Celebrating twenty years of existence, Mork (aka Thomas Eriksen) returns with its seventh studio album. Over the last two decades, Mork has become one of the preeminent names in black metal, Thomas’ unwavering dedication to his craft spilling over into new ventures, including the grim tones of UDAD (whose debut album arrived to no small amount of acclaim early this year. Whilst more refined than Udad’s necro assault, Mork remains a harsh experience, albeit an increasingly eclectic one and, on Syv, Thomas has expanded his writing skills once again to produce a truly daring and diverse work of art.
The album emerges from the eerie mists of I Takens Virvel, a subtle guitar riff suddenly torn asunder by Thomas’ desiccated rasp. When it does take off, it’s with a surprising degree of trad metal thunder, recalling Darkthrone’s more recent excursions and, for all the grimness of the guitar tones Thomas deploys, there’s a sense of melody that helps to bind this multifaceted piece together. At seven-minutes, it’s an epic that displays the full range of Thomas’ vision, making for a masterly album opener that sees Mork continue to push boundaries along the way. In this spirit, the stunning Holmgang is washed through with folk elements, the haunting, lonely tones of the violin pushing the melodies ever more to the fore. Thomas, meanwhile, is more theatrical in his vocal delivery, making for a very different track indeed, and one that sounds utterly fantastic in both concept and execution. The folk elements remain on the doom-laden Heksebal, which nods to (very) early My Dying Bride before picking up the pace to tear off into blacker pastures. Rounding out the first half, the darker, harder Utbrent may emerge as a blackened smear, but it takes some interesting turns as it wends its way forward, with clean vocals and hypnotic passages lurking at the heart of the maelstrom.
The second side opens with the bold, yet melancholic Med Doden Til Folge, a mid-paced monster packed with stabbing riffs and rhythmic switches. It’s followed by the savage Ondt Blod, which sees Thomas rasping the title over a succession of frozen riffs that slowly part to real the metallic monster lurking within. The sinister Tidens Tann is a slow building piece that morphs into a tumultuous, mid-tempo track which, with its stair-stepping riffs, is reminiscent of Stormblast-era Dimmu Borgir. Then there’s the angular instrumental, Til Syvende Og Sist, which has an unexpectedly nimble guitar line paving the way for a piece of music sweeps over the listener, the addition of a string section only adding to the sense of grandeur the track conveys. The album concludes with the beautiful Onme, a subtle, reflective piece of music, played on the acoustic and with clean vocals, that lands somewhere between Burzum’s dark folk and My Dying Bride’s take on Scarborough Fair, providing a moment of deep calm after the tumult of the album that precedes it.
Mork is a project born of one man’s passion, making each album something to be treasured. In the case of Syv, Thomas Eriksen has refined his talents once again to offer up a compelling set of songs that seep across the boundaries between genres, always tethered to black metal, but finding new forms and textures within. It is a bold work of art, stunningly produced, and utterly immersive. 9.5/10
