2023.11.27
Sounds like the name of a 1980's thrash metal band, doesn't it? While they did start out in the late '80s with a focus on metal, their sound has evolved far and wide over the course of their _many_ albums. Seriously, this Norwegian band is like a musical assembly line with over 30 albums in as many years, always with something new without straying too far from their core sound.
I'm not the best at describing or even discerning various musical styles, but this band seems to have a consistent theme that (to my ears) always seems to sound older than it really is. Or at least it sounds strongly influenced by older bands such as Led Zepplin and possibly a little Black Sabbath at times. It's not metal (usually), though it does get kind of grungy at times and even somewhat heavy for only brief moments. There are hints of jazz and other styles mixed with various forms of rock, so it's quite a variety.
Most of what I listen to starts with the 2013 album 'Still Life with Eggplant', on which my favourite song is 'The Afterglow'. The next album 'Behind the Sun' is similar in ways, whereas 'Entropy' is my favourite from this one; mellow and vintage with lyrics that make you ponder. The three-track 2019 release titled "The Crucible" is heavier and definitely sounds more like '80s metal with their song 'Psychotzar', which is what Spotify played as my first introduction to this awesome band. Some other notable tracks to mention are 'The All is One' and 'Dreams of Fancy', both from their 2020 album 'The All is One'. It still has that familiar sound as the earlier albums mentioned.
While writing this, I was playing their 2021 album 'Kingdom of Oblivion'. Some tracks are stronger on the rock front and definitely have some Black Sabbath influence, while others are very mellow with hints of jazz and blues. All of it still has that unique "vintage/new" mix of sounds which seems to reach all the way back to the 1960s! Notable tracks so far include 'The Waning' and 'At Empire's End'.