Album Review: Sólstafir - Hin Helga Kvöl
Reviewed by Richard Oliver
Sólstafir are a band that have always defied classification or pigeonholing. Since their inception in 1995 when they were very much rooted in black metal, there has always been something different and unique about their approach to music. Even with their later progressive and post-metal sound, there has always been a keen ear for experimentation and explorations of different sonic soundscapes which has always meant that when a new Sólstafir albums arrives you are never quite sure what sort of journey you are going to be taken on as a listener. So that begs the question that with album number eight from the band “Hin Helga Kvöl”, where will it be taking us?
From the opening of ‘Hún andar’ we are immediately taken into the luscious melancholic soundscape that immediately made me love this band when I first heard them with the pained and passion filled vocals of Aðalbjörn Tryggvason being a centrepoint. However there is a darker shift after we transition into the title track which harks back to the band’s black metal origins with a far greater emphasis on aggression with furious riffs, blast-beats and a far angrier vocal approach from Aðalbjörn which was a very pleasant surprise.
This greater degree of energy and velocity can also be heard in songs such as the driving, melodic and dramatic ‘Vor ás’ and the furious attack of ‘Nú mun ljósið deyja’ whilst the slower melancholic soundscapes come to the fore in the stripped back atmosphere of ‘Sálumessa’ and the morose soundscape of album closer ‘Kuml’. The variation throughout the album ensures that it is a captivating listen pulling you into multiple sounds and moods throughout.
Sólstafir have always been one of the most captivating bands in heavy music with their broad spectrum of sounds and influences, stunning use of atmosphere and emotion and the use of their native Icelandic tongue in the lyrics (I always love it when bands sing in their mother tongue as it adds a greater degree of authenticity rather than having an English translation). “Hin Helga Kvöl” is a stunning example of Sólstafir playing to all their strengths continuing their musical journey whilst also having a nod to their origins and to me is easily their strongest album since 2014’s “Ótta” (which to me is their finest hour). If heavy music with atmospheric soundscapes is your thing then please check this album out and as it really will not disappoint.
