She has a history with black metal despite this not being a black metal, album there are still moments of such here. Her hovering in the periphery of the Norwegian black metal pays off more than you might think. The opening song is a choral piece that carries fey dreaminess to it. It is almost a lullaby to the fey realm. Then lashes back with a more scathing black metal assault on the second song. Though it is not just straight forward blasting for the entire song in fact it is the first two minutes before they introduce more melodics textures and sail the song off into those waters. It reminds me a little of older Alcest in how it transitions. This is poised to have a much wider appeal in terms of the overall sonics. "Nowhere Still Somewhere" is a blend of commercial European hard rock from the 90s with the gloom of the Gathering. The layering of sounds here high lights the excellent production quality.
The flow between the more atmospheric and smoothly sung passages to the more blackened ones reminds me of Myrkur , though the guitar here is more organic in the way it is strummed with almost an indie rock like grace. "Fortapt" is a long sprawling song that gives plenty of room for dynamics to be explored though some of the fat could have been trimmed in places. "I Close My Eyes So I Can See" is less dark and metallic, but a really well written song that flows well. It does eventually build into harsher vocals and the pace becoming more intense.
Sure, she is a great singer with a beautiful voice, but I am not sure closing the album with a Nightwish like ballad is the best move. Or really what the song as a whole contributes to the album, as it is not like we have not hear this kind of corseted romance fodder before. I will around this up to a 9 as the last song is really the only misstep. If you are a fan of this band's other work your will love this one, even if it is more accessible, It will be interesting to see how this bleed out into a larger market. This is being released on Season of Mist
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