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If a band’s sound could symbolize a place, Seidr’s would be a forest in its home state of Kentucky: untouched by man, barren in winter, sweltering in summer, imbued with some greater force. Seidr has the familiarity of consistent change; just as winter becomes spring becomes summer becomes autumn, For Winter Fire (The Flenser, 2011) shifts from reverberating soundcapes to defiant riffs. Guitars drift in and out of focus. Harmonies meld, then fall away. Pianos, singing, and acoustic guitars weave together in calm counterpoint, only to be swept away by metal parts.
Case in point: the John Barleycorn Must Die-esque interlude “In the Ashes” leads to the crushing, My Dying Bride-esque “The Night Sky and the Wild Hunt”. The drums mix funeral doom sparseness with flashes of traditional metal; drummer and vocalist A. Lundr is clearly a fan of his double bass pedal. The vocals also embody change; “Streamkeeper”’s chants evoke mourning Vikings, then shift into solemnly angry growls.
Looking out of my window, I can see autumn’s yellow tinting summer’s green, soon to erupt in orange flames. Listening to Seidr, I can almost hear that change. It is the only constant, a fact that, unlike many of its contemporaries, Seidr understands.
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HEAR FOR WINTER FIRE
“A Vision From Hlidskjalf”
Album excerpts
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BUY FOR WINTER FIRE
Amazon (CD)
Amazon (MP3)
The Flenser (CD)
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Pretty solid record, and a tough nut to classify. Metal Archives labels them Death/Doom, but there’s a whole lot of sludge, post-metal, and black metal thrown into the melting pot too. Makes for a good listen, though the running time is daunting at 70+ mins.
This is my album of the year so far. I can’t get enough of it.
Been looking forward to this for a while. Austin (A Lundr) has been part of plenty of good releases, including Anagnorisis and Panopticon (to name a few).
a very,very good album
A marathon if one’s been released this year.