Artist: Sólstafir
Title: Í Blóði og Anda (In Blood and Spirit)
Genre: Progressive / Black Metal
Release Date: 8th November 2013
Label: Season Of Mist
Album Review
SÓLSTAFIR is an Icelandic Progressive/ Black/ Pagan band, founded in 1995. Their music may be best described as a dense mixture of Black and Pagan Metal, arranged in a progressive way and with a certain crossover, Rock‘n’Roll attitude. Their latest, highly acclaimed studio record ‘Svartir Sandar’ was released in 2011, and at the end of 2013, Season of Mist offered an extensive re-release of their 2002 debut ‘Í Blóði og Anda’ (translated as In Blood and Spirit). On a second disc, several demo and rehearsal tracks are featured for collector’s pleasures.
‘Í Blóði og Anda’ opens up with the raw and slightly coarse ‘Undir Jökli’, which is characteristic for crossover riffs and extremely harsh, screamed vocals. Although those might at first appear a bit too hoarse, they nevertheless fit the slightly chaotic and nevertheless demanding structure of the song. The following title track ‘Í Blóði og Anda ‘ continues in that manner, but appears easier to access and somewhat contains more groove. In contrast, ‘The Underworld Song’ begins calmer and with an acoustic-sounding intro, although faster riffs soon set in. The first half of this song is only instrumental, and in general the vocals are less dominant on this song which also encompasses more mid-tempo phrases and epic-sounding melodies. ‘Tormentor’ in contrast is a very fast-forward and brutal song with a lot of Old School Thrash Metal influences.
It thus becomes very clear that SÓLSTAFIR assimilate a lot of different elements into their music to create a very dense and progressive mixture. This is especially interesting, since ‘Í Blóði og Anda’ as a debut already shows a lot of potential and skill, which the band also managed to effuse and unfold on following records. ‘2000 Ár’ includes demanding guitar phrases and shows some Black Metal influences in the partially atonal riffing. Those become even more prominent in ‘Ei Við Munum Iðrast’, alongside a certain Rock ‘n’ Roll mood. ‘Bitch In Black’ offers a very beautiful ballad, which also features guest vocals by Kola Krauze. ‘Í Víking’ presents a longer and more progressive song, which varies between softer and faster parts. The final ‘Árstíðir Dauðans’ provides the longest track of the album with over 10 minutes, continues like its predecessor and concludes the album in a logical and atmospheric way.
With ‘Í Blóði Og Anda’, SÓLSTAFIR present(ed) a very strong debut, which merges a broad range of influences into a very unique and outstanding mixture. The re-release thus offers a nice opportunity for any fan of the band of Progressive Black Metal to get hold of this piece of art.
Tracklist
01. Undir Jökli (Vetrarins Dauðu Sumarblom)
02. Í Blóði Og Anda
03. The Underworld Song
04. Tormentor
05. 2000 Ár
06. Ei Við Munum Iðrast
07. Bitch In Black
08. Í Víking
09. Árstíðir Dauðans
Line-up
Aðalbjörn Tryggvason – Vocals, Guitar
Sæþór Maríus Sæþórsson – Guitar
Guðmundur Óli Pálmason – Drums
Svavar Austman – Bass
Website
http://www.solstafir.net / https://www.facebook.com/solstafirice
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 8
Extras: -
Total: 8.5 / 10
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