Well, they promised us their darkest, most nihilistic album thus far, and I’m very pleased to say they kept their word! Actually, by saying that about ‘Sol’, we’re essentially just scraping the surface; there’s a lot of depth to this double album, which incredibly reaches almost 100 minutes.
It’s unusual for a band to release something of this magnitude so early on in its existence, but Helrunar have always been quite a mature and unique band. Yes, it’s only their third album, but they seemed to find their niche on their ‘Gratr’ demo which I’ve seen sell on eBay for in excess of £70! The words ‘sod’ and ‘that’ came to mind, which is why I was so pleased when Lupus Lounge decided to rerelease it.
Anyway, I digress somewhat. This is about Helrunar of the present, not the past, and what we have here is – or at least I think so – their best recording yet. Guitarist Dionysos may well have left, but vocalist Skald Draugir and Drummer Alsvartr in fact wrote the majority of the songs, so I for one wasn’t particularly concerned about this.
In comparison with past efforts, ‘Sol 1 – Der Dorn im Nebel’ is on the nihilistic side. Admittedly, opener ‘Kollapsar’ is rather archaic in a slightly folky way, but once that’s past, the material is unusually cold and stripped down. Oh my, ‘Unter dem Glatscher’ makes me beam. A monotone riff provides the backbone as the drums slowly gain momentum, blackened twangs crying out at the end of each bar, but gradually taking over until the verse begins. Skald Draugir sounds...different I suppose. He’s not as piercing as he once was, his voice weathered and more mature, though still with an air of grimness. There is also something unusually grandiose about many of the new black riffs. The band is obviously experimenting with notes, but they feel enhanced in a bleak kind of way. Terrible description I know.
At nearly four minutes, they come to a halt and begin again with a very melancholic feel. It’s pretty austere but eventually Skald Draugir screams over it in a fashion that is most satisfying and then, the ‘fun’ bit (side note: utterly desolate, misery inducing, blast part) begins, but not before a dramatically chorded drum roll to introduce it. Lover-lee!
Honestly, they’ve written some absolutely gorgeous material here. ‘Praelundium Eclipse’ is a wonderful instrumental, with a lead that soars as much as it is utterly sorrowful and runs very smoothly into ‘Tiefer als der Tag’, which is akin to one of those intense, musical blizzards found on 2007’s ‘Baldr ok Iss’. They finish the track on an almighty high after some surprisingly upbeat acoustic work which progresses into more dramatic chords and then onto a fabulous, snowy, spiralling piece of brilliance which shoots out of nowhere! The moment is defined with a shriek and Alsvatr makes sure the blizzard has plenty of ammunition.
I don’t know whether or not I should consider tracks with solely spoken parts as instrumentals, but I do. ‘Nur Fragmente’ is one of these and is reminiscent of ‘Winter’ from their debut ‘Frostnacht’, in that it’s incredibly cold and stark but at the same time isn’t discordant; there is a kind of melody in there. ‘Ende 1.3’, an unusually titled track for this bunch, rises like Opeth’s ‘The Leper Affinity’, but is fiercely honed, like a wolf darting through the snow after its prey, snarling with bloodlust and hunger.
That’s already their entire discography surpassed and we’re only halfway through!
‘Sol 2 – Zweige der Erinnerung’ begins in much the same fashion, with an atmospheric prelude, but ‘Aschevolk’ is different in a subtle way. They did actually describe this second half as being experimental to an extent and I suppose that’s a fairly apt way of putting it. There are segments; unusual notes or chords mostly, which are different in tone and mood to the first half of the record, which one wouldn’t normally associate with Helrunar, but that they’ve worked masterfully into their already established sound. If anything, it’s very refreshing to hear.
...and as I was saying, ‘Aschevolk’ is one of these songs, really finding its line of attack when Alsvatr’s feet gain impetus; the slow gloomy beginning giving way to something altogether more exhilarating and deeper in substance. The layered guitars really make a big difference, with the blackened lead riff sounding quite piercing, particularly when blasting enters the fray.
There’s something so satisfying about the sounds they’ve used this time - another gorgeous example being the frosty, uplifting lead they choose to end the track with.
‘Die Mühle’ also crawls along for a while, minor chords flying out here and there behind Skald Draugir’s wicked cries, before a surprisingly raw riff makes an entrance and the pace picks up in an instant. A clever little transition takes place a little later and one of those lovely leads takes over, weaving its way in and out of emotion, slowly removing any lingering memory of rawness.
The Doom-laden passages of ‘Lichtmess’ brings early My Dying Bride to mind, but vanishes the moment a murky chord is struck. Again, the built up chords only provide the background darkness for an almost eccentric tune by Helrunar’s standards.
It’s quite obvious something dramatic is in the making by the sixth minute when everything goes quiet and an odd, sort of space-suit breathing sound is heard beside a rather sad guitar. Said miserable instrument becomes more and more pronounced in its gloom, and out of nowhere springs another semi-uplifting riff ready to be salivated over. It stops after a bit and almightily dramatic chugs and tom thumps surface, Skald Draugir snarls some pagan sentiments and then...THEN, Hell comes back to visit.
...and finally, the title track, ‘Sol.’ All I’m going to mention is the six or so minute rather delightful lead which finishes the album. At first I thought it was bordering on self-indulgent, but have since decided what a fitting end it is, reminding us of the band’s substantial progression from ‘Baldr ok Iss.’
Now, if this review hasn’t convinced you that this is a glorious album, perhaps the fact that this was on 2011’s list of the year before 2010’s had even been written, will...and yes, of course I’ve ordered the special edition ‘art book!’
http://www.helrunar.com
http://www.myspace.com/helrunar
http://www.facebook.com/helrunar
http://www.prophecyproductions.de
