Solefald - Norrønasongen - Kosmopolis Nord
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On their first album, The Linear Scaffold, the Norwegian experimental black metal duo Solefald advised listeners to “burn the edges of your thoughts / feel the air beneath / witness the cosmic dance from a red view.” The band was laying out their personal philosophy; they’ve described their sound in interviews as being “red music with black edges.” Scandinavian black metal groups of the 1990’s, many involved in their own very different burnings, wanted to be cacophonous disruptions of the religious and moral strictures of European society. Solefald, on the other hand, wanted to disrupt the disruptors.
Just about every aspect of modern Western culture that black metal purists used their music to get away from, Solefald tried to put back in. They wrote songs set in urban environments instead of isolated woods. They stuffed their lyrics with references to pop culture and contemporary celebrities instead of calling on strength from pre-Christian pagan figures. They made all the sonic conventions of black metal share space with saxophones, synthesizers, bluesy guitar leads, even some (admittedly questionable) attempts at rapping. Then, as more bands started experimenting with the genre and deconstruction became a legitimate method of approaching black metal, the band swerved again. Somewhat. They retained their open-minded approach, but reached back to their distant cultural past to introduce more aspects of Nordic folk song and lore into their sound. They even switched from English vocals to exclusively using their native tongue on their last full-length, 2010’s Norrøn Livskunst.
Solefald again set their sights homeward for inspiration on the EP Norrønasongen – Kosmopolis Nord. The leadoff track “Norrønaprogen” has lyrics built around the poetry of early 20th-Century Norwegian poet Olav Aukrust. Since I can’t speak Norwegian, I can’t comment on the words, but the song itself is a compelling eleven-and-a-half minute piece of progressive folk metal. Portentous strummed electric guitars from Cornelius Jakhelln set the mood then give way to some sprightly singing by Lazare Hedland before the song eventually climaxes with staccato distorted notes and double-bass beats.
Fans solely interested in the “black edges” of Solefald’s sound will likely be disappointed with Norrønasongen. The songs here are mostly slow-burners, built largely on soundscapes and textures rather than riffs, and eschewing the harsh vocals of past records. The strategy works on the aforementioned opening song as well as the closing track, which features an enchanting backdrop of looped guitar and violin that would fit right in on a Mono record. But the other tracks feel listless, stillborn. “Det Siste Landskap” is an ill-advised flirtation with trance-y trip-hop. This style can be put to good use by a metal band—see Sigh’s “Nietzschean Conspiracy” for one example—but the band are unable to elevate the experiment into more than a curiosity. “Norrøna: Ljodet Som Ljoma” has some nice spacy synth work, but the awkward melody feels at odds with the piece, and the eleven minute run-length seems to drag on.
It’s a little difficult to fully assess Norrønasongen considering that the band intends it to serve as a prelude to next year’s full-length Kosmopolis Sud. As an appetite-whetting EP, it has some strong material, and suggests a few interesting avenues for Solefald to explore on the follow-up. Whether the style here indicates the direction the group intends to go down, or whether Sud will instead be 2015’s blackened urban blues-rap record of the year, remains to be seen.
