Danish outfit Myrkur had a busy 2023. Not only Spine but this TV show soundtrack too. Surprisingly, Ragnarok is the more straightforward of the two. Rocking rural stints of Heathen Metal, guitars frequently drop in with overdriven power chords, chunky rhythms and a touch of Doom Metal lurches. Bruun's Scandinavian tongue roots its viking feeling when in spoken demeanor, her ascensions into charming sung passes feel like a softly symphonic charm to dress up the rather dirty, gritty guitar tones.
Each Metal song alternates with an orchestrated alternative, softer instrumentation, often keyboards, pianos and strings. Odins Sang offers a Nordic folk chant over primitive percussion. For the mesmerizing Modgunns Tema, a different direction. Deeply calming, mysterious and natural, the gentle lonely notes that glimmer in its lingering reverb feel like a tribute to first light over a pristine snow swept forest.
This shuffling variety is refreshing, creating quite a journey. Initially I was drawn to its softer side but the Metal tracks have a charm in their simplicity. The aesthetic is spot on for conjuring pagan visions and rural hardships worshiping ancient gods. Its subtly impressive and a firm reminder of why I'm still interested in what they might do next. Although completely fitting, Ragnarok is still candidly bewitching, even more so Spine.
Rating: 7/10
Wednesday 3 January 2024
Myrkur "Ragnarok" (2023)
Friday 15 December 2023
Myrkur "Spine" (2023)
After the aptly name Folkesange, Danish outfit Myrkur return to the Black Metal tinged aesthetics of their origins. Spine muddies the waters with an uncanny sense akin to a "covers album". Like Humans sets this striking tone, the "talk to me like humans do" chorus arises from a rubble of darkly guitar rumblings and morose pianos nestled in a foggy, swampy drone. The cadence and melodies of Amalie Bruun carry an elevated yet contrasting spirit, rhythm and rhyme akin to catchy yet emotive Synthpop.
Continuously, her knack for lyrical delivery evokes this peculiarity again and again. Other elements suggested similar feelings too. The tense, tick tock alike synth lines of Mothlike and its gleaming flush, a rapid melodic guitar solo that erupts from an initial dark rumble, this too felt like a differing origin brought to to serve a peculiar chemistry.
As the album runs, many inspirations are woven into its fabric. A strange mix of hazy subdued extremity and light shining through gloomy clouds. Blazing Sky brings the bloat and bombast of a sludgy Doom Metal riff to the mercy of Brunn's earthly, gentle voice. Again, its illuminating pivot into a catchy chorus gives this unshakable sense of an original piece re-imagined through a dark and contrasting genre.
After many spins and much pointless research, I've learned of this records authenticity and grown to adore its peculiar position. It speaks volumes to its chemistry as these magnetic songs carry multiple spirits in tandem. The band have yielded a record that doesn't fallen into any typicality or genre pitfalls. Gracefully, they brew great music with their own unique spirit. Its been a breath of fresh air to say the least!
Rating: 8/10
Wednesday 9 November 2022
Matt Uelmen "Torchlight II OST" (2012)
Rejoice! A gift from the heavens, a FREE original soundtrack! If like me, you grew up on the music of Matt Uelmen's Blizzard classics Starcraft and Diablo II, then this is for you! Spellbound by his earthly incarnations of weathered stone age lands and the lurching mischief of a corrupt evil, the D2 soundtracks became frequent listening beyond the game itself. The broody, engrossing atmospheres Matt conjured stuck with me over the decades. Catching wind of his work on this soundtrack, released by the games published for free, peaked my interest. Bar its title theme track, Torchlight II is essentially another half to the classic D2 soundtrack that's so dear to me.
Its no understatement, the instrumental pallet is identical. Shades of all five chapters of the game intermingle. The cinematic orchestration unlocked with the Lord Of Destruction expansion pack a prominent feature too. Not just aesthetics and texture but the musical approach musters that timeless magic. Certain passageways bear a sparkling resemblance. Others seemingly direct incarnations or alternate takes. Once again we get to experience the mesmerizing layers of acoustic guitar Tristram blazed so brightly in Diablo's opening track. A song worthy of any curious listener.
