By Ryan Leighton
‘IIII’, the latest, and fittingly, fourth studio album by Copenhagen based, Danish black metal vets Solbrud, is an interesting, and somewhat daring musical experiment, which treads uncharted ground for the band and promises an intriguing listen for fans of the act, and the genre in general.
What makes this release so unusual and compelling is that the band have taken a completely different, and generally atypical approach to the writing process. This involves the band splitting up and writing a quarter of the album each (both music and lyrics) separately and then combining the four distinct parts to create the full album.
This experimental approach has allowed Solbrud to craft what could be called their most ambitious and varied release to date, allowing for deviations from their usual song structures and lengths, as well as creating unique perspectives from all four members having complete artistic autonomy over their respective facets of the album.
Walking this new path definitely pays off for the band, as what they’ve produced is, for me, their best album yet, which encapsulates their known, familiar sound, but also benefits from this bold new approach, in that the more varying song lengths and more diverse influences and approaches ensure to keep the listener engaged throughout.
The musical style could best be described as atmospheric, melodic black metal, with some post-BM experimentation, such as elements of blackgaze, and pinches of folk here and there, evinced in the numerous, beautifully crafted acoustic sections which have almost a medieval feel to them at times. I would also say that there is a degree of depressive influence, with some songs being reminiscent of bands like Coldworld, but overall the music would be mostly comparable to acts like Agalloch, Wolves In The Throne Room, Woods of Desolation and Drudkh.
Tracks like ‘Hvile’ and ‘Ædelråd’ are beyond ten minute opuses, taking the listener on epic journeys through icy soundscapes, with Ole Luk’s shrill, pained vocals cutting through the walls of sound created by the frozen, treble-heavy guitars. The exception of course being the aforementioned acoustic parts, which further add to the enchanting atmosphere of these aural odysseys.
‘Tåge’ has a quite different sound, being very Burzum-esque. With slow, repetitive, almost hypnotic riffing, some background synth, and a mysterious atmosphere pervading throughout the track, it sounds like, perhaps if the production quality was a little different, it would feel very much at home on an album like ‘Hvis Lyset Tar Oss’.
There is also the epic instrumental that is ‘Sjæleskrig’. A melodic, meditative masterpiece with a beautifully fitting guitar solo, a few of which are featured throughout the album, again being a bit of a peculiarity for black metal. A welcome one nonetheless. And we have ‘Når Solen Brydes Del II’, which experiments with some ethereal female backing vocals, as well as some Bathory viking era-like riffs, and ‘En Ild Som Tusind Sole’, which has a bit of a darker, creepier sound on the whole. These tracks are testament to the creative and varied nature of the album.
I wouldn’t say there are really any weak tracks on this release, but, to me, the ones that stood out the most would be ‘Hvile’, ‘Tåge’, ‘Når Solen Brydes Del II’, ‘Sjæleskrig’, ‘En Ild Som Tusind Sole’ and ‘Aske’.
Moody, forlorn, beautiful, and relaxing all at once, this album is similar to their past material, but with the more refined artistry that comes with experience and maturity.
It definitely seems a shame that vocalist/guitarist Ole Luk decided to leave the band after production of this release, as the quality of the work really highlights how much the band have progressed together, and it is undoubtedly a more than worthy successor to 2017’s Vemod. Regardless, hopefully he goes on to produce some more great content with his solo project, Afsky, being his main focus now, and hopefully Solbrud’s new vocalist/guitarist, David Hernan, can pick up where he left off.
Overall, ‘IIII’ is highly recommended for fans of black metal, and especially those who enjoy the more atmospheric and melodic side of the genre.
- ‘IIII’ is released on Friday (2 February).
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