Solefald
Jernlov

THE REVIEW

The faint memory of the misty Norwegian underground pulsates in these four precious tracks, a murky portrait of carnival-like sound combinations. The Kristiansand combo lets dissonant harmonies flow, boldly facing daring experiments, elegantly confounding users of this proposal, which makes eccentricity its main element. Cornelius and Lazare reign supreme, versatile among corrosive distortions, frenetic rhythms, inhuman and tormented voices, enveloping prog-symphonic arrangements. All skillfully blended with black metal ferocity that serves as a sinister sonic carpet, giving an aura of gloomy darkness to this short work.

The duo's talent is quickly discerned in the chaotic opening of "Motmenneske", where a brief acoustic arpeggio gives way to nitro-accelerations, and venomous guitars pair with high-pitched screams, reminiscent of rituals and pure bestiality rites. Riffs like cold walls of concrete chase atmospheric pauses of value where timid keyboards act as "bonds" for an unstoppable patchwork of schizophrenia. In "Philosophical Revolt", experimentation reigns supreme, with the sound coordinates being overturned, unleashing the wild edge of Solefald. The vocals range from diseased shrieks to a catatonic and mournful "clean", the riffing soothes the cathartic brutality, enriched by elegant leads while an ethno-ambient break gently caresses, tempering the malevolence of suffocating Nordic black.

Crazed poetry, folk-inspired turns, and compressed guitars dominate "Sivilisasionens slör-ravnens fall" in which an imperious drumming surprises for its talent and energy. The finale features atmospheric inserts led by fairytale-like bagpipes that transport the mind to grassy valleys and humid tongues of mist. In the final track "When the moon is on the wave", inspired by the lyricism of the neo-romantic Lord Byron, there is a surprising immediacy; the icy guitars dissolve their schizoid distortion in a lake of liquid keyboards with a vaguely symphonic-horror touch, while the vocals are reminiscent of Katatonia's "Discouraged Ones" thanks to a tearful and disconsolate flow. Composed during the second "black wave" "Jernlov" hints at the band's capabilities that will explode in the torrential rain of emotions in subsequent works "The Linear Scaffolds" and "Neonism".

Sweetness-wildness.