Vhernen
Syberia

Denmark... Perhaps the least considered region of Scandinavia, either due to the few noteworthy record releases or the very few bands capable of exporting something decent abroad (see Hatesphere). Despite this, every now and then, one might stumble upon what can be defined as authentic miracles. Not masterpieces, mind you, but gems, little gems capable of making the most curious and uncompromising enthusiasts of that pure and genuine black metal lost over the years shiver.

Syberia, the first work of the one-man band Vhernen from Denmark, is one of those little gems. Unfortunately, it is a work hard to find, given that after an initial self-produced print, it was reissued by the Italian Eerie Art Records in only five hundred copies.

Vhernen describes Siberia through a musical language that seems simple initially, but reveals itself to be particularly elaborate: what strikes is the total absence of traditionally used instruments (guitar and bass) in favor of electric cellos (!!!), drum machine and keyboards. The result is indefinable, a flood of notes and sounds, layers upon layers of keyboards mixed with cellos... But most importantly, a truly icy atmosphere that I've only found in bands like Velvet Cocoon and Dark Space, capable of transporting the listener into a state of hypnotic trance. The title track alone would be enough to sum it all up, with that strange initial reverb accompanying the entire song, the drum machine always at sustained rhythms, and the ambient break in the middle... "Tundrha" travels at fast tempos throughout its duration, always supported by "reverbs" and the wall of sound together, before transitioning to the ambient ending. After "Numb", a rather flat ambient piece, the final "Funeral Aurora" ends beautifully with its soft and full-bodied tones, the drum machine marking the mid-tempo, and the strings in the final section to worthily conclude the work.

A special mention goes to Vhernen's performance behind the microphone: a style rarely found in the often static world of black metal. No piercing screams or inhuman growls in Vhernen’s style, only whispers and aspirated voices, as if not wanting to "steal" the scene from the true protagonist, the music. A music, a style capable like few others not only to describe but also to transport the mind elsewhere, to distant places...

The EP ends here, four songs for twenty minutes of pure emotion. Not too many, not too few, simply perfect. Time-wasters need not apply.