm, and further M.’s musical momentum, or will we discover that Lamp of Murmuur’s shine has dimmed a bit?
At first blush, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy extends Saturnian Bloodstorm’s thrashing black metal template before wading into waters teeming with new wave and gothic metal elements. Immortal’s influence still lurks amidst M.’s swirling, rapid-fire tremolos and galloping chugs (“Hategate (the Dream-Master’s Realm)”), while twinkling, Këkht Aräkh-like keys lace the guitar-driven melodies on “Forest of Hallucinations,” its intro emitting South of Heaven-era Slayer vibes from the harmonized leads. M.’s vocals, as blackly metallic and viscerally lethal as ever, are dichotomously connected to the music and venture into minimally explored cleaner climes while sharing the spotlight on “A Brute Angel’s Sorrow” with guest vocalist Crying Orc (Këkht Aräkh).1 For beyond the Nightmare on Elm Street meets Black Aria2 vibes of instrumental opener “The Fires of Seduction,” lie the equally moody atmospheres of mid-album interlude “Angelic Vortex,” which serves as a portal, ushering listeners from Lamp of Murmuur’s past into what The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy represents for the project’s future.
Three-part title track, “The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy,” is the album highlight. Without jettisoning its black metal roots, Lamp of Murmuur shrouds this triptych in a Sólstafiric, proggy haze of spacy, 70s-style rock guitar solos and cascading Phantom of the Operatic progressions (“Part I – Moondance”), melodic, soaring leads (“Part II – Twilight Orgasm”) and a romping, symphonic paganism (“Part III – The Fall”) reminiscent of early Old Man’s Child. In addition, M.’s broadening, clean vocals inject new-wave intensity into the non-harsh moments of “Moondance,” a Moroder & Bowie “Cat People (Putting Out the Fire)” feel into the latter croons of “Twilight Orgasm,” and an effective, Cattle Decapitation-esque tonal rasp into “The Fall.” I think I had as much fun diving in and out of the waters of this stretch of TDPiE as our beloved sharkster had ingesting the whole of Saturnian Bloodstorm.
As often as dichotomy spearheads musical diversity, however, it can also foster unintended inconsistency, and in the court of The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy’s case, the latter unfortunately testifies loudest. As many moments of greatness exist on both halves of TDPiE’s whole, so too do some missteps. M.’s first instance of cleans, for example, at the end of “Hategate (The Dream-Master’s Realm)” sound out of tune and pulled me from an otherwise enjoyable listen during every spin. In addition, “Part I – Moondance” contains some awkwardly off-key musical transitions, and at times, the staccato, machine-gun riffage in “Part III – The Fall” feels out of sync with the drumming. And as much as I enjoyed the acoustically well-executed and clean-sung “A Brute Angel’s Sorrow,” its off-putting, last-batter-in-the-lineup positioning completely saps the majesty from the silence left in the wake of “Part III – The Fall”‘s last powerful chord.
A tenet often adhered to despite its obtusity is that broadened popularity for a band that launched its career from the darkened shadows of the kvlt black metal world usually leads to its death or disownment. In the case of Lamp of Murmuur, a forerunner of the current USBM scene, opinions may vary. As it stands, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy is a full-length that, if released as a pair of EPs, might have transcended its holistic inconsistencies. I’ve grown past the distaste I felt on initial listens to appreciate both sides of what Lamp of Murmuur has done here and look forward to M.’s continued growth, as should you.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Wolves of Hades
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: November 14th, 2025#2025 #30 #blackMetal #gothicMetal #immortal #kekhtArakh #lampOfMurmuur #nov25 #oldMansChild #review #solstafir #theDreamingPrinceInEcstasy #usbm #wolvesOfHadesRecords
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Lamp of Murmuur – The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy Review
By Tyme
L.A.-based M., the mastermind behind Lamp of Murmuur, has been busy this year. In addition to releasing two other solo projects—Silent Thunder’s EP, Soulspear, and Magus Lord’s full-length, In the Company of Champions—he’s readying to unleash his fourth Lamp of Murmuur long player, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy, this November. Far removed from the very lo-fi, kvltish cassette-only demos of 2019, Lamp of Murmuur has steadily matured over the years. Our resident shark, Carcharodon, had ‘tons of fucking fun’ with 2023’s Saturnian Bloodstorm, highlighting its heavy Immortal influence. When I spied The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy sitting unclaimed in the sump, I reached out to our scrivening squalus, who graciously ceded his seniority, hoping I had as much fun with LoM’s newest outing as he had with its last. Will The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy build off the excitement of Saturnian Bloodstorm, and further M.’s musical momentum, or will we discover that Lamp of Murmuur’s shine has dimmed a bit?
At first blush, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy extends Saturnian Bloodstorm’s thrashing black metal template before wading into waters teeming with new wave and gothic metal elements. Immortal’s influence still lurks amidst M.’s swirling, rapid-fire tremolos and galloping chugs (“Hategate (the Dream-Master’s Realm)”), while twinkling, Këkht Aräkh-like keys lace the guitar-driven melodies on “Forest of Hallucinations,” its intro emitting South of Heaven-era Slayer vibes from the harmonized leads. M.’s vocals, as blackly metallic and viscerally lethal as ever, are dichotomously connected to the music and venture into minimally explored cleaner climes while sharing the spotlight on “A Brute Angel’s Sorrow” with guest vocalist Crying Orc (Këkht Aräkh).1 For beyond the Nightmare on Elm Street meets Black Aria2 vibes of instrumental opener “The Fires of Seduction,” lie the equally moody atmospheres of mid-album interlude “Angelic Vortex,” which serves as a portal, ushering listeners from Lamp of Murmuur’s past into what The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy represents for the project’s future.
Three-part title track, “The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy,” is the album highlight. Without jettisoning its black metal roots, Lamp of Murmuur shrouds this triptych in a Sólstafiric, proggy haze of spacy, 70s-style rock guitar solos and cascading Phantom of the Operatic progressions (“Part I – Moondance”), melodic, soaring leads (“Part II – Twilight Orgasm”) and a romping, symphonic paganism (“Part III – The Fall”) reminiscent of early Old Man’s Child. In addition, M.’s broadening, clean vocals inject new-wave intensity into the non-harsh moments of “Moondance,” a Moroder & Bowie “Cat People (Putting Out the Fire)” feel into the latter croons of “Twilight Orgasm,” and an effective, Cattle Decapitation-esque tonal rasp into “The Fall.” I think I had as much fun diving in and out of the waters of this stretch of TDPiE as our beloved sharkster had ingesting the whole of Saturnian Bloodstorm.
As often as dichotomy spearheads musical diversity, however, it can also foster unintended inconsistency, and in the court of The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy’s case, the latter unfortunately testifies loudest. As many moments of greatness exist on both halves of TDPiE’s whole, so too do some missteps. M.’s first instance of cleans, for example, at the end of “Hategate (The Dream-Master’s Realm)” sound out of tune and pulled me from an otherwise enjoyable listen during every spin. In addition, “Part I – Moondance” contains some awkwardly off-key musical transitions, and at times, the staccato, machine-gun riffage in “Part III – The Fall” feels out of sync with the drumming. And as much as I enjoyed the acoustically well-executed and clean-sung “A Brute Angel’s Sorrow,” its off-putting, last-batter-in-the-lineup positioning completely saps the majesty from the silence left in the wake of “Part III – The Fall”‘s last powerful chord.
