There are bands we all listen to that we want to keep a secret to ourselves, only divulging our interest with odd little snippets on special occasions like driving to a gig, as you watch peoples faces wonder what the hell it is you’re playing to them. Solefald definitely fit that category for me and it is safe to say I’ve kept the band to myself since the Norwegian avant-garde specialists released what I deem is one of the best experimental black metal albums of all time, namely “The Linear Scaffold” in 1997. And on these grounds musical snobbery is justified and I’d even say necessary.
You could never accuse Solefald of complacency when the band has previously released six albums (I’m not counting “The Circular Drain”) of adventurous and highly absorbing experimental blackness with their trademark red edges. I was expecting greatness with their seventh album and great is a wholly underwhelming adjective to use for it. The album is a complex tapestry of historical nuances that covers poetry, sagas of old, romanticism, tributes and folklore as the dynamic and inventive duo of Lars Nedland, aka Lazare and Cornelius Jakhelln weave their ingenuity into ten audacious compositions. Beginning with “Song Till Stormen” the trademark clean vocal harmony starts as the song slows for a haunting female vocal that is sorrowful. The song is sweet and drenched in vocal harmonies that are packed with personality and a mournful eeriness. The title track follows and sees the band tread familiar territory with genre defying leaps of speed and anger balanced with theatrical vocalising. The band has rarely used leads in their music but here and there you get the odd sporadic harmony just lolling about in the background.
“Tittentattenteksti” has a frenetic female vocalist by the name of Agnete Kjølsrud whose manic style is frenzied but counterbalanced by some beautiful clean female vocals which had me thinking about Skin from Skunk Anansie as weird as that may sound to you. I couldn’t help but scribble down circus atmosphere on “Stridsljod (Blackabilly)” as the guitar and keyboard riffs are just plain brilliant, supremely catchy in a similar vein to Audrey Horne. Don’t misinterpret me however musically this is far more extreme than that of AH as the song morphs into a frantic mode with a semi blast and harsh vocals.
I’m creating a whole paragraph for “Eukalyptustreet”, clocking in over nine minutes the song is probably the most experimental and challenging song Solefald has ever penned, beginning with a saxophone and smooth vocal harmony with accompanying cymbal tap. There is a palpable jazz feel to the song, not chaotic but smoky club feel with musicians playing in the background whilst a dapper geezer tries his luck with a lustrous ball gowned beauty near the bar. As the smoke blows gently in the air the piano comes through with more brass instrumentation amongst the croaky male vocal that strains in the background. The textures in this song beggar belief as it builds slowly but purposefully to harsher vocals before returning to the jazz inclinations of the start.
A massive return to a purer metal style appears on “Raudedauden” a shorter song similar to material on “Pills Against The Ageless Ills” and boasting the bands first ever proper lead guitar solo and a damn good one it is too. “Vitets Vidd I Verdi” has an epic sound similar to the bands earlier work with film score sensibilities. The song is fairly short relatively speaking but packed with bold instrumentation and melodies all woven together with theatrical vocal styles as the manic Agnete Kjølsrud reappears with a full vocal tirade. There is more old style Solefald on “Hugferdi”, being frenetic, harshly delivered but bouncing from one genre to another before the third part of the Icelandic Odyssey called “Waves Over Valhalla” starts with a battle rousing atmosphere. The semi-blasted music is punctuated with clean vocals and intermittent harmonic bleakness that is very much in your face.
The album closes with “Til Heimen Yver Havet” a keyboard laden piece of music with the clean male vocals so typical of the band on their latter material. The song has a church like ambience, sombre with lingering vocals. The pace slows to an almost spoken vocal section. There is so much to absorb on this album that even after countless listens I’m still hearing things I missed previously. This probably stands as Solefald’s most awesome work to date, if you want musical experimentation that will beguile you and vocalising that is charming and overtly theatrical. My top ten albums for 2010 is going to be exceptionally difficult this year as “Norrøn Livskunst” gives some damn fine albums from Triptykon, Keep Of Kalessin, Therion, Immolation to name a few a serious nudge for contention. Be brave and check this unique act out.
http://www.myspace.com/solefaldofficial
