2024 is the year of change for Sólstafir.
Aðalbjörn Tryggvason (guitar/vocals), Svavar Austmann (bass), Sæþór Maríus Sæþórsson (guitar) and Hallgrímur Jón Hallgrímsson (drums) announce their signing to Century Media Records, with whom they release Hin helga kvöl, their eighth album.
The airy tones of Hun andar first envelop us in a soothing veil before meeting Aðalbjörn‘s rather plaintive vocals, but the more energetic roots resurface and give the track a rather different dynamic. The ambient melancholy is still felt, but is disturbed by the constant energetic touches before darkening on Hin helga kvol, the eponymous track, which marks the return of abrasive Black Metal influences as well as the rawer saturated vocals. It’s impossible not to feel the obvious aggression, but the band still manages to nuance it with airy touches bordering on Shoegaze, before a final wave of rage is followed by Blakkrakki, which returns to gentleness and steamy melodies, but also with a more Rock’n’Roll approach and noisy elements. The track soon comes to an end, and is replaced by the gentleness of Salumessa, a fairly long but fluid composition in which rare, more saturated moments plunge us into a contemplative torpor that transports our spirit. Vor as follows with a slight revival of energy, letting the quartet wander between its various soaring and dissonant influences to create a sound as intriguing as it is relaxing, with a few saturation peaks and a catchy finale featuring a few female backing vocals. The sound cuts off abruptly, then a morose piano lifts the veil on Freygatan, a composition that first offers minimalist sweetness, then gets carried away by warm, motivating saturation as it joins the more dynamic Gryla. The track’s heady groove, driven by the bass/drums duo, perfectly serves the more ambient tones of the guitars and vocals, found mainly on the break before the explosive finale, but the aggression resumes without delay on Nu mun ljosi deyja. Screams and Black Metal tones nuanced by a hazy mix surround us, and we discover this intriguing little crystalline percussion before reaching Kuml, the last composition on the album, which is by far the most mysterious, between its choruses, its anguished brass and its thick final.
When I think of musical experimentation, I can’t help but thinking about Sólstafir. First Black Metal, then Progressive/Post-Rock, the band blends all their influences to give life to Hin helga kvö, which is by far one of their most diverse albums.
90/100