The idea behind this Norwegian doom project can be traced all the way back to 2009 when Stig V. Kviljo (vocals, guitar) began to write music inspired by Count Raven, Pagan Altar and Reverend Bizarre. It took a while to get a band together, and it was not until 2018 that they started releasing material. This is their debut album, from 2022, and inside it indicates the main people on the recordings from 2018-2020, namely Christer S. Lindesteg (bass, backing vocals) and Camilla W. Anfinsen (drums) which does make me think there are others involved here but not credited. The band state they are influenced by Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Count Raven, the Finnish scene, the Maryland scene, 60s/70s proto-hard rock, blues and NWOBHM, and it certainly comes across in what they are doing.

It really does not sound like an album of the 21st century, as more than anything else they come across as one of the doom influenced NWOBHM acts attempting to replicate what had happened ten years earlier, while some of the recording quality (especially the cymbals) sound way more like a demo than an album being released commercially. There is a feeling that at least some of the backing tracks were recorded live in that when we get guitar solos there is no rhythm, and I would imagine we would still have that bite if they were fully overdubbed. The songs themselves have dates against the lyrics and music, and who was responsible, some of them dating back all the way to 2009, and while most of them are fully by Kviljo there are a few with names of people not in the band so I presume they were there before. Seeing as how Strange Horizon have already released a new album, I get the impression this is mostly a clearing of the decks in readiness for that and is a collection of material they had laying around. Let us hope the next one has more purpose as while this is okay it is nothing more than that.

Rating: 6/10

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/strangehorizonbergen/
https://www.apollonrecords.no/