Iceland isn’t renowned for its thriving black metal scene, so when in doubt…move to Norway! Originally the sole project of Einar Thorberg (AKA Eldur), he released parts I and II before moving to Norway in 2008 to find other musicians to help him complete part III. The idea was always to pay homage to the Asatru literature with this trilogy, and so long-time fans will see the projects completion while for me it’s just the beginning having not heard the albums predecessors.
This hasn’t been the easiest album to get my head around to review; not that it’s a bad album of course. Actually the first time I really heard this I was suffering the hangover from hell and far from aggravating my poor, poor head I was able to lay back and allow the music to soothe me rather like a nice hot bubble bath. This is essentially a laid-back listen; while it occasionally takes on a blackened ferocity it is not the sort of album that will have you banging your head from start to finish. It is by and large an album that is about creating a mood and atmosphere, and in places they succeed at this rather well.
The rain drizzles and through the damp and miserable weather we wander through the ‘Ancient Halls’ and we are taken in at a steady, rather ominous pace that climbs up and returns back down to where it started then following a brief twinkly flourish ‘Ragnarok Army From The East’ blasts through with some harsh blackened riffs and blastbeats a-plenty. This one has quite an epic flow to it and there’s a hint of Emperor to be heard in the battle-hardy riffage. The song structures work rather well, and I love the way this all breaks away revealing a really haunting melody beneath it which incorporates a snare-heavy jazz drum pattern and some creepy choir effects before picking back up into raging blackness. ‘The Fall Of The Ages’ is fairly straight forward in its blackened assault, and contrasts nicely as it leads into the melancholic ‘Equilibrium Reclaimed’. This has some really rich guitar work that is hypnotic in its effect and the thick bassline really gives a solid foundation while there are some spaced out passages that fuzz and hiss in the darkness. The guitars are also particularly hypnotic on ‘Heltekinn’ which is rather dark in its tone and there are more creepy vibes to be found in here as well amidst the ravaging blackness.
You definitely get that concept album feel as the album progresses through its various twists and turns and ‘New Dawn’ has that hopefulness of the new day tone to it. This is perhaps my favourite track on the album along with ‘Equilibrium’; the vocals are what really shine here. They are really impassionate and intense, with a kind of exotic warmth that makes one feel as though in a hot country. The melody makes you want to sway in the warm breeze. It’s a bit Eurovision if I’m being honest; I could see this as the Greek or Turkish entry though with that exotic twist rather than so much Norway. Oh well.
This is an enjoyable listen, though one for times when you want to chill out as opposed to bang your head senselessly. Largely this is about atmosphere and melody and on the whole they do succeed at creating it well, however at times I can’t help but feel there’s something missing that I can’t quite put my finger on. Now the trilogy is complete I’m not sure if we’ll hear from Fortid in the future, but if we do perhaps that missing piece will be in place and it will be brilliant. Highly recommended to fans of Paganic black metal.
http://www.myspace.com/fortidofficial