Its a lengthy soundtrack, eighty minutes where new crevasses of his earthly musics are explored, always tumbling back into familiar feelings and arrangements, then to vanish again into something new. Its a delight. A literal dream come true. Too often have I wished for more and finally it is here, or should I say unbeknown to me for ten years! Nestled at the end, Camp Dawn is my favorite track, essentially the closest you'll get to another Tristram. Beautiful! I'm so thankful to have found this.
Rating: 9/10
Saturday 6 August 2022
Arcanist "Hyperborea" (2022)
Through forages of retro psychedelia synth know as Berlin School, and an artistic encroachment upon the forgotten dusty crypts of Dungeon Synth, Arcanist firmly caught my attention with their stunning debut Poseidonis. My knee jerk reaction to Hyperborea waned after a sour taste induced by spurious inclusions of esoteric Black Metal and sludgy abominably Doom Metal. As successive repetitions settled spirits across its four epic songs, I grew to love how musically ambitious this record is.
Unwilling to rest on laurels, Hyperborea brews its story telling with cinematic stride to journey vast and various musical landscapes. Unruly lulls of Dark Ambience hold over its forays into Medieval and Heathen acoustic folk. The aforementioned metallic spurts scale the summit as its valleys are navigated by captivating synth solos in the spirit of Progressive Rock. Best of all, The Coming Of The White Worm's plunge into the cosmic has another delightful reminiscence of my treasured Oscillotron.
A flow of engulfing atmospheric magic gushes forth, with sudden splashes of color, wild twists and dramatic soars along the way. Despite having different temperaments and aesthetics, the music is guided wondrously as these distinct musical spaces get woven together in a single narrative. It has the pay off only an album experience can offer as one traverses its eerie, bespoken wanderings into lavish drips of exotic synth. Ending on a loud and frightening conclusion, I am often startled, awoken to start the adventure over again. Its has been one of the best musical experiences this year!
Rating: 9/10
Saturday 27 November 2021
Soley "Mother Melancholia" (2021)
Last Christmas I experienced the magical resonance of a sparkling wintry record, Endless Summer. On the heals of that excitement I leaped upon this latest release. What I've found is far from that beauty and spirited charm. As implied in its name and powerful album art, Mother Melancholia wallows in the pains of an eternal attachment to a melancholy Soley explores with her music. This time the construct is sparse and atmospheric. Little inklings of song, blossoms out of the darkness with chilling piano melodies fading into bleak elongated ambiences aligned with hints of deviousness on tracks like Parasite and Elegia.
There are scarce moments of warmth but Soley mostly sings with shyness from a vulnerable place. Accompanied by lonely brooding instrumentation the record often feels sad and lost, as if wandering through limbo for an eternity. Many of the compositions leads to swells as the gentle atmospheres steadily gather gusto. The devilishly slow and sluggish Blows Up has a grabbing two note guitar riff to conclude the progress. Its so apt and timely as much of the record is with its aesthetic and musical choices. Many ideas play out to a point.
Mother Melancholia is a fine record, bravely exploring despairing lonely spaces and other degrees of human sorrow. Where it falters is perhaps in the listeners mood. Contented to relax and absorb, then its a fine experience but its charm is a calm current to gently drift with. There isn't a lot to jump to for hits of excitement and skipping around the track listing reveals a lot of lengthy ambiences. A fine but fair record. I do like the darkly mourning of Soley's performances but without a counterpart, it does feel hard to get excited about in its persistent gloominess.
Rating: 6/10
Sunday 2 May 2021
Anna Von Hausswolff "Ceremony" (2013)
Stepping backwards in time, we arrive upon Swedish songwriter and Organist, Anna Von Hausswolff's sophomore record. As The Miraculous hinted, the engulfing esoteric gloom and might of her burdensome terror had yet to emerge. Ceremony feels rather undefined in its direction, closer to musical traditions stemming back to the 70s with songwriting, moods and templates that are yet to diverge from common and folksy sounds. Darkness is the flavor she brings but in this outing its just a shadow of the witchery yet to be discovered, more of a still and sombre grayness gently cast.