A tenet often adhered to despite its obtusity is that broadened popularity for a band that launched its career from the darkened shadows of the kvlt black metal world usually leads to its death or disownment. In the case of Lamp of Murmuur, a forerunner of the current USBM scene, opinions may vary. As it stands, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy is a full-length that, if released as a pair of EPs, might have transcended its holistic inconsistencies. I’ve grown past the distaste I felt on initial listens to appreciate both sides of what Lamp of Murmuur has done here and look forward to M.’s continued growth, as should you.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Wolves of Hades
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: November 14th, 2025#2025 #30 #blackMetal #gothicMetal #immortal #kekhtArakh #lampOfMurmuur #nov25 #oldMansChild #review #solstafir #theDreamingPrinceInEcstasy #usbm #wolvesOfHadesRecords
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Lamp of Murmuur – The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy Review
By Tyme
L.A.-based M., the mastermind behind Lamp of Murmuur, has been busy this year. In addition to releasing two other solo projects—Silent Thunder’s EP, Soulspear, and Magus Lord’s full-length, In the Company of Champions—he’s readying to unleash his fourth Lamp of Murmuur long player, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy, this November. Far removed from the very lo-fi, kvltish cassette-only demos of 2019, Lamp of Murmuur has steadily matured over the years. Our resident shark, Carcharodon, had ‘tons of fucking fun’ with 2023’s Saturnian Bloodstorm, highlighting its heavy Immortal influence. When I spied The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy sitting unclaimed in the sump, I reached out to our scrivening squalus, who graciously ceded his seniority, hoping I had as much fun with LoM’s newest outing as he had with its last. Will The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy build off the excitement of Saturnian Bloodstorm, and further M.’s musical momentum, or will we discover that Lamp of Murmuur’s shine has dimmed a bit?
At first blush, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy extends Saturnian Bloodstorm’s thrashing black metal template before wading into waters teeming with new wave and gothic metal elements. Immortal’s influence still lurks amidst M.’s swirling, rapid-fire tremolos and galloping chugs (“Hategate (the Dream-Master’s Realm)”), while twinkling, Këkht Aräkh-like keys lace the guitar-driven melodies on “Forest of Hallucinations,” its intro emitting South of Heaven-era Slayer vibes from the harmonized leads. M.’s vocals, as blackly metallic and viscerally lethal as ever, are dichotomously connected to the music and venture into minimally explored cleaner climes while sharing the spotlight on “A Brute Angel’s Sorrow” with guest vocalist Crying Orc (Këkht Aräkh).1 For beyond the Nightmare on Elm Street meets Black Aria2 vibes of instrumental opener “The Fires of Seduction,” lie the equally moody atmospheres of mid-album interlude “Angelic Vortex,” which serves as a portal, ushering listeners from Lamp of Murmuur’s past into what The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy represents for the project’s future.
Three-part title track, “The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy,” is the album highlight. Without jettisoning its black metal roots, Lamp of Murmuur shrouds this triptych in a Sólstafiric, proggy haze of spacy, 70s-style rock guitar solos and cascading Phantom of the Operatic progressions (“Part I – Moondance”), melodic, soaring leads (“Part II – Twilight Orgasm”) and a romping, symphonic paganism (“Part III – The Fall”) reminiscent of early Old Man’s Child. In addition, M.’s broadening, clean vocals inject new-wave intensity into the non-harsh moments of “Moondance,” a Moroder & Bowie “Cat People (Putting Out the Fire)” feel into the latter croons of “Twilight Orgasm,” and an effective, Cattle Decapitation-esque tonal rasp into “The Fall.” I think I had as much fun diving in and out of the waters of this stretch of TDPiE as our beloved sharkster had ingesting the whole of Saturnian Bloodstorm.
As often as dichotomy spearheads musical diversity, however, it can also foster unintended inconsistency, and in the court of The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy’s case, the latter unfortunately testifies loudest. As many moments of greatness exist on both halves of TDPiE’s whole, so too do some missteps. M.’s first instance of cleans, for example, at the end of “Hategate (The Dream-Master’s Realm)” sound out of tune and pulled me from an otherwise enjoyable listen during every spin. In addition, “Part I – Moondance” contains some awkwardly off-key musical transitions, and at times, the staccato, machine-gun riffage in “Part III – The Fall” feels out of sync with the drumming. And as much as I enjoyed the acoustically well-executed and clean-sung “A Brute Angel’s Sorrow,” its off-putting, last-batter-in-the-lineup positioning completely saps the majesty from the silence left in the wake of “Part III – The Fall”‘s last powerful chord.
A tenet often adhered to despite its obtusity is that broadened popularity for a band that launched its career from the darkened shadows of the kvlt black metal world usually leads to its death or disownment. In the case of Lamp of Murmuur, a forerunner of the current USBM scene, opinions may vary. As it stands, The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy is a full-length that, if released as a pair of EPs, might have transcended its holistic inconsistencies. I’ve grown past the distaste I felt on initial listens to appreciate both sides of what Lamp of Murmuur has done here and look forward to M.’s continued growth, as should you.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Wolves of Hades
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: November 14th, 2025#2025 #30 #blackMetal #gothicMetal #immortal #kekhtArakh #lampOfMurmuur #nov25 #oldMansChild #review #solstafir #theDreamingPrinceInEcstasy #usbm #wolvesOfHadesRecords
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https://www.europesays.com/nl/53033/ Kauan – Wayhome | Zware Metalen #2025 #agalloch #alcest #Amusement #anathema #ArtoffactRecords #atmospheric #AtmosphericPostRock #atoma #doom #Dutch #eldamar #empyrium #Entertainment #finland #kauan #Music #Muziek #Nederland #Nederlanden #Nederlands #Netherlands #NL #PostRock #recensie #saturnus #sólstafir #tenhi #ulver #wayhome #ZwareMetalen
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Përl – Architecture du Vertige Review
One of the cool things about post-metal is the virtually infinite leeway artists have to be as light…
#NewsBeep #News #Music #2025 #3.0 #ArchitectureduVertige #Entertainment #FrenchMetal #Laudare #Matrass #Oct25 #Përl #post-metal #review #Reviews #SelfRelease #Solstafir #UK #UnitedKingdom
https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/232151/ -
Përl – Architecture du Vertige Review
By Killjoy
One of the cool things about post-metal is the virtually infinite leeway artists have to be as light or heavy as they like. Among my favorite artists in the genre are those who are masterful at balancing both sides. Përl has handcrafted a particularly dichotomous brand of post-metal in Paris, France, since 2008, drawing inspiration from the chiaroscuro art style characterized by the strong contrast between light and dark. This can be particularly difficult to execute because the opposing elements must be balanced impeccably in addition to being individually striking. How well has Përl mastered chiaroscuro on their fourth full-length record, Architecture du Vertige?
True to form, Përl paints with a wide variety of aural hues. Architecture du Vertige has a lot in common with the artistic post-metal of fellow countrymen Matrass, with burly bass grooves grappling with a charismatic female vocalist. Aline Boussaroque’s harsh vocals verge on hardcore or, occasionally, screamo in a way reminiscent of Laudare (sans cello). Conversely, her gentle croons are like a glossy lacquer coating, at times venturing into indie-pop or hip-hop territory. The heavy and light segments replace one another constantly, sometimes with a smooth ebb (“Au Royaume des songes”) and other times with a rough jerk (“La chute”). It’s a testament to Përl’s skill that they can work with so many influences not found in your typical post-metal record and sound confident while doing so.
