Lengsel
The Kiss; The Hope

How to say... Kudos to sodium bicarbonate! What an album, guys, I've been waiting for an experimental record that could simultaneously be concrete and not get lost in a sea of absurd sounds that lead nowhere for quite a while. And finally, after a long and exhausting search, I stumbled upon these Lengsel, who with their 2006 "The Kiss-The Hope" have given us an album that, if not a masterpiece, certainly comes close.

The trio was formed in 1995 in Oslo, Norway, devoting heart and soul to an acid progressive metal with Christian-themed lyrics, featuring the following lineup:
- Tor Magne Glidje - vocals
- John Robert Mjåland - bass
- Ole Halvard Sveen - drums, acoustic guitars, keyboards

After the demo and "Solace," came this "The Kiss-The Hope" like a bolt from the blue, perhaps to date the group's most distinctive work. In fact, if the previous works could still be classified as progressive-black metal, here the progressive is minimal and even less can black influences be found, giving way to an electronic base, a touch of dark-wave, jazz, and hardcore, creating musical foundations that now bring to mind our Ephel Duath, now Maudlin Of The Well.

"An Anonymous Phonecall And A Dead Line" opens the show with its 8 minutes: the track features an electronic base, over which a voice lays, now clean, now filtered, always imbued with sadness, ending up sounding weary. The extremely slow pace merely underscores the mood of the track. The journey continues with the jazzy hardcore of "Hell Calls Hell," one of the best, where the influences of E.D. make their first appearance. A chapter of its own is the third "Miss S.C.," the only track where the black roots still peek through, yet here muted by electronics, making an otherwise conventional episode stand out. From here on, the album settles into even more unusual sounds, presenting us with pieces like "Andenod / The Easy Kill," introduced by a sweet keyboard intro onto which a distorted guitar later breaks the atmosphere of peace previously created by the keyboards, or the instrumental "The Warm Water Chase," a mix of jazz, trip-hop, and progressive metal. The peak, however, is reached in the claustrophobic "The Pale People," an oppressive song, full of rhythms that continuously break the track. The vocals certainly don't help make the piece more accessible, with filters that further weigh down the composition. A truly splendid episode, yet extremely challenging to digest. The album closes with the ephel duathian "Avec Toi," which, while not adding anything to the work, performs its job more than satisfactorily.

At this point, it's essential to note how some bands, not too many unfortunately, manage by experimenting to create still very interesting records and not as flat as the general average of today's releases, maintaining a high quality level and without setting aside that spark of originality in the compositions. Although it may represent a small step back in terms of enjoyment compared to the previous "Solace," this "The Kiss-The Hope" is nonetheless, in my opinion, to be considered among the best albums of the alternative scene of 2006.