Ivar Bjørnson & Einar Selvik's Skuggsjá: A Piece For Mind & Mirror

Born of a collaboration between Ivar Bjornson (Enslaved) and Einar Selvik (Wardruna), the music for Skuggsja was originally intended to be showcased at a 200th anniversary event celebrating the Norwegian Constitution. After playing the piece live in Eindsvall, the birthplace of the aforesaid document, its creators wished to bring the music to a wider audience. Being two of extreme music's more accomplished fellows, a completed album hit the shelves back in March of 2016, courtesy of the ever diversifying Season of Mist record label.

Employing a host of traditional elements commonly found in Selvik's other band Wardruna, the recording also benefited from guest appearances by such notables as Grutle Kjellson and Cato Bekkevold of Enlaved fame, with vocals and percussion, respectively. Exotic instruments proliferate, including the use of such bygone purveyors of sound as the taglharpa, Kravik-lyre, goat-horn, birch-bark lure, and bone flute. Unlike Wardruna, the music of Skuggsjá incorporates modern day electric instruments, so that the end result is a collision between the contemporary heavy metal format and the traditional Nordic sounds of yesteryear.

Not just another pagan metal album, Skuggsja – which translates to 'mirror' – is a triumph of the best of both worlds. Bjornson and Selvik have already conquered both the pagan metal, black metal, and traditional brace of sounds as each man has helped spearhead the evolution of the second wave. Look no further than "Makta Og Vanæra, For All Tid." A pleasantly arranged choir build-up raises the tension until a hypnotic beat takes over, with vocals from Grutle Kjellson giving it all an icy black metal sheen. Choir vocals touch and go in contrast to Kjellson's clean intonations and gelid shrieks, making this one of the best pagan black metal compositions you'll have the pleasure of hearing.

The song comes along just in time, as the first two introductory tracks show very little variance from what one would encounter on a Wardruna album. Working together, though, Selvik and Bjornson complete the marriage of both metal and traditional worlds in exemplary fashion. A slower, briefer number like "Tore Hund" achieves a nameless epic feeling of long gone triumph, again bridging both trad and rock structures with precision and a kind of rakish grace; it is music sung by conquerors in the quiet of their hall long after the blood has dried upon their weapons.

The beginning of "Rop Fra Røynda – Mælt Fra Minne" sounds exactly like the opening to "Heimta Thurs" from Wardruna's "Runaljod – Gap var Ginninga" album. This may titillate some fans, irritate others. If you're of the opinion that you can't get enough of this wondrous take on Norse traditional music, you won't mind the similarities.

One thing Skuggsja has, and triumphs from, is sonic diversity within their chosen medium. The horn soloing going on over the blast beats on "Skuggeslåtten" is one of the more magical sounds to be heard on the recording. The central part of the album has some slower numbers with clean male vocals and gorgeous use of traditional instrumentation. At the album's close the listener is treated to another epic. "Bøn om Ending, Bøn om Byrjing" begins sedately enough, with a repeated phrasing sounding almost prog in its delivery. The track never explodes, or raises its pace, and once this is realized it becomes rather enjoyable, if a bit repetitive.

After a wonderful, short-lived outro featuring the vocals of Lindy-Fay Hella in a duet with a clean male counterpart, fans are treated to some bonus tracks. "Skaldens Song: Til Tore Hund" is a very old-school traditional piece, robustly sung and quite enjoyable. The trippy "Quantum Pasts" orbits the realms of the traditional with a very sci-fi twist going on thoughout. Skuggsá is on the whole a complete success, with many dimensions of sound going on which will provide an endless reward for repeated listens well into the future.

Track Listing
1. Ull Kjem 02:17
2. Skuggsjá 06:37
3. Makta Og Vanæra (I All Tid) 10:28
4. Tore Hund 03:46
5. Rop Frå Røynda - Mælt Frå Minne 05:43
6. Skuggeslåtten 06:45
7. Kvervandi 06:26
8. Vitkispá 05:21
9. Bøn Om Ending - Bøn Om Byrjing 10:32
10. Ull Gjekk 02:12

Added: May 25th 2016
Reviewer: Nicholas Franco
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1879
Language: english

[ Printer Friendly Page ]
[ Send to a Friend ]