All three core band members have spectacular synergy together. In addition to Boussaroque, Architecture du Vertige features Bastien Venzac on bass guitar and Thibault Delafosse on percussion.1 Refreshingly, both Venzac and Delafosse feel like equal partners with Boussaroque. The tom-heavy drum rhythms serve as transitions between sections and interplay with the bass lines to create compelling grooves. Delafosse responds accordingly to Boussaroque’s coarse screams and honeyed singing with blast beats or lightly syncopated rhythms. Her light rapping in “Naufragée des nuages” and “Fjara” lends entrancing verve and, surprisingly, is one of my favorite aspects of Architecture du Vertige. “Fjara” is, in fact, a Sólstafir cover, boldly slotted in the middle rather than tacked on at the end. Përl fleshed their version out considerably, with velvety passion imbued in each syllable and a smooth saxophone2 carefully woven into the latter half. I don’t know whether this trio has been together since the beginning, but it sure sounds like it.
But for some reason, Përl seems to lose their fire halfway through. The impressive momentum starts to peter out with the wintery electronic pulses of “Arcipelago,” which might have been a nice change of pace if not for what follows. “Land’s End”—the only song with any English lyrics—is something of a jumble. The peppy indie-pop choruses sound out of place, and the muddled vocal layers at the end stand in stark contrast with the hypnotic multi-tracked vocals in “Naufragée des nuages” earlier. Worse, closer “Que l’éclat fasse demeure” experiences a dearth of energy for minutes on end before surging to life in a whirlwind conclusion that can’t fully make up for it. I will say that this is when the most interesting guitarwork happens, as the guitar tends to take a backseat to the bass before this point.
It turns out that Architecture du Vertige is as dichotomous in memorability as it is stylistically. The front half is great, though with the caveat that one of the best songs is a (well-executed) cover. Unfortunately, the songwriting loses much of its luster in the back half, which ultimately holds Architecture du Vertige back as a whole. The members of Përl complement each other well, and they’ll be a force to be reckoned with if they can manage to write an entire record with the same energy as the first half. There is likely no better genre than post-metal to embody the chiaroscuro concept, and Përl has still put forth one of the more convincing efforts that I’ve heard. Stumbles notwithstanding, Përl is too talented to remain in obscurity.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: perl.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/perl.fr
Releases Worldwide: October 24th, 2025Show 2 footnotes
- With Chris Killin handling the guitar for live performances. ↩
- Courtesy of Yannick Renaud. ↩
#2025 #30 #ArchitectureDuVertige #FrenchMetal #Laudare #Matrass #Oct25 #Përl #PostMetal #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #Solstafir
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Përl – Architecture du Vertige Review
By Killjoy
One of the cool things about post-metal is the virtually infinite leeway artists have to be as light or heavy as they like. Among my favorite artists in the genre are those who are masterful at balancing both sides. Përl has handcrafted a particularly dichotomous brand of post-metal in Paris, France, since 2008, drawing inspiration from the chiaroscuro art style characterized by the strong contrast between light and dark. This can be particularly difficult to execute because the opposing elements must be balanced impeccably in addition to being individually striking. How well has Përl mastered chiaroscuro on their fourth full-length record, Architecture du Vertige?
True to form, Përl paints with a wide variety of aural hues. Architecture du Vertige has a lot in common with the artistic post-metal of fellow countrymen Matrass, with burly bass grooves grappling with a charismatic female vocalist. Aline Boussaroque’s harsh vocals verge on hardcore or, occasionally, screamo in a way reminiscent of Laudare (sans cello). Conversely, her gentle croons are like a glossy lacquer coating, at times venturing into indie-pop or hip-hop territory. The heavy and light segments replace one another constantly, sometimes with a smooth ebb (“Au Royaume des songes”) and other times with a rough jerk (“La chute”). It’s a testament to Përl’s skill that they can work with so many influences not found in your typical post-metal record and sound confident while doing so.
All three core band members have spectacular synergy together. In addition to Boussaroque, Architecture du Vertige features Bastien Venzac on bass guitar and Thibault Delafosse on percussion.1 Refreshingly, both Venzac and Delafosse feel like equal partners with Boussaroque. The tom-heavy drum rhythms serve as transitions between sections and interplay with the bass lines to create compelling grooves. Delafosse responds accordingly to Boussaroque’s coarse screams and honeyed singing with blast beats or lightly syncopated rhythms. Her light rapping in “Naufragée des nuages” and “Fjara” lends entrancing verve and, surprisingly, is one of my favorite aspects of Architecture du Vertige. “Fjara” is, in fact, a Sólstafir cover, boldly slotted in the middle rather than tacked on at the end. Përl fleshed their version out considerably, with velvety passion imbued in each syllable and a smooth saxophone2 carefully woven into the latter half. I don’t know whether this trio has been together since the beginning, but it sure sounds like it.
But for some reason, Përl seems to lose their fire halfway through. The impressive momentum starts to peter out with the wintery electronic pulses of “Arcipelago,” which might have been a nice change of pace if not for what follows. “Land’s End”—the only song with any English lyrics—is something of a jumble. The peppy indie-pop choruses sound out of place, and the muddled vocal layers at the end stand in stark contrast with the hypnotic multi-tracked vocals in “Naufragée des nuages” earlier. Worse, closer “Que l’éclat fasse demeure” experiences a dearth of energy for minutes on end before surging to life in a whirlwind conclusion that can’t fully make up for it. I will say that this is when the most interesting guitarwork happens, as the guitar tends to take a backseat to the bass before this point.
It turns out that Architecture du Vertige is as dichotomous in memorability as it is stylistically. The front half is great, though with the caveat that one of the best songs is a (well-executed) cover. Unfortunately, the songwriting loses much of its luster in the back half, which ultimately holds Architecture du Vertige back as a whole. The members of Përl complement each other well, and they’ll be a force to be reckoned with if they can manage to write an entire record with the same energy as the first half. There is likely no better genre than post-metal to embody the chiaroscuro concept, and Përl has still put forth one of the more convincing efforts that I’ve heard. Stumbles notwithstanding, Përl is too talented to remain in obscurity.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: perl.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/perl.fr
Releases Worldwide: October 24th, 2025Show 2 footnotes
- With Chris Killin handling the guitar for live performances. ↩
- Courtesy of Yannick Renaud. ↩
#2025 #30 #ArchitectureDuVertige #FrenchMetal #Laudare #Matrass #Oct25 #Përl #PostMetal #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #Solstafir
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Artist removed from Dunk! Festival 2025: ❌ Solstafir ❌
🎶 Listen to the current LineUp on YouTube and Spotify: https://fyrefestivals.co
🎟️ Get your Tickets now: https://prf.hn/l/EJnYMdO#Dunk_Festival_2025 #Solstafir #fyre_festivals #livemusic #youtube #spotify #music #musicfestivals #playlist #tickets #announcement
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Next #record at the #homeoffice
Heavy Metal from #Iceland : #katla #modurastin Limited Edition
The Band of the former #solstafir
Drummer Guðmundur Óli Pálmason -
Bergthron – Neu Asen Land Review
By Killjoy
Some people just can’t be rushed. Neu Asen Land is the first sign of life from the German atmospheric/progressive black metal band Bergthron since 2010. That’s a 15-year hiatus lasting almost the entire time that our beloved blog has been in operation! The exact identities of the band members have historically been difficult to ascertain,1 but the promotional material describes them as explorers who used this time for expeditions to remote forests and the Arctic Circle. Talk about a sabbatical! Given all of this, I expect I’m far from the only one who hadn’t heard of Bergthron before now. However, when even an unfamiliar group survives such a long break it bakes a certain level of interest into the new offering. After all, why break the silence after all this time without something worth saying?
