Despite the album cover I had a talk with myself to prepare for no metal. I like hypnotic ritualistic music , sure I have sat on the Wardruna album ,unable to really sit down and dissect it, this doesn't seem to be organic or earthy in any nature, though from the album cover I am sure Varg sees this as the music of the elves, though the reality is it is the soundtrack to the movie "Forebears" Varg made with French Film Maker Marie Cachet, a documentary about returning to nature and the connection with pagan ancestors.
Peter Gaberiel’s soundtrack to the Last Temptation of Christ sets the bar for going into this sort of thing though it was more world music in tone. Still they stood on their own as songs, rather than tinkling bell here and there so it sounds like im sampling keyboard sounds at guitar center, the second song comes closer to achieving this than the opener. “Runar munt..” or "You Shall Find Secrets" is more percussive to by nature it will move where the intro had no sense of progression. There is a droning quality to this, I wouldn't say this music is particularly dark in fact I would say the new Wardruna is darker.
The Tangerine Dream like synths of "Haugaeldr" or "Burial Mound Fire" sounds like it was left off of the soundtrack to a seventies sci fi movie. "Feorahellir" has almost a Cocteau Twins cadence to it but without Elizabeth Frasier to come in and actually make it a song, for what it is it's decent if not monotonous , which is the main problem with a lot of these compositions is they just seem like a cool keyboard part that he never developed into an actual song. "Solarguoi" or sung god, kinda drifts like a relaxation cd from any new age bookstore, elevator music for hippies would be on way to think of it.
"Ganga at solu" is more interesting than the previous song and sounds more fitting for the exploration of caves and historic reenactments the movie depicts. Like the other songs it sticks to the one thing rather than transitioning or adding layers for it to go anywhere."Hid" or "Bear's lair" is surprise surprise a synth patch that feel like waves a night, so the bears must have been into night swimming as that the vibe I get here. Two minutes of this was enough for me to imagine my horror when I looked up to see I had four more minutes.
"Heljarmyrkr" or " Death's sarkness " is of course no where near as exciting as it's title its synths for hippies again, who unfortunately unless they are into Germanic neo paganism will never get to hear this, as I can see them getting stoned and doing yoga to this song."Mani vestan" or "West of the Moon" is rather lunar and in fact I wrote something just like this when I was tripping on mushrooms in 1996 and I remember feeling very lunar at the time as well, so this must be what the moon sounds like. "Solbjorg" or "Sunset" has more interesting sounds than most of the other songs on this aside from the one that reminded me of the Cocteau Twins.
Seems like a good way for him to get this out of his system and make another metal record. This album does do what it sets out to accomplish, most of this sounds like the sounds-cape channel on demand that I take naps to so I personally do not see the need to own this, even if I went back to doing drugs , though this would be a great I in a drug cocoon music as well or to help babies fall asleep. I will give this a 4, even though I might round it up if I get to take a nap but not anything I need on my ipod.
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