Gaze Into "The Perfect Dark" of Norna's Mesmerizing Totality (Early Track Stream)
It might be considered a kind of brutalist minimalism: Norna‘s post-metal-meets-sludge assault boils its acerbic components down to the rusty iron girders that scaffold them, eschewing pretenses in favor of shattering concrete. Though the Swedish/Swiss band’s debut album Star Is Way Way Is Eye is a full-bodied onslaught, the noisy and harsh textures that comprise it merge together into an enthralling singularity that leaves a marked silhouette, like a blocky skyscraper lurching into the sky. The sheer scale and might here is hard to fathom at first, but with each painstaking iteration of each colossal riff, the picture grows a little clearer. Listen to the new single “The Perfect Dark” now with our premiere below.
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Bulldozing drums and a monstrous low end provide the rumbling, inevitable progression behind “The Perfect Dark,” but a jangly guitar line also repeats throughout much of the track: it’s a simple melody, but one that seems to trail off, hinting at some unseen entity or occurrence. But forget any potentialities: the throat-shredding screams lay absolute waste to any pretense of harmony here or on the rest of Star Is Way Way Is Eye. About halfway through, the song shifts gears, grinding into a new, more atmospheric segment where things fall into place one by one: drums, melancholy chords, bass, and then the throaty roar of the main guitar assault.
Norna emphasizes kinetic impact in their songwriting, making each chunky chord and fill resonate with an electrifying jolt of energy. Neither unnecessarily overwrought, nor inclined to keep things brief, journeying through the intriguing, apocalyptic ruin of Star Is Way Way Is Eye is a harrowing but rewarding trek.
The band explains “The Perfect Dark” as follows:
A sonic and lyrical journey in the vast space of light and darkness. A complete reboot of body, mind and soul in absolute silence without any perception of time. We need the perfect dark and the endless light to ascend and the contrast is our journey. In silence we speak, in darkness we truly feel.
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Star Is Way Way Is Eye will release next year via Vinter Records.