Neu Asen Land’s most striking quality is how it manages to be both rugged and refined. This is evident from the intro “Skandinavische Expansion” which features a medley of gruff chants and growls on top of subdued piano keys. The vocals are a many-headed beast, with at least two members working together at any given time to produce rough shouts and sonorous cleans. Bergthron abandoned the darker, more industrial feel of 2010’s EXP. Autarktis somewhere along the way in favor of an eclectic blend of Sólstafir’s free-spirited rock, Borknagar’s brisk progressive black metal, and Havukruunu’s raw verve. They eschew many of the modern editing conventions, resulting in a more natural, unfiltered sound. Despite the lengthy hiatus, there’s no doubt that these guys are still comfortable playing together.
Bergthron make it abundantly clear that they write and perform solely on their own terms. The drumming is energetic, with rapid-fire double kick and long, indulgent fills (“Aufbruch nach Neu Asen Land,” “Gefangene der Polarnacht”). The bass lines in songs such as “SOG” and “Horizont in Flammen” are distinct and intricate, on par with those of the guitar. Like the weather, the musical conditions can drastically change without notice. Bergthron often slow down and let their prog rock roam free; much of “Gefangene der Polarnacht” in particular sounds akin to a blackened Rush. They play with temperature contrasts by placing balmy guitar melodies alongside shimmering wintery synths, which gives Neu Asen Land the feel of a sunny, snowy day. These atypical song structures might be jarring to some, but I find them charming overall.
Neu Asen Land’s biggest shortcoming is there isn’t quite enough of it to go around. At 32 minutes, there is zero bloat–exactly what one might expect of lean outdoorsmen. Of course, this isn’t a problem on its own, but every minute is even more important when there are less of them to spare, and this is why the concluding track “Skaldenruhm erstarrt in Zeit” falls so flat. It’s not a bad song, but it begins with eerie synths and ends with weak meandering, closing the album with a whimper in stark contrast with the vibrancy that came before. If Bergthron hadn’t let their blazing campfire die a bit too early, Neu Asen Land would likely be knocking on the door of greatness.
While I wasn’t able to send Bergthron off, Neu Asen Land is of such quality that I’m happy to welcome them back. They are clearly a well-traveled group of individuals and this is reflected in every fiber of their comeback album. While undeniably lacking polish, it possesses a handcrafted charm that I’m unlikely to experience again anytime soon. I can recommend this for those who like their black metal lively and unpredictable. If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to discover more good music in 2025, Neu Asen Land stands ready to help start the year strong.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Trollzorn Records
Websites: bergthron.bandcamp.com | bergthron.de
Releases Worldwide: January 6th, 2025Show 1 footnote
- The information on their Metal Archives page does not appear to be very reliable or current. There are names listed on the Bandcamp pages of some prior albums but without any indication of each member’s role or which ones still maintain their association with the band. ↩
#2025 #35 #Bergthron #BlackMetal #Borknagar #GermanMetal #Havukruunu #Jan25 #NeuAsenLand #ProgressiveMetal #ProgressiveRock #Review #Reviews #Rush #Solstafir #TrollzornRecords
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🔥 ¡Empezamos otra semana a bordo de #4x4 de radio @rockaxisoficial! 🔥
Hoy vamos con pura cosecha 2024. Escuchamos lo nuevo de #1000Mods, #SwallowTheSun, #Solstafir y #Opeth 👏
Lunes 10 y 22 Hrs en http://Rockaxis.Fm
Conduce @PabloCerda1
🐦🔗 https://farside.link/x.com/rockaxisoficial/status/1866105264765645127#m
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Hach, Herbst. Weltschmerz. Dazu passend: #Hierscheppert #Sólstafir!
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Sólstafir – Hin helga kvöl Review
By Carcharodon
The review game is a funny business. I genuinely don’t recall liking Endless Twilight of Co-Dependent Love, the last outing by Iceland’s post-metal legends Sólstafir, as much as I apparently did. It was a 2.5/5.0. Surely. But, as I prepared to tackle their eighth album, Hin helga kvöl (The Holy Suffering), I was shocked to learn that I’d 3.5ed Endless Twilight. And, wouldn’t you know, I was right! Yes, Endless Twilight was far too long. No, the production wasn’t good. And yes, Aðalbjörn Tryggvason’s vocals were more love-em-or-hate-em than ever. But, somehow, it held together as a very good album, something I re-discovered afresh delving back in after a four-year break. Speaking about Hin helga kvöl, Tryggvason said that one thing Sólstafir tried was to make the songs shorter but it’s “somewhat harder to write good short songs, so that was a real challenge.” Was it one the Icelanders were up to?
While Hin helga kvöl is shorter than Sólstafir’s last outing, at 50 minutes, with six of nine tracks comfortably clearing the five-minute mark, it’s not exactly an EP. But it’s not all about the length, as they (allegedly) say. And it would be fair to say that several of these short(er) songs are good, a few fantastic. The title track could easily have come off Sólstafir’s debut, Í blóði og anda. Harsh, bleak black metal, a big bass groove and Tryggvason’s emotive voice at its least objectionable, all serve to conjure the Icelandic majesty that made the band its name in the first place. This vitality and intensity, much missed on recent Sólstafir records, is matched, in starkly contrasting ways, by the album’s closing duo, “Nú mun ljósið deyja” and “Kuml (forspil, sálmur, kveðja).” The former leans into that Icelandic black metal fury of the title track, building up melodic textures to create layers of stark beauty. Highlight “Kuml” is an altogether different beast, slow, atmospheric doom, building in gorgeous sax and huge, sepulchral, clean vocals, which border on a monastic chant.
In fact, the more time I’ve spent with Hin helga kvöl, the more I’ve found to enjoy. Mid-album cut “Vor ás,” which adds in haunting female vocals by Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir, is redolent of the more up-tempo cuts (like “Draumfari”) from personal favourite, Svartir sandar. However, Sólstafir also indulge in some of their more recent, uglier vices. Awful hard rock ‘anthem’ “Blakkrakki,” relies on multi-tracked, grainy vocals, with Tryggvason repeatedly shouting the song title over bland, repetitive chords and laboured bass. This simplistic songwriting is repeated on “Grýla,” albeit with somewhat more success. However, unfairly sandwiching it between languid, bluesy lament “Freygátan” and “Nú mun ljósið deyja,” only highlights the basic songwriting. The album’s longest cut “Sálumessa” does absolutely nothing to justify it’s runtime. Attempting, I think, to hark back to the forlorn beauty of Ótta, it succeeds only in making me want to listen to that record.
Listening to Hin helga kvöl, I feel like a marionette being sharply pulled between different poles. Sólstafir has simultaneously written some of the best material I’ve heard from them since Ótta (title track and “Kuml”), and some of the worst I’ve heard from them full stop (“Blakkrakki”). They have then combined this with a few other tracks, ranging from the very good (“Freygátan” and “Nú mun ljósið deyja”) to the very mediocre (“Hún andar” and “Sálumessa”) seemingly at random. Only the transition from “Nú mun ljósið deyja” into album closer “Kuml” flows in a way that makes real sense in terms of album pacing. As well as the confused structure, the sound is bad. However, it’s hard to know how much to blame this on the production and how much on the 128 kbps(!) mp3 files that someone deigned to share with us.1 In the more stripped-back tracks (like “Kuml”), the production just about holds up, albeit the master is loud. In other places though, notably “Nú mun ljósið deyja,” it sounds crushed and a bit flat. Either way, just like on Endless Twilight, Tryggvason’s vocals are again way too far forward in the mix, offensively so on “Blakkrakki.”
