Few bands return to their masterworks years after the event and even fewer succeed. For every ‘Harvest Moon’, there’s an ‘Operation Mindcrime II’ waiting in the wings and the law of diminishing returns is a spectre that haunts such projects. However, like ‘Harvest Moon’, exceptions do occur and, when they do, it is the result of an artist following their heart and their muse, rather than chasing the almighty dollar, and this is very much the case here. Vintersorg is very much a creative journey, with the listener led by the hand by the sinister Mr V. into realms oft-mentioned but rarely travelled. The music is inspired by the earth; by the mountainous landscape of Sweden, and Vintersorg’s music is alive with the poetry of Scandinavian folk music, brought ever more vividly to life by the decision to sing in Swedish. ‘Till Fjalls del II’ is an epic undertaking by the band and it requires patience and careful listening, but, like all good albums, it rewards the faithful with some of the most ethereal, yet potent, metal you’ll hear this year.
Opening with the ice-laden sound of synth-laden black metal, ‘Jokelvaktaren’ wastes little time in conjuring the snow-laden atmosphere of the cover. However, whilst the music is resolutely black metal with hyper-speed riffing and classical elements present in the mix, the vocals cleave closer to that of Ulver with closely woven harmonies eking out the folkish inspiration that lies at the heart of the song. A lengthy exploration, jokelvaktaren’ is the perfect opener to this lengthy album with its richly textured use of melody and beautifully orchestrated strings. The same dense style of composition is to be found on ‘En Valdig isvidds karga drakt’ which uses the warmth of brass to offset the fearful riffing. Despite the sonic fury of the intro, the song incorporates acoustic guitars and cleverly layered clean and brutal vocals to further blend elements of folk and metal into one symbiotic whole. There’s a sweeping majesty to the harmonised lead guitars of ‘Lavin’ which draws on both Opeth and Iron Maiden whilst simultaneously painting a uniquely Scandinavian picture of snow-capped mountains and vast, desolate landscapes. The vocals, conversely, are redolent of fire-lit halls and awkwardly carved goblets of foaming ale. It’s highly evocative music, perfectly suited to feeding the imagination but never far from a moment of sheer metallic bliss, as evidenced by the solo that races across the track at around the two-minute mark – pure metal manna amidst the more conceptual elements.
Perhaps the most surprising track is ‘Fjallets maktiga mur’ which opens with a piano prologue that is almost whimsical in its theatricality only for a thousand raging guitars to pour down upon it like an avalanche. Nevertheless, for all the weight of the riffing, there’s a lightness of touch to the track which provides a counterpoint to the gruelling power of ‘obygdens pionjar’, a more traditionally blackened assault with harsh vocals to the fore. As its title implies, ‘vinterstorm’ uses classical motifs, including pizzicato strings, to conjure the howling gales that pour forth across the tundra, but it is the darkly sanguine melodicism of ‘tusenariga strak’ that stands as a highlight of this wonderful and varied album. A more straight forward, surging metallic assault, ‘allt mellan Himmel och jord’ sees the first disc spinning to its end, before concluding track ‘varflod’ ends the first disc on an elegant note where female vocals and acoustic guitar are used to good effect.
The second CD comprises an EP entitled ‘Tillbaka till kaillorna’ (back to the sources) which deals with material originally written at Vintersorg’s inception. Revitalised and re-recorded, these songs didn’t make it to the first Vintersorg EP but remained dear to their creator who revisited his worn tape copies and set about recording these four tracks as a special bonus for this release. The EP is of interest, not least because they offer a clear point of contrast between Vintersorg’s early material and the more romantic, sweeping fantasy of their contemporary work displayed on the first disc. The EP opens with a brutal track entitled ‘tillbaka till kallorna’’. Despite the slight sweetness offered by the strings, this is full-blooded black metal with harsh vocals and astringent guitars vying for attention over a crushing rhythmic backdrop. That said, that same sense of melody is very much in evidence with deftly-woven vocals maintaining a compositional thread from past to present. Second song ‘koldens borg’ is a wonderfully opulent stew of folk melody and thunderous metal with the weighting being very much towards the metal. Fantastic in the literal meaning of the word, ‘portaent’ shimmers with elemental spirits even as the rasping vocal drags the listener to a darker plane. A short, potent highlight of the second disc, ‘Portaent’ is an exciting piece of music that is awash with arcane mysticism. The EP concludes with the echoing acoustic ‘svart mane’, a stunningly beautiful piece of music that washes over the listener like a mountain stream. As elegant as the crisp, clear landscape which inspired it, ‘Svart mane’ is a wonderful conclusion to the EP and to the record as a whole.
An easy highlight of 2017, ‘Till Fjalls del II’ is a work of art, epic in scope and rich in imagination. Folk metal is all too often the result of a hasty clash between genres, but Vintersorg have brought the two together in perfect harmony, creating a sweeping, grand, even romantic piece of work in the process. The EP on the second disc is equally stunning. No mere afterthought, it helps to explain where Vintersorg are by showing from whence they come and it adds further depth to the album as a whole. Simply stunning. 10
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