A snow covered landscape. Lying spread-eagled in the frozen slush a woman holds a baby in her arms and, above her, snarling, a wolf pack closes in. The cover for Norselaw’s latest EP is an apt depiction of the icy music that appears on the record but it is not, perhaps, what you might expect. Whilst you would be justified in anticipating a full-on death or black metal assault, instead Norselaw operate in a weird hinterland that combines thrash metal riffs, blackened vocals and… jazz? It’s certainly not your typical stuff, having as much in common with the nightmarish progressions of king Crimson as it does with the full-tilt rage of vintage metallica or the blackened fury of Darkthrone.
‘Moon Hunters’ is the work, ostensibly, of one man, although Jaime Lannister and Theon Greyjoy appear on drums and bass respectively to provide a solid rhythmic backbone for Norselaw’s sonic exploration. Opening with ‘dungeonlurker’ the band shuffle from a sinister and well played acoustic intro to a raging thrash blast that drips with venom. Musically it is a rock solid performance that neatly combines raw production with brutal splendour and the riffs are towering, sonically-charged beasts that prowl and snarl around the listener. Where the track falls down, however, is where Norselaw breaks into clean vocals. Whilst his blackened screams are everything you could want, his clean tones simply aren’t strong enough to carry the melodies the song demands and the result is a lessening of the song’s otherwise brutal impact. This is a great shame as musically this is a challenging and interesting release – witness the jazzy breakdown that lurks at the heart of the track, and the skill with which the band kick back in to the main riff, and Norselaw is no slouch on the guitar either – but by putting the clean vocals so obviously at the centre of the sound it’s simply impossible to overlook their flaws. Similarly innovative is the juxtaposition between the ‘Orion’-esque bass lines and crunching, fx-laden guitar on ‘the demise that came to Sarnath’. The vocals here are better, but still lacking the necessary depth to achieve their desired effect, and invariably the screamed passages are most welcome when they kick in. The guitar playing, meanwhile, is ubiquitously excellent and it is clear that this is where Norselaw’s blistering talent lies.
Possibly the hardest track to love, ‘Unmerciful gloom’ comes storming out of the gates with some furious fret work only for the vocals to smash the vibe to pieces. Intoned at half-speed over the top of the track, the vocal simply obliterates the foundation laid by the riffs and where a doomy atmosphere is clearly the aim, the result is an incongruous pairing of vocals and music with the former far too high in the mix for the listener to be able to fully appreciate the latter. There are highlights, the blistering solo that scorches the listeners speaker fabric for example, but it’s definitely the weakest of the five tracks on offer. In contrast the title track is a storming piece of work that bubbles and burns with the fury you’ve been yearning for throughout. The screamed vocals work brilliantly and musically it is absolutely on the money, the band playing as if their lives depend upon it: this is the direction Norselaw should be concentrating on – it sounds utterly immense and the atypical mid-section is another example of the band’s inventive streak that marks them out as having great potential. Final track ‘howl of the direwolf’ once again impresses as Norselaw’s virtuoso guitar skills come to the fore as he lays down a fearsome solo that leaves you breathless and charged with adrenalin. An instrumental track it provides the perfect showcase for the band’s considerable skills and leaves you wanting to hear where the band plan on going next.
Overall this is an EP that leaves you in no doubt as to the searing potential of Norselaw, particularly given the benefit of label backing. There is, however, work that needs to be done, particularly in the vocal department. Whilst Norselaw delivers convincingly when letting forth blackened roars, as he does on ‘Moon hunters’, the clean vocals are a most unwelcome distraction and its notable that the best songs on the record are the final two, the first of which being a full-tilt blast of noxious blackened fury and the latter being an instrumental. However what is evident over the entire EP is the unlimited potential which Norselaw possesses. Musically this is an exquisite piece of work, challenging and intelligent, and the flaws pale into comparison to the possibilities of what Norselaw could achieve given the appropriate resources. ‘Moon Hunters’ is a strong effort then, albeit a flawed one, but if you can overlook the vocal failings then you’ll find much to enjoy here.
Find out more and listen to excerpts from the album here: http://www.norselawmusic.com/