Interchanging her operatic voice with pipe organs and an array of string instruments, these calmed song temperaments gracefully cruise by. The second song Deathbed is the one track indicating her future direction. Its bludgeoning Doom Metal drone and grating guitar chords spell horror between her voice and colorful organs giving pause for light. The record then meanders into a string of bare and minimal musings, before traditional elements emerge towards the end, tethered to her subtle gloom.
I could get deeper into the particulars, her voice and instrumentation echoing strong feelings from many a musical style and artist heard before but that alone was the key take away. Rather than striding into new territory with something to shock and awe, at this stage Anna was still finding her feet, writing wonderful songs that have been enjoyable and even moving on its better tracks like Ocean. Ultimately though, its all a bit infantile in the shadow that her future self will cast.
Rating: 5/10
Saturday 24 April 2021
Burzum "Thulêan Mysteries" (2020)
With some solemnly spoken word and slightly sung sections, Varg brings a little Norse culture to a handful of songs that break up the flow with a tone rooted in heritage and mythology more so than the mystic. All his songs share the minimalist approach, a handful of simple melodies, steady in pace and calming in their presence. Repetitive and droning, many of these songs need little complexity to hold ones attention. Textural experiments with raveling distortions and whirling psychedelic synths droning on a handful of the longer tracks show he still has the knack for that deeply mysterious and nature inspired sound of a lonely darkness. Both chilling and soothing in its unforgiving starkness and archaic presence.
A Forgotten Realm stands out as a unifying track to bring all thees concepts together. Lumped in the midpoint its arrival is like all the others, without intention. The albums flow is unstructured yet enhanced through repetition as familiarity sets in. The lack of direction tends to aid the already lonesome and wandering mood these songs conjure. With many short one to two minute cuts in the first half there is an impression of ideas left unfinished. In the second stint where longer pieces reside, a notable shift to the denser tone fleshed with experimental reverbs and droning instruments takes place. In this stretch the music enters an entrancing meditative magic I simply adore.
I barely knew what to expect going into this record. His previous ambient works had been a disappointment. Given the nature of its release it strikes me as music inspired and composed without future thoughts to release it, despite that eventually happening. Given its lack of structure or focus the sound feels more lending to a mood than experience. It will be one to put on from time to time in search of that curiously esoteric yet relaxing sound linked to a Norse Mythology that only this guy can capture.
Rating: 7/10
Wednesday 7 April 2021
Wardruna "Kvitravn" (2021)
These Norwegian musicians have been reviving their heritage for years now, utilizing historical instruments to ignite the flames of their viking ancestry. The last outing, Skald, was a performance piece of sorts, poetical recitals and minimalist accompaniment that failed to spark excitement with this listener. Kvitravn is a return to norms yielding a similar problem as its now established and familiar aesthetic passes without a gust of anything to break its gloomy droning march. Don't get me wrong, what these musicians achieve is beautiful and visionary but as there persona becomes expectant, groups like Heilung thrill with their claws lurching into the shadows and pulling out blinding horrors of ancient darkness.
Kvitravn plays with the same drudging pace. A weighty gloomy hangs overhead as the cold winds and constant rain batters its human inhabitants. Peering into a re-imagined past, Wardruna captures the spirit of burdensome life, one of hard work and death with a spiritual closeness to mother nature. Its songs tend to find different ways to this same macabre march of dragging heels and achy backs as its thick drone of flawed and aged instruments is led by the reluctant pattering percussion of bearskin drums, pulling the music along. Once established song meanders in its particular arrangement, circling the same rhythm and musical ideas over and over again.