Hin helga kvöl is so damn close to being the album I desperately wanted from Sólstafir. Ditch two tracks (which, incidentally, would shave almost 12 minutes off the runtime) and re-order the rest to give the album a logical flow, and you’d be looking at a record that could stand toe-to-toe with pretty much anything in Sólstafir’s catalogue. As an all-around album experience, Hin helga kvöl is fatally flawed but, I think, I maybe, kind of … love it? It’s complicated.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 102 | Format Reviewed: 128 kbps mp3
Label: Century Media Records
Websites: solstafir.bandcamp.com | solstafir.is | facebook.com/solstafirice
Releases Worldwide: November 8th, 2024#25 #2024 #CenturyMediaRecords #HardRock #HinHelgaKvöl #IcelandicMetal #Nov24 #PostRock #PostBlackMetal #PostMetal #Review #Reviews #Solstafir
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Sólstafir – Hin helga kvöl Review
By Carcharodon
The review game is a funny business. I genuinely don’t recall liking Endless Twilight of Co-Dependent Love, the last outing by Iceland’s post-metal legends Sólstafir, as much as I apparently did. It was a 2.5/5.0. Surely. But, as I prepared to tackle their eighth album, Hin helga kvöl (The Holy Suffering), I was shocked to learn that I’d 3.5ed Endless Twilight. And, wouldn’t you know, I was right! Yes, Endless Twilight was far too long. No, the production wasn’t good. And yes, Aðalbjörn Tryggvason’s vocals were more love-em-or-hate-em than ever. But, somehow, it held together as a very good album, something I re-discovered afresh delving back in after a four-year break. Speaking about Hin helga kvöl, Tryggvason said that one thing Sólstafir tried was to make the songs shorter but it’s “somewhat harder to write good short songs, so that was a real challenge.” Was it one the Icelanders were up to?
While Hin helga kvöl is shorter than Sólstafir’s last outing, at 50 minutes, with six of nine tracks comfortably clearing the five-minute mark, it’s not exactly an EP. But it’s not all about the length, as they (allegedly) say. And it would be fair to say that several of these short(er) songs are good, a few fantastic. The title track could easily have come off Sólstafir’s debut, Í blóði og anda. Harsh, bleak black metal, a big bass groove and Tryggvason’s emotive voice at its least objectionable, all serve to conjure the Icelandic majesty that made the band its name in the first place. This vitality and intensity, much missed on recent Sólstafir records, is matched, in starkly contrasting ways, by the album’s closing duo, “Nú mun ljósið deyja” and “Kuml (forspil, sálmur, kveðja).” The former leans into that Icelandic black metal fury of the title track, building up melodic textures to create layers of stark beauty. Highlight “Kuml” is an altogether different beast, slow, atmospheric doom, building in gorgeous sax and huge, sepulchral, clean vocals, which border on a monastic chant.
In fact, the more time I’ve spent with Hin helga kvöl, the more I’ve found to enjoy. Mid-album cut “Vor ás,” which adds in haunting female vocals by Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir, is redolent of the more up-tempo cuts (like “Draumfari”) from personal favourite, Svartir sandar. However, Sólstafir also indulge in some of their more recent, uglier vices. Awful hard rock ‘anthem’ “Blakkrakki,” relies on multi-tracked, grainy vocals, with Tryggvason repeatedly shouting the song title over bland, repetitive chords and laboured bass. This simplistic songwriting is repeated on “Grýla,” albeit with somewhat more success. However, unfairly sandwiching it between languid, bluesy lament “Freygátan” and “Nú mun ljósið deyja,” only highlights the basic songwriting. The album’s longest cut “Sálumessa” does absolutely nothing to justify it’s runtime. Attempting, I think, to hark back to the forlorn beauty of Ótta, it succeeds only in making me want to listen to that record.
Listening to Hin helga kvöl, I feel like a marionette being sharply pulled between different poles. Sólstafir has simultaneously written some of the best material I’ve heard from them since Ótta (title track and “Kuml”), and some of the worst I’ve heard from them full stop (“Blakkrakki”). They have then combined this with a few other tracks, ranging from the very good (“Freygátan” and “Nú mun ljósið deyja”) to the very mediocre (“Hún andar” and “Sálumessa”) seemingly at random. Only the transition from “Nú mun ljósið deyja” into album closer “Kuml” flows in a way that makes real sense in terms of album pacing. As well as the confused structure, the sound is bad. However, it’s hard to know how much to blame this on the production and how much on the 128 kbps(!) mp3 files that someone deigned to share with us.1 In the more stripped-back tracks (like “Kuml”), the production just about holds up, albeit the master is loud. In other places though, notably “Nú mun ljósið deyja,” it sounds crushed and a bit flat. Either way, just like on Endless Twilight, Tryggvason’s vocals are again way too far forward in the mix, offensively so on “Blakkrakki.”
Hin helga kvöl is so damn close to being the album I desperately wanted from Sólstafir. Ditch two tracks (which, incidentally, would shave almost 12 minutes off the runtime) and re-order the rest to give the album a logical flow, and you’d be looking at a record that could stand toe-to-toe with pretty much anything in Sólstafir’s catalogue. As an all-around album experience, Hin helga kvöl is fatally flawed but, I think, I maybe, kind of … love it? It’s complicated.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 102 | Format Reviewed: 128 kbps mp3
Label: Century Media Records
Websites: solstafir.bandcamp.com | solstafir.is | facebook.com/solstafirice
Releases Worldwide: November 8th, 2024Show 2 footnotes
- And, given that low file quality, I don’t put much stock in the DR10 score either. ↩
- Doubt. So. Much. Doubt. ↩
#25 #2024 #CenturyMediaRecords #HardRock #HinHelgaKvöl #IcelandicMetal #Nov24 #PostRock #PostBlackMetal #PostMetal #Review #Reviews #Solstafir
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Sólstafir – Hin helga kvöl Review
By Carcharodon
The review game is a funny business. I genuinely don’t recall liking Endless Twilight of Co-Dependent Love, the last outing by Iceland’s post-metal legends Sólstafir, as much as I apparently did. It was a 2.5/5.0. Surely. But, as I prepared to tackle their eighth album, Hin helga kvöl (The Holy Suffering), I was shocked to learn that I’d 3.5ed Endless Twilight. And, wouldn’t you know, I was right! Yes, Endless Twilight was far too long. No, the production wasn’t good. And yes, Aðalbjörn Tryggvason’s vocals were more love-em-or-hate-em than ever. But, somehow, it held together as a very good album, something I re-discovered afresh delving back in after a four-year break. Speaking about Hin helga kvöl, Tryggvason said that one thing Sólstafir tried was to make the songs shorter but it’s “somewhat harder to write good short songs, so that was a real challenge.” Was it one the Icelanders were up to?
While Hin helga kvöl is shorter than Sólstafir’s last outing, at 50 minutes, with six of nine tracks comfortably clearing the five-minute mark, it’s not exactly an EP. But it’s not all about the length, as they (allegedly) say. And it would be fair to say that several of these short(er) songs are good, a few fantastic. The title track could easily have come off Sólstafir’s debut, Í blóði og anda. Harsh, bleak black metal, a big bass groove and Tryggvason’s emotive voice at its least objectionable, all serve to conjure the Icelandic majesty that made the band its name in the first place. This vitality and intensity, much missed on recent Sólstafir records, is matched, in starkly contrasting ways, by the album’s closing duo, “Nú mun ljósið deyja” and “Kuml (forspil, sálmur, kveðja).” The former leans into that Icelandic black metal fury of the title track, building up melodic textures to create layers of stark beauty. Highlight “Kuml” is an altogether different beast, slow, atmospheric doom, building in gorgeous sax and huge, sepulchral, clean vocals, which border on a monastic chant.
