By Bona Pjarren
NATT is a new instrumental band from Bergen, featuring René Misje (from Krakow and Trust Us) on guitars, bass, piano, clavinet, synthesizers and percussion,and Roy Ole Førland, known for his work with Lindy-Fay Hella, Kari Rueslåtten and Malignant Eternal, on synthesizers. They are joined in the studio session by bassist Lord Bård and Enslaved’s Iver Sandøy on drums and percussion. This self-titled debut is a three-song/45-minute album.
And judging from the first track, ‘Skillevei’, they are a band that are hard to define. They are certainly ambitious in their undertakings. ‘Skillevei’ is a progressive metal track with some anti music/jazz elements. It successfully takes the listener through a journey on this 12-minute instrumental. Roving musical ideas are skilfully woven together in this seamless work.
‘Appell’ starts with an interesting beat that resolves into a four/four time signature. There are some nice chugging guitar sounds accompanied by swirling organ. The whole thing progresses at a leisurely pace. Natural progressions give it a bit of a jam feel. There are elements of space rock as well as instruments are cleverly layered to enhance the atmospheric whole.
‘Etterslått’ is the final track of the album and at twenty minutes is the most ambitious track on the album. It is unhurried in its delivery relying on interesting ambience to introduce the song for the first six minutes before eventually building very slowly into something else. It is undoubtedly a challenging track for the listener. I do wonder if the build up could have been shortened and the meat of the song got to quicker. Having said that there are some interestingly ambient ideas being played in this time. Musical ideas are unfurled to a slow ponderous beat before again descending into a brief sound interlude which is a staging point for launching into a heavier section. The heavier section builds into something soaring and triumphant.
In conclusion, this is a challenging album that is hard to define, it has elements of progressive and space rock with some almost doom metal voicing, particularly on the last track, ‘Etterslått’. They certainly make good use of ambient soundscapes. It does have enough hooks to keep the listener engaged though admittedly it may not be to everyone’s taste.
Give it a try, you may be surprised by its musicianship.
- ‘Natt’ is released on Friday (20 January). You can get your copy HERE.
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