Its on inspection that its repetitious nature becomes obvious. Trying to gleam out moments or details that sparkle, perhaps only the haunting choral cries of Viseveiding stand out. Without such critical ears it is all to easy to fall into its spell, the dull drones of blunted instruments become the curtaining atmosphere to bring about a subdued meditative state. In its mild gloom many moments feel ephemeral as its range of cultural voices sing Nordic tales, hardships and occasionally dive into the hysteria of softly guttural chants. The human voice is the element that ties the music together but as already expressed it is the puritanical approach that gives it little leverage over their previous output. For now I will put this record down and whenever in need of that nostalgic viking majesty, I may resurrect it for the dusky tone it conjures.
Rating: 6/10
Saturday 30 January 2021
Soley "Ask The Deep" (2015)
Rating: 6/10
Friday 1 January 2021
Soley "Endless Summer" (2017)
Endless Summer somehow doesn't seem a fitting title, perhaps the musics charm simply engulfs the current environment. With cold, pristine, shimmering pianos, a spell of calming serenity is ushered in. All too perfect for this winter and Christmas season. Its been my recent walking music of late, making it hard to not associate it with the cold weather and anticipation of spending time with family. Most the songs blossom with strings, percussion and deeper piano notes bubbling up in the later parts of these songs. It light a warmth under its brittle high keys where the tracks start from. In these denser moments one can feel the smile of the sun, a carefree spirit of summer. For me though, its been cast as a snowy record fit for early sunsets and chilly breezes.
Icelandic musician and charming singer Soley has somehow escaped my grasp. Stunned by her debut We Sink, I've managed to folly the simple task of following her output over the years. That will have to be corrected. I remember her music having a twisted shadowy edge in moments, its not present on this outing. She forges a genuine warmth, the chemistry between these graceful serine pianos and her soft, vulnerable voice is endlessly uplifting from a place just shy of melancholy and sadness. It is most often felt in the elegant piano performances, which tend to start a song drifting, bare and lonely. Soley rescues them with human expression as her voice and accompanying instruments lift them to a safe, warm and carefree place.
The playing is wonderfully dynamic. Chords and melodies weave with quite and loud dynamics, inviting measures of reverberation and a timely sense for where the music will suddenly grow with an ushering in of synths or percussion. Not hinging on any given pace or structure, the pianos lead, playing of itself, music that blossoms of its own accord. Although there may be patterns and structures, rarely does it feel obvious or like repetition is running its rotations. All of its eight songs tend to sweep you up into its own moment and hold you there. A truly captivating listen, always as a whole.
If I turn my mind to criticism, I can only turn it to myself. Her wondrous voice holds a curious space, feeling adjacent to both happiness and sorrow, childlike innocence and reflective maturity. I should of perhaps taken time to read the lyrics as her singing is not of the discernible sorts I am usually exposed too. Somehow I always listen to the emotion of a voice, not the actual words. Here there is emotions in droves. Having been spellbound for a while now, binging this record on every walk, I am now left with that familiar sentiment of wondering how this will hold up in time to come. I'm pretty certain this ones a keeper. Great record, will have to dig up another one!
Rating: 9/10
Monday 20 April 2020
Myrkur "Folkesange" (2020)
Thursday 10 October 2019
Chelsea Wolfe "Birth Of Violence" (2019)
Saturday 19 January 2019
Wardruna "Skald" (2018)
Purely by impression, his performance resembles runic scriptures and handed down heathen hymns. The poetry of cultures lost to time. His lone voice holds strong as simple single stringed instrument melodies repeat to set the tone. Only on Vindavla do the instruments switch to bring a darker, tense tone as the Lute alike instrument mostly delivers soothing and warm music. One can envision Nordic ancestors sat around a campfire as they exchange stories and sing poetry together.
At its end the record dulls with a fifteen minute accapella. His isolated voice not as charming alone. On my first few listens I struggled to be sucked in to this world but with patience it grew a little. The fault is probably with my own preferences as a richer instrumentation would have lured me in and cultural hymns are often not to my liking through human voice alone. It is however a remarkable performance in the right mood, a soothing and spiritual listen that will evoke historical echos of our humanity.