In fact, the more time I’ve spent with Hin helga kvöl, the more I’ve found to enjoy. Mid-album cut “Vor ás,” which adds in haunting female vocals by Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir, is redolent of the more up-tempo cuts (like “Draumfari”) from personal favourite, Svartir sandar. However, Sólstafir also indulge in some of their more recent, uglier vices. Awful hard rock ‘anthem’ “Blakkrakki,” relies on multi-tracked, grainy vocals, with Tryggvason repeatedly shouting the song title over bland, repetitive chords and laboured bass. This simplistic songwriting is repeated on “Grýla,” albeit with somewhat more success. However, unfairly sandwiching it between languid, bluesy lament “Freygátan” and “Nú mun ljósið deyja,” only highlights the basic songwriting. The album’s longest cut “Sálumessa” does absolutely nothing to justify it’s runtime. Attempting, I think, to hark back to the forlorn beauty of Ótta, it succeeds only in making me want to listen to that record.
Listening to Hin helga kvöl, I feel like a marionette being sharply pulled between different poles. Sólstafir has simultaneously written some of the best material I’ve heard from them since Ótta (title track and “Kuml”), and some of the worst I’ve heard from them full stop (“Blakkrakki”). They have then combined this with a few other tracks, ranging from the very good (“Freygátan” and “Nú mun ljósið deyja”) to the very mediocre (“Hún andar” and “Sálumessa”) seemingly at random. Only the transition from “Nú mun ljósið deyja” into album closer “Kuml” flows in a way that makes real sense in terms of album pacing. As well as the confused structure, the sound is bad. However, it’s hard to know how much to blame this on the production and how much on the 128 kbps(!) mp3 files that someone deigned to share with us.1 In the more stripped-back tracks (like “Kuml”), the production just about holds up, albeit the master is loud. In other places though, notably “Nú mun ljósið deyja,” it sounds crushed and a bit flat. Either way, just like on Endless Twilight, Tryggvason’s vocals are again way too far forward in the mix, offensively so on “Blakkrakki.”
Hin helga kvöl is so damn close to being the album I desperately wanted from Sólstafir. Ditch two tracks (which, incidentally, would shave almost 12 minutes off the runtime) and re-order the rest to give the album a logical flow, and you’d be looking at a record that could stand toe-to-toe with pretty much anything in Sólstafir’s catalogue. As an all-around album experience, Hin helga kvöl is fatally flawed but, I think, I maybe, kind of … love it? It’s complicated.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 102 | Format Reviewed: 128 kbps mp3
Label: Century Media Records
Websites: solstafir.bandcamp.com | solstafir.is | facebook.com/solstafirice
Releases Worldwide: November 8th, 2024#25 #2024 #CenturyMediaRecords #HardRock #HinHelgaKvöl #IcelandicMetal #Nov24 #PostRock #PostBlackMetal #PostMetal #Review #Reviews #Solstafir
-
Sólstafir – Hin helga kvöl Review
By Carcharodon
The review game is a funny business. I genuinely don’t recall liking Endless Twilight of Co-Dependent Love, the last outing by Iceland’s post-metal legends Sólstafir, as much as I apparently did. It was a 2.5/5.0. Surely. But, as I prepared to tackle their eighth album, Hin helga kvöl (The Holy Suffering), I was shocked to learn that I’d 3.5ed Endless Twilight. And, wouldn’t you know, I was right! Yes, Endless Twilight was far too long. No, the production wasn’t good. And yes, Aðalbjörn Tryggvason’s vocals were more love-em-or-hate-em than ever. But, somehow, it held together as a very good album, something I re-discovered afresh delving back in after a four-year break. Speaking about Hin helga kvöl, Tryggvason said that one thing Sólstafir tried was to make the songs shorter but it’s “somewhat harder to write good short songs, so that was a real challenge.” Was it one the Icelanders were up to?
While Hin helga kvöl is shorter than Sólstafir’s last outing, at 50 minutes, with six of nine tracks comfortably clearing the five-minute mark, it’s not exactly an EP. But it’s not all about the length, as they (allegedly) say. And it would be fair to say that several of these short(er) songs are good, a few fantastic. The title track could easily have come off Sólstafir’s debut, Í blóði og anda. Harsh, bleak black metal, a big bass groove and Tryggvason’s emotive voice at its least objectionable, all serve to conjure the Icelandic majesty that made the band its name in the first place. This vitality and intensity, much missed on recent Sólstafir records, is matched, in starkly contrasting ways, by the album’s closing duo, “Nú mun ljósið deyja” and “Kuml (forspil, sálmur, kveðja).” The former leans into that Icelandic black metal fury of the title track, building up melodic textures to create layers of stark beauty. Highlight “Kuml” is an altogether different beast, slow, atmospheric doom, building in gorgeous sax and huge, sepulchral, clean vocals, which border on a monastic chant.
In fact, the more time I’ve spent with Hin helga kvöl, the more I’ve found to enjoy. Mid-album cut “Vor ás,” which adds in haunting female vocals by Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir, is redolent of the more up-tempo cuts (like “Draumfari”) from personal favourite, Svartir sandar. However, Sólstafir also indulge in some of their more recent, uglier vices. Awful hard rock ‘anthem’ “Blakkrakki,” relies on multi-tracked, grainy vocals, with Tryggvason repeatedly shouting the song title over bland, repetitive chords and laboured bass. This simplistic songwriting is repeated on “Grýla,” albeit with somewhat more success. However, unfairly sandwiching it between languid, bluesy lament “Freygátan” and “Nú mun ljósið deyja,” only highlights the basic songwriting. The album’s longest cut “Sálumessa” does absolutely nothing to justify it’s runtime. Attempting, I think, to hark back to the forlorn beauty of Ótta, it succeeds only in making me want to listen to that record.
Listening to Hin helga kvöl, I feel like a marionette being sharply pulled between different poles. Sólstafir has simultaneously written some of the best material I’ve heard from them since Ótta (title track and “Kuml”), and some of the worst I’ve heard from them full stop (“Blakkrakki”). They have then combined this with a few other tracks, ranging from the very good (“Freygátan” and “Nú mun ljósið deyja”) to the very mediocre (“Hún andar” and “Sálumessa”) seemingly at random. Only the transition from “Nú mun ljósið deyja” into album closer “Kuml” flows in a way that makes real sense in terms of album pacing. As well as the confused structure, the sound is bad. However, it’s hard to know how much to blame this on the production and how much on the 128 kbps(!) mp3 files that someone deigned to share with us.1 In the more stripped-back tracks (like “Kuml”), the production just about holds up, albeit the master is loud. In other places though, notably “Nú mun ljósið deyja,” it sounds crushed and a bit flat. Either way, just like on Endless Twilight, Tryggvason’s vocals are again way too far forward in the mix, offensively so on “Blakkrakki.”
