Album Review: Istapp - Sól Tér Sortna
Reviewed by Richard Oliver
As spring begins to beckon and the frozen claws of winter are starting to release their grip, up comes an album destined to send the listener back into the deepest darkest recesses of winter with abundant snow, razor sharp ice and cutting winds. The force sending us plummeting into sub zero temperatures are Swedish purveyors of frost Istapp which literally translates to icicle in Swedish. With their new album “Sól Tér Sortna” they continue their war against the sun and its worshippers.
“Sól Tér Sortna” is the fourth album from Istapp and continues their frozen melodic black metal assault with ten epic songs which mix icy ferocity with epic grandeur, colossal melodies and plenty of Nordic folk influence. There are plenty of blast beats, tremolo riffs and throat shredding screams which are atypical of black metal but the strong melodic nature of the music really enhances these songs with some fine clean vocals making their presence known at times but without being overused.
‘Nifelheim’, ‘Kallbrand’ and the title track perfectly mix the strong melodic aesthetic with black metal ferocity whilst the Nordic folk influences really come to the fore in songs such as ‘Under Jökelisen’, ‘Storm Av Is’ and ‘Ragnarök’. Black metal and traditional folk music have worked well together for decades and this album is no exception.
With strong melodies, strong folk influences and memorable tunes, ‘Sól Tér Sortna’ is some of the strongest material from Istapp with all the elements that makes their sound wonderfully balanced. This is an album that is equally ferocious, epic and atmospheric and probably my favourite release of theirs since their debut album “Blekinge” in 2010. This is probably too much on the melodic side for the grizzliest of black metal fans but if you love the melodic side of things which Sweden does so well, then this album is definitely worthy of your time.
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