Rating: 5/10
Thursday 2 August 2018
Myrkur "Myrkur" (2014)
Tuesday 17 July 2018
Myrkur "M" (2015)
Thursday 28 June 2018
Myrkur "Mareridt" (2017)
Mareridt, Danish for nightmare, reveals so much more about their sound from the live experience, although it is probably a dimension to their sound your just not going to hear first time around at a show. The record however shows depth and emotion in abundance as the contrast between singer Amalie Bruun and her band goes beyond a simple concept and aesthetic, tapping deep into the folk sound of pagan cultural roots.
There is a very personal and mischievous period in the outro track Bornehjem, a childish Golem alike voice talks to its demons, leaving me to believe there is most likely a much more personal theme running through the lyrics, of which I haven't read, perhaps that is something I should make the effort to do. This band will undoubtedly be one of my favorite new discoveries this year and luckily there is their debut record to get into next.
Friday 20 April 2018
Winterfylleth "The Hallowing Of Heirdom" (2018)
The Hallowing Of Heirdom is a transformative listen, its earthly, mellow choral chants underline and uplift these songs with its heathen roots as worrisome stringed instruments sing the blues and hardships of rural life. With serine acoustic guitars and an inspired composition of cultural instrumentation the atmosphere becomes vivid with the mild and moody weather of England's restless shores. Across these twelve songs we travel through different temperaments, exploring imagination as these beautiful and quaint melodies inspire visions of natural beauty and the mythic culture of simpler times ravaged by the cruelty of mother natures embrace.
The opening track The Shepherd makes a remarkable entrance as the albums most gorgeous and charming song, it is also the records most involved and "complex" as we explore this world through songs that mostly become somewhat stripped back in comparison, perhaps leaning on the acoustic guitar or singular instruments. It feels fitting of the albums vision to not always lean to the most engrossing moments where the music essentially crescendos as all the voices line up together but through the record it finds its way to these peaks a fair few times.
Although a wonderfully indulgent experience it is not without its lulls, moments where it drifts off into itself however that feels unavoidable given the select handful of instruments that make up this clear and potent sound. Initially I was in awe of its beauty but then it hit me, I have visited this pagan realm before. The Nymph sparked my memory, its composition very akin to Agalloch's The White record. Both are wonderful listens but this one stretches itself a little thin in comparison however that's no reason not to enjoy this wonderfully scenic and soulful music.
Favorite Tracks: The Shepherd, Elder Mother, The Nymph
Friday 12 January 2018
Dead Can Dance "Spleen And Ideal" (1986)
Initially the record strikes me as a half way house, a transition of sound but so swiftly do the supposed short comings of this record evaporate as its atmosphere engrosses with its rolling repetition. Drum arrangements and especially the baselines have hang overs from the Post-Punk record beforehand. The base guitar pops and plucks at a steady, unshakable pace on almost every song as if it were backing thick walls of distortion guitar. The drum patterns are somewhat stiff and repetitive, always churning away as if a requirement. Ironically it maybe these droning elements that help conjure the atmosphere as they provide a sturdy hypnotic backbone for the duos voices and spell bounding keyboard melodies.
With higher fidelity production and a richer array of synthesized instruments the spark is ignited. Gerrard's resonating voice memorizes without dense guitars muddying the rapid vibrato texture in her singing. Perry's deep and wholesome words relish in the reverb afforded to him in a more spacious production. It all amounts to a wonderfully relaxing and vivid experience of simpler lives yet beneath it all lurks an undercurrent of something eerie and haunting that never surfaces, always lurking in distant shadows. Despite the sense of mortal coil it remains a rather warm and endearing listen.
Favorite Tracks: Advent, Indoctrination
Rating: 7/10
Friday 13 October 2017
Chelsea Wolfe "Hiss Spun" (2017)
The chemistry is sublime, when it roars Chelsea's voice transforms from the weak, vulnerable, tortured soul to a fierce, empowered beacon of bitter strength. It comes in measures and always with an ear for aesthetics, her voice often discernible in a ghostly wash of reverberation. The compositions all feel linear, expanding and growing in one direction, taking us on a journey through her pain and inner darkness. A couple of tracks don't feel to dissimilar to previous work, her vocal style showing some boundaries in places as they echo old songs.