Hin helga kvöl is so damn close to being the album I desperately wanted from Sólstafir. Ditch two tracks (which, incidentally, would shave almost 12 minutes off the runtime) and re-order the rest to give the album a logical flow, and you’d be looking at a record that could stand toe-to-toe with pretty much anything in Sólstafir’s catalogue. As an all-around album experience, Hin helga kvöl is fatally flawed but, I think, I maybe, kind of … love it? It’s complicated.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 102 | Format Reviewed: 128 kbps mp3
Label: Century Media Records
Websites: solstafir.bandcamp.com | solstafir.is | facebook.com/solstafirice
Releases Worldwide: November 8th, 2024#25 #2024 #CenturyMediaRecords #HardRock #HinHelgaKvöl #IcelandicMetal #Nov24 #PostRock #PostBlackMetal #PostMetal #Review #Reviews #Solstafir
-
Sólstafir – Hin helga kvöl Review
By Carcharodon
The review game is a funny business. I genuinely don’t recall liking Endless Twilight of Co-Dependent Love, the last outing by Iceland’s post-metal legends Sólstafir, as much as I apparently did. It was a 2.5/5.0. Surely. But, as I prepared to tackle their eighth album, Hin helga kvöl (The Holy Suffering), I was shocked to learn that I’d 3.5ed Endless Twilight. And, wouldn’t you know, I was right! Yes, Endless Twilight was far too long. No, the production wasn’t good. And yes, Aðalbjörn Tryggvason’s vocals were more love-em-or-hate-em than ever. But, somehow, it held together as a very good album, something I re-discovered afresh delving back in after a four-year break. Speaking about Hin helga kvöl, Tryggvason said that one thing Sólstafir tried was to make the songs shorter but it’s “somewhat harder to write good short songs, so that was a real challenge.” Was it one the Icelanders were up to?
While Hin helga kvöl is shorter than Sólstafir’s last outing, at 50 minutes, with six of nine tracks comfortably clearing the five-minute mark, it’s not exactly an EP. But it’s not all about the length, as they (allegedly) say. And it would be fair to say that several of these short(er) songs are good, a few fantastic. The title track could easily have come off Sólstafir’s debut, Í blóði og anda. Harsh, bleak black metal, a big bass groove and Tryggvason’s emotive voice at its least objectionable, all serve to conjure the Icelandic majesty that made the band its name in the first place. This vitality and intensity, much missed on recent Sólstafir records, is matched, in starkly contrasting ways, by the album’s closing duo, “Nú mun ljósið deyja” and “Kuml (forspil, sálmur, kveðja).” The former leans into that Icelandic black metal fury of the title track, building up melodic textures to create layers of stark beauty. Highlight “Kuml” is an altogether different beast, slow, atmospheric doom, building in gorgeous sax and huge, sepulchral, clean vocals, which border on a monastic chant.
In fact, the more time I’ve spent with Hin helga kvöl, the more I’ve found to enjoy. Mid-album cut “Vor ás,” which adds in haunting female vocals by Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir, is redolent of the more up-tempo cuts (like “Draumfari”) from personal favourite, Svartir sandar. However, Sólstafir also indulge in some of their more recent, uglier vices. Awful hard rock ‘anthem’ “Blakkrakki,” relies on multi-tracked, grainy vocals, with Tryggvason repeatedly shouting the song title over bland, repetitive chords and laboured bass. This simplistic songwriting is repeated on “Grýla,” albeit with somewhat more success. However, unfairly sandwiching it between languid, bluesy lament “Freygátan” and “Nú mun ljósið deyja,” only highlights the basic songwriting. The album’s longest cut “Sálumessa” does absolutely nothing to justify it’s runtime. Attempting, I think, to hark back to the forlorn beauty of Ótta, it succeeds only in making me want to listen to that record.
Listening to Hin helga kvöl, I feel like a marionette being sharply pulled between different poles. Sólstafir has simultaneously written some of the best material I’ve heard from them since Ótta (title track and “Kuml”), and some of the worst I’ve heard from them full stop (“Blakkrakki”). They have then combined this with a few other tracks, ranging from the very good (“Freygátan” and “Nú mun ljósið deyja”) to the very mediocre (“Hún andar” and “Sálumessa”) seemingly at random. Only the transition from “Nú mun ljósið deyja” into album closer “Kuml” flows in a way that makes real sense in terms of album pacing. As well as the confused structure, the sound is bad. However, it’s hard to know how much to blame this on the production and how much on the 128 kbps(!) mp3 files that someone deigned to share with us.1 In the more stripped-back tracks (like “Kuml”), the production just about holds up, albeit the master is loud. In other places though, notably “Nú mun ljósið deyja,” it sounds crushed and a bit flat. Either way, just like on Endless Twilight, Tryggvason’s vocals are again way too far forward in the mix, offensively so on “Blakkrakki.”
Hin helga kvöl is so damn close to being the album I desperately wanted from Sólstafir. Ditch two tracks (which, incidentally, would shave almost 12 minutes off the runtime) and re-order the rest to give the album a logical flow, and you’d be looking at a record that could stand toe-to-toe with pretty much anything in Sólstafir’s catalogue. As an all-around album experience, Hin helga kvöl is fatally flawed but, I think, I maybe, kind of … love it? It’s complicated.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 102 | Format Reviewed: 128 kbps mp3
Label: Century Media Records
Websites: solstafir.bandcamp.com | solstafir.is | facebook.com/solstafirice
Releases Worldwide: November 8th, 2024Show 2 footnotes
- And, given that low file quality, I don’t put much stock in the DR10 score either. ↩
- Doubt. So. Much. Doubt. ↩
#25 #2024 #CenturyMediaRecords #HardRock #HinHelgaKvöl #IcelandicMetal #Nov24 #PostRock #PostBlackMetal #PostMetal #Review #Reviews #Solstafir
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#BraveWords
SÓLSTAFIR Premieres Music Video For Emotional New Song "Hún Andar"https://bravewords.com/news/solstafir-premieres-music-video-for-emotional-new-song-hun-andar
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#TheMetalDogArticleList
#BraveWords
SÓLSTAFIR Premieres Music Video For Emotional New Song "Hún Andar"https://bravewords.com/news/solstafir-premieres-music-video-for-emotional-new-song-hun-andar
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Sólstafir share new song “Hin Helga Kvöl” (The Holy Torment):
#Solstafir #TheHolyTorment #newsong
https://metalinsider.net/video/solstafir-share-new-song-hin-helga-kvol-the-holy-torment
-
#TheMetalDogArticleList
#MetalInjection
SÓLSTAFIR Offers Up Torment On New Single "Hin Helga Kvöl!"
Iceland, coming in hot with the heaviness.https://metalinjection.net/video/solstafir-offers-up-torment-on-new-single-hin-helga-kvol
-
#TheMetalDogArticleList
#MetalInjection
SÓLSTAFIR Offers Up Torment On New Single "Hin Helga Kvöl!"
Iceland, coming in hot with the heaviness.https://metalinjection.net/video/solstafir-offers-up-torment-on-new-single-hin-helga-kvol
-
#TheMetalDogArticleList
#BraveWords
SÓLSTAFIR Shares Music Video For New Single “Hin Helga Kvöl”
Icelandic post-rockers Sólstafir have revealed the brand new single, “Hin Helga Kvöl". Meaning "The Holy Torment," the new offering conjures up nostalgia as it harkens back to the band's heavy roots while still layered with thick ambience and deep emotion. The song can be found along with a music...https://bravewords.com/news/solstafir-shares-music-video-for-new-single-hin-helga-kvol
-
#TheMetalDogArticleList
#BraveWords
SÓLSTAFIR Shares Music Video For New Single “Hin Helga Kvöl”
Icelandic post-rockers Sólstafir have revealed the brand new single, “Hin Helga Kvöl". Meaning "The Holy Torment," the new offering conjures up nostalgia as it harkens back to the band's heavy roots while still layered with thick ambience and deep emotion. The song can be found along with a music...https://bravewords.com/news/solstafir-shares-music-video-for-new-single-hin-helga-kvol
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Drungi – Hamfarir Hugans Review
By GardensTale
I love ‘for fans of’ or ‘related artists’ shorthands. In lieu of the endless genre discussions, it’s a great shortcut to match potential fans with new music. It has its shortcomings, of course; for one, you need to actually know the bands to get a feeling for whether it might be up your alley. Furthermore, bands can abuse it by referencing a bunch of popular bands, even when their style is only tangentially related. Case in point: the promo sheet for Drungi’s self-released debut Hamfarir Hugans included such a baffling spread in their FFO, I was immediately skeptical. Sólstafir, Skálmöld, Black Sabbath, Gojira and Manowar. What on Earth could possibly sound like all of those at the same time?
