I was quite impressed with the previous 2024 “Empty” album, as I was expecting something heavy and predictable and it turned out to be neither. Will this follow-up continue in that direction ? Well, we shall find out! Kristoffer handles pretty much everything with a few guests Leo Margarit handling the drum stool chores , and two guitarist invited to play each on one track.
From the initial opener “Rendering”, the tectonic symphonism slides in like a needle in an arm, a pronounced melancholia as opposed to metallic noise, the riffs crisp, the mood expansive and imperious. A perfectly opened door to the more revealing “Nothing Lasts Forever” where the voice is able to traverse the soft and into the extreme, I guess the best description would be ‘intensely romantic’. The instrumental edifice swims in passionate despair, with huge dollops of regret and finally, acceptance.
Sturdy drumbeats and startled electronics set the stage for some rifferama on the earthy “Landfill”, a foundational crevasse from which Kristoffer’s voice rises into a muffled rant, with more than enough gruesome intonations, and effects. Daniel Magdic unleashes a hot guitar solo that spews like molten lava erupting from some shifting tectonic plate. Contrast that eruption with the more grizzled “The Almosts”, a vital track that has a more melodic and even cinematographic, steamrolling along with measured force, the shrouded voice dripping with perspiration and a choral outbreak that shifts along, melodically unswerving. The instrumental segment pounds mercilessly and the apotheosis arrives soon enough to its full conclusion.
An “Intermezzo” is inserted to draw a line in the sand, a tingling guitar with Spanish intonations, lamenting some misty spirit caught between two worlds and unable to find either heaven or hell. Unexpectedly delicious, the way a brief intermission should always be. “Nothing Stays the Same “ reverts into the lilting melancholia that characterizes the artist’s style, and it works because the vocal performance is utterly convincing, pleading and contrite. The expression is both hard and soft, as it blends into an enduring mellotron storm, electric guitars shifting with measured menace, and the angst shattering the will.
Staying resolutely in the same mindset, “The Fields” talk about his Achilles heel, a metallic arrow firmly imbedded in the tendon, where rough riffs and soft voices collide. Thijmem van der Meer’s bleeding lead guitar adding colourful trauma, while Leo pumps all the blood out of his kit. Time to mix it up a little with some athletic pyrotechnics, as espoused on the alarming “Before I Fall Asleep” , the lengthiest track presented here at 6:42, as well as being the most intricate, less reliant on vigor, opting for a more elaborate foundation, what with the organ/bass interplay, the drums more in the background. Then the droning electronics signal a change of pace and heart, the mania seeping in between each power riff and banging beat, the voice now unwavering and the instrumental outro explosive. Nintendo-like pings and pongs take this straight into the pillow-laden cradle.
The final dream sequence is the electronics-driven “Binary”, arguably the softest piece here, an ornamental piano doing wonders amid all the layered synths, a fitting symphonic closing to a satisfying album. This final track was my favourite one. I still prefer “Empty”, as it was more attuned to my tastes.
4 tamed urges