Those familiar with and following Borknagar from the beginning of their career, who are aware of their versatile, multifaceted compositional streak, can certainly confidently state that, regarding sonic experiments and avant-garde and folk explorations, they are second to none, and they do not seem to answer to anyone. So, here we find ourselves holding this new "Origin" which, just to say it straight away, is peculiar in being a completely acoustic and orchestral work, and therefore, it follows, that it has nothing of the Black or Metal foundation that has almost always accompanied the band since the dawn of their own genesis.

"Origin" is a superbly refined product, played and conceived in such an airy and imaginative way that it's astonishing. In the shadows left by the sounds as the songs unfold, one can always perceive the so-called "mood" that has made Borknagar's fortune over the years, and this, in the end, is the only point of contact this album has with its excellent predecessors.
One must never forget that when discussing this band, we talk about personalities like Øystein G. Brun, a prepared, serious guitarist, and above all, committed to the very end in creating and shaping the cosmic and evanescent matter that Borknagar gives birth to, and also, we speak of Vintersorg, the pulsating heart of an artistic direction that is anything but ordinary, it's safe to say, and anyone who knows and follows him already with "Vintersorg," or with "Otyg," knows well of what material he is made of, or, why not mention Tyr as well, a talented bassist who owes much to the Black Sabbath and Seventies school, and who has been a member of Scandinavian extreme genre pillars like Satyricon and Emperor.

Therefore, you will understand that behind such premises and guarantees, this CD cannot be anything other than something truly, truly extraordinary from any point of view you wish to analyze it. And it's not just a manner of speaking. Sure, maybe the fans would have better received a work that, let's say, "invests" on the hardness and heaviness of the sounds, but if one manages to set aside easy preconceptions and the extreme orthodoxy to which Borknagar "seems" to belong, then, stripped of anything that might impede and obstruct the pleasure that such an album can give, it's easy to understand why many already acclaim it as unforgettable and precious. All the ingredients are there and deployed in abundance: one easily moves from the melancholic and subdued folk, almost twilight-like, of "Earth Imagery" and "Grains," to the true orchestrations of "White" (in the writer's opinion, the best track of the entire work) which are a formidable remedy for chills down the spine. And again, on the same coordinates but characterized by a varied universe that permeates with cosmicity and intimacy, "Cynosure" and "Acclimation," up to the last episode "The Spirit of Nature," where, if you close your eyes and are able to immerse yourself in certain landscapes and atmospheres, it almost feels like being in the midst of very green fields, or along streams of crystal-clear and cold-to-the-touch water.

The only flaw, if we want to call it that, is found in "Ocean Rise," a track that was already part of "The Archaic Course" and has always represented a classic in the repertoire, but which here, given in an acoustic version, does not quite stand up to the original in terms of refinement and sensations. Sure, a comparison cannot be made since now Vintersorg is on the microphone, reinterpreting it in a different and dramatic way compared to ICS Vortex (today in Dimmu Borgir and Arcturus) who had a more aggressive, albeit inspired, approach to the singing.

But these are just small, microscopic flaws in an otherwise perfect album, as I've repeatedly emphasized in this review, and which, concerning everything else, brings the Borknagar of today closer to the monumental and unattainable stature of much more illustrious bands, different, indeed, but from whom they have nothing to ask and nothing to envy; one example above all: Opeth.

Tracklist Lyrics and Videos

01   Earth Imagery (04:52)

02   Grains (03:42)

03   Oceans Rise (06:05)

Deify the depths of intimate caprice
The noble morsel of the grand eternity
Face the furious and black domain
From where all the wisdom once came
As a weak and stunning flare
Yet so completed and clear

In the eyes of the elementary existence
May the fallen of eternity explode
As primal instincts of devotion
Where the seeds of chaos blow
Where the almighty substance flow

When the oceans rise
And thunder calls
The shape of furious manners fall
Where the oceans rise

Between dimensions asunder
The maze of fragmented flare
Harvest the pain of the will and despair
Where the seeds of chaos grow
Where the almighty substance bow

Milleniums are falling
Milleniums are calling
Hail!
The dawn of a new era

04   Signs (01:17)

05   White (04:45)

06   Cynosure (02:55)

07   The Human Nature (04:48)

08   Acclimation (04:30)

09   The Spirit of Nature (03:00)

Loading comments  slowly