Buass, Anders: The Witches Of Finmark III

Anders Buaas was born in 1974, in Larvik, Norway. The Norwegian multi-instrumentalist certainly has that moody Scandinavian sound in his blood which one can hear on his Witches Of Finnmark trilogy which is based on the book At The Gates Of Hell by Historian Rune Blix Hagen, recounting the witch burning trials in 16th and 17th century Finnmark. It’s an incredibly dark time in human history which Ander’s has captured beautifully on his first two releases. His third and final album in the trilogy is the subject of this review.

Anders is a superb guitarist and in the album opening “Jeremiah 1:14� one can easily hear why. A moody keyboard forms the backdrop for Ander’s crystalline acoustic guitar. Organ fleshes out the sound along with other keyboard accents, all played with melodic intent. It’s a mellow but very engaging start to the album. Next is “Firehorn� and like the name implies begins with what sounds like a foghorn soon joined by pulsating electronics and scintillating banjo adding a folk element. More tasty guitar work ensues and the band starts to bring on the heat culminating with Ander’s blistering lead work, an album highlight for sure. The uplifting and folky “Lisbet� featuring excellent banjo and the moody “Domen� where Anders’ slowly played electric guitar takes center stage are more excellent tracks. The last track “Requiem� , over eleven minutes in length, is a real stunner. Dark keyboards and heavy guitar riffs as well as moody ambient keyboards and soft guitar arpeggios give this track a dichotomy of sounds between heavy and light. Another beautiful melody to grace your ears and the soaring electric guitar is just so tasty.

The Witches Of Finnmark III is a brilliant end to the trilogy. I can’t wait to hear what Anders comes out with next.

An Apollon Records release.

Track Listing:
1. Jeremiah 1:14
2. Firehorn
3. Lisbet
4. Domen
5. March In 5/4
6. Requiem

Added: May 19th 2020
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Label's Official Site
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Language: english

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