Artist: Lonndom
Title: Falen Fran Morr
Type: Album
Label: Eisenwald Productions
In a previous life, Lonndom’s S. Sandstrom and A. Petterson were known as Graav and A respectively and put out three albums very firmly rooted in black metal under the Armagedda moniker. Whilst their early material was little more than competent Darkthrone worship, the last 2 albums were minor classics in their own right – ‘Only True Believers’ as an unpretentious, visceral ‘fist in the face’ of vicious black ‘n’ roll but it was the final album, ‘Ond Spiritism’ that was the true gem. Obscure sounding, thoughtful and laced with atmospherics, it was a unique sounding journey through a very distinctive take on black metal. Deeply underrated, it’s one of those few albums that actually improves as the years pass so it was something of a disappointment when the duo behind it put the project to bed soon after the album’s release.
Fast forward to 2009 – Graav and A have now returned, this time under the Lonndom moniker, leaving behind the corpsepaint, murky pseudonyms and ludicrous Satanic hyperbole of lore. Indeed, it’s hard to reconcile the photographs of Mr Sandstrom in his lumberjack shirt, beard and acoustic guitar with the man who claimed that ‘people who perform black metal that isn’t Satanic deserve to be attacked and left in wheelchairs’ or something equally absurd. Lonndom is a more reflective expression, delivering traditional Swedish folk narratives through an unusual yet not previously unexplored blend of lo-fi black metal and folksy jigging. In this, it is not poles apart from the territory of Norway’s Storm and Isengard – dusty, distant, Darkthroney blastbeats and hoarse cries rub shoulders with spoken-word passages, crow samples and moments of dark reflection. ‘Ripoleukte’ plunges into straight-ahead black metal territory with only the quite murmur of deep clean choirs signifying Lonndom’s more idiosyncratic approach before the band scamper off into jagged yet jaunty jam. This is typical of much of the album – veering unpredictably between styles whilst melodically, the duo forego the accessible with most riffs adopting an angular yet strangely catchy sound, exemplified most clearly by ‘Nordafejd’s closing minutes.
This is a difficult album to get a handle on, shifting between moods, atmospheres and soundscapes in almost every song. ‘Himlagor’ mixes up blackthrash with Negura Bunget-style ambiences whilst ‘Ripoleukte 2’ sandwiches mid-paced black metal between nature soundscapes. Its only on ‘Stallo’ that the band stick to one particular groove for the duration that ironically enough, is the only song on the album that bears any resemblance to Armagedda’s ‘Ond Spiritism’ sound. That the pair have a defined vision goes without saying (passion oozes from every minute of music here) and their decision to utilise such unusual, atypical melodies is to be applauded. However, this determined approach coupled with the muddy production does render the album something of a challenging listen – there’s a lot in here to discover but as a listener you’ll have to be prepared to make the effort. A compelling and artistically valid oddity to be sure but don’t say I didn’t warn you…
http://www.myspace.com/lonndom
http://www.eisenton.de
Frank Allain
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