Against all odds, Hamfarir Hugans actually manages to tick most of those boxes in one way or another, without losing any cohesion. The first reference is the nearest kin: Sólstafir’s bleak mood and post-folk-metal textures are recognizable right away. But instead of despondent icy landscapes, Drungi uses that palette to draw crude cave paintings of primitive war and dark rituals. The coarse vocals recall their countrymen’s typical style of black metal, but the staccato delivery, occasional cleans and female backing vocals give a more tribal, primal vibe. As do the riffs, which are relatively simple and straightforward, but contain a marching, warlike spirit that fit perfectly with the band’s sonic aesthetics. The band doesn’t neatly fall into one genre or another, containing elements of traditional-, epic doom-, folk- and black metal, conglomerating into a sound that might appeal to Hangman’s Chair fans in addition to all the above.1
Of course, the most important is whether Hamfarir Hugans is any good, and I can happily confirm that once more! Opener “Alda” serves as a kind of microcosm for the album at large, serving a somewhat repetitious riff with enough verve and spirit to stave off the threat of repetitiveness, including whispers and female chants for atmosphere, and a more traditional-hewing solo that breaks up the track nicely. This kind of simple but mature songwriting is key across the record, along with a consistency in the performances that implies the band members have much more experience making music than their empty Metal Archives histories account for. A hazard of a young band with a very particular sound is over-reliance on the sound without accounting for variation between tracks, but Drungi know to compensate for that. Mid-paced stompers like the opener contrast with higher charges like “Skjálfti” or “Ófærð,” and the melodic solos provide a nice change of pace.
Even so, the band never dips into either outright doom- or speed metal pacing, keeping a tight grip on the reins. Perhaps a bit too tight, as my sole nit to pick with Hamfarir Hugans would be an unadventurous spirit. That may sound odd when I’ve spent so much time building up the band’s unique sound, but my gripe is less with the album as a whole as it is with the progression of each track individually. It’s a consequence of the focus on that primal sound, where each track is primarily centered around one central riff that varies little as the song goes on, keeping the pacing, energy and atmosphere largely stagnant from the beginning of the track to the end. That’s part of what makes the solos so effective a break, too. There’s evidence Drungi is aware of this flaw; “Kvika” introduces a nice break in the middle and builds toward the solo from there, but then returns to its main riff unnecessarily at the end.
Still, it’s a petty complaint, especially for a band who have managed to dig out a niche of their own with a unique yet cohesive sound and solid performances for their first and unsigned album. It speaks of a combination of lethal talent, inspiration, and a hell of a working ethic. I hope Drungi is willing to dig deep and mine the most out of its style, because this outfit has the potential to go very far indeed. Hamfarir Hugans is just the first step.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-released
Websites: drungi.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/drungiiceland
Releases Worldwide: April 5th, 2024#2024 #35 #BlackSabbath #DoomMetal #Drungi #FolkMetal #Gojira #HamfarirHugans #HangmanSChair #HeavyMetal #IcelandicMetal #Manowar #Mar24 #Review #Reviews #SelfReleased #Skálmöld #Solstafir
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Drungi – Hamfarir Hugans Review
By GardensTale
I love ‘for fans of’ or ‘related artists’ shorthands. In lieu of the endless genre discussions, it’s a great shortcut to match potential fans with new music. It has its shortcomings, of course; for one, you need to actually know the bands to get a feeling for whether it might be up your alley. Furthermore, bands can abuse it by referencing a bunch of popular bands, even when their style is only tangentially related. Case in point: the promo sheet for Drungi’s self-released debut Hamfarir Hugans included such a baffling spread in their FFO, I was immediately skeptical. Sólstafir, Skálmöld, Black Sabbath, Gojira and Manowar. What on Earth could possibly sound like all of those at the same time?
Against all odds, Hamfarir Hugans actually manages to tick most of those boxes in one way or another, without losing any cohesion. The first reference is the nearest kin: Sólstafir’s bleak mood and post-folk-metal textures are recognizable right away. But instead of despondent icy landscapes, Drungi uses that palette to draw crude cave paintings of primitive war and dark rituals. The coarse vocals recall their countrymen’s typical style of black metal, but the staccato delivery, occasional cleans and female backing vocals give a more tribal, primal vibe. As do the riffs, which are relatively simple and straightforward, but contain a marching, warlike spirit that fit perfectly with the band’s sonic aesthetics. The band doesn’t neatly fall into one genre or another, containing elements of traditional-, epic doom-, folk- and black metal, conglomerating into a sound that might appeal to Hangman’s Chair fans in addition to all the above.1
Of course, the most important is whether Hamfarir Hugans is any good, and I can happily confirm that once more! Opener “Alda” serves as a kind of microcosm for the album at large, serving a somewhat repetitious riff with enough verve and spirit to stave off the threat of repetitiveness, including whispers and female chants for atmosphere, and a more traditional-hewing solo that breaks up the track nicely. This kind of simple but mature songwriting is key across the record, along with a consistency in the performances that implies the band members have much more experience making music than their empty Metal Archives histories account for. A hazard of a young band with a very particular sound is over-reliance on the sound without accounting for variation between tracks, but Drungi know to compensate for that. Mid-paced stompers like the opener contrast with higher charges like “Skjálfti” or “Ófærð,” and the melodic solos provide a nice change of pace.
Even so, the band never dips into either outright doom- or speed metal pacing, keeping a tight grip on the reins. Perhaps a bit too tight, as my sole nit to pick with Hamfarir Hugans would be an unadventurous spirit. That may sound odd when I’ve spent so much time building up the band’s unique sound, but my gripe is less with the album as a whole as it is with the progression of each track individually. It’s a consequence of the focus on that primal sound, where each track is primarily centered around one central riff that varies little as the song goes on, keeping the pacing, energy and atmosphere largely stagnant from the beginning of the track to the end. That’s part of what makes the solos so effective a break, too. There’s evidence Drungi is aware of this flaw; “Kvika” introduces a nice break in the middle and builds toward the solo from there, but then returns to its main riff unnecessarily at the end.
Still, it’s a petty complaint, especially for a band who have managed to dig out a niche of their own with a unique yet cohesive sound and solid performances for their first and unsigned album. It speaks of a combination of lethal talent, inspiration, and a hell of a working ethic. I hope Drungi is willing to dig deep and mine the most out of its style, because this outfit has the potential to go very far indeed. Hamfarir Hugans is just the first step.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-released
Websites: drungi.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/drungiiceland
Releases Worldwide: April 5th, 2024#2024 #35 #BlackSabbath #DoomMetal #Drungi #FolkMetal #Gojira #HamfarirHugans #HangmanSChair #HeavyMetal #IcelandicMetal #Manowar #Mar24 #Review #Reviews #SelfReleased #Skálmöld #Solstafir
