Don’t be afraid, In The Woods… is back.
Formed in 1991 in Norway, the band developed an ice-cold Black Metal before it quits in 2000. In 2014, Anders Kobro (drums, Old Forest, ex-Carpathian Forest, ex-Blood Red Throne, ex-Green Carnation) brings it back to life, and it is now accompanied by Nils Drivdal (bass, Drival), Kåre André Sletteberg (guitar, Kas), Bernt Sørensen (guitar, Mental Disaster) and Bernt Fjellestad (vocals, ex-Guardians of Time, ex-Susperia) that the musician announces the release of Diversum, their sixth album, on Soulseller Records.
The album starts with The Coward’s Way and its melancholic but disturbing introduction which quickly calls for the rhythmic’s saturation, then very diversified vocal, which easily pass from deep tonalities to raw screams. The choirs and the track’s richness give it a special aura which calms down with the break before gradually coming back to life between dissonant elements and some softness which will carry us to Moments and its airy leads, quickly joined by an impressive rhythmic. Vocals remain as changeable as ever, creating an important and fascinating contrast within the track before We Sinful Converge takes us away again in its dreamlike universe. Screams will darken the landscape too, but melodies and choirs will quickly bring us back to light, which will be once again crushed by The Malevolent God’s majestic tones and its oppressive introduction guided by keyboards. Prog elements mixed with intense vocal parts and heady leads give us an extremely catchy sound before heaviness returns, followed by A Wonderful Crisis, which starts with an oppressive vocal sample. But the band will transform the pessimistic sounds into haunting or catchy tones with more energetic patterns, only letting melancholy resurface with Humanity and its massive riffs with quite simple but effective influences. We will also find some surprising screams which contrast with softness and rougher riffs, then Master of None reveals some Folk roots in the jerky clean sound parts, which contrasts with the most aggressive parts’ Black Metal. The majestic final will let us close the album with Your Dark, an ultimate composition which skillfully mixes all the band’s most peaceful elements with some peaks of rage and intensity to create an epic sound.
Although regularly subject to lineup changes, In The Woods… continues to move forward in a contrasted and changing universe. With Diversum, the band once again lets its creativity run free to offer a soaring and sometimes darker sound.
80/100