Ice is beautiful; from icebergs the size of small islands drifting on the world’s seas, to the peaks of the highest mountains, to the frozen lakes of the North. Ice is deadly; from the countless shipwrecks caused by icebergs, to the frozen carcasses on Everest, to the skater or fisherman falling through the not-so-frozen surface of a lake thought to be solid.
The same can be said of FORSMÁN’s debut full length, Brenndar rústir & fuƌrandi fjörur (rough translation: Burnt ruins & flowing shores), released via Vesperian. The album begins, ‘Drottinn fyrirgefur allt’ rumbling and roiling, lava boiling and rising for just under a minute until a sonic eruption of Eldfell-like proportions fissures your eardrums and consciousness. This, folks, is how you create a mood. There’s something positively Nordic about the palette already, slashing and jarring riffs almost at war with one another, rhythms deep as the sea, and vocals belched from the bowels of the earth.
Magisterial and towering, ‘Svartir svanir’ is a rogue wave crashing over, drowning us down to the depths (and heights) of what black metal can be when performed at this level. Treble-heavy when needed, regal, and robust, the production and mix are impeccable, a clear low end, and each instrument recognizable should you choose to immerse yourself in that alone. A hearty bass/drum pattern begins ‘Valdnidsla’, and it’s here we hear FORSMÁN as students of the THYRFING / KAMPFAR school, knowing open spaces need not always be filled, and go far in creating the “peaks and valleys” sense of dynamics so many attempt but rarely succeed.
‘Kynjamyndir’ slows the procession noticeably at the start, almost a doom crawl, the angular, jagged guitars reminding us that the burning heart within the beast here is black, especially when, at the 1:30 mark, the hellstorm begins, raining down flamedrops on our heads with one of the most outright aggressive attacks to be found on the debut.
‘Barmafylltar fjöldagrafir’ (rough translation: Mass graves filled to the brim) ends this first outing as expansively as it began, raucous background vocals and a positively murderous riff at 2:15 assuring us that, even near the finish, this quartet is not willing to let things go slack.
Volcanic at times, frigid at others; distinctly of its time and people, FORSMÁN has, with Brenndar rústir & fuƌrandi fjörur, birthed an album that already shows a young band that may not know the meaning of the word “horizon”. May it never, and may it travel long and far.
Review By: Lord Randall
FORSMÁN
Brenndar rústir & fuƌrandi fjörur
Vesperian (ROW) / Metal Blade Records (US)