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/:: Artist :: Borknagar ::\
:: Album :: Fall ::
:: Year :: 2024 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CD . ::
:: Label :: Mutilation Prod. R.date :: 2024-04-23 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: MUTP384 S.date :: 2024-02-23 __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 278kbps :..
. Quality :: 44.1 kHz/Joint Stereo .
. Size :: 113.82MB .
. .
http://borknagarofnorway.bandcamp.com/
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 1. Summits 7:58 ::
:: 2. Nordic Anthem 5:14 ::
:: 3. Afar 6:54 ::
:: 4. Moon 5:51 ::
:: 5. Stars Ablaze 8:26 ::
:: 6. Unraveling 4:33 ::
:: 7. The Wild Lingers 5:34 ::
:: 8. Northward 9:54 ::
:: ::
:: ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 54:24 ..
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: related do differentiate from each other. One of the bands that ::
:: remained as crucial and excellent for a long time is Borknagar ::
:: from Bergen, known for their progressive songwriting that ::
:: incorporates plenty of black, viking and folk metal in their ::
:: music. The quality of such a band could not be described by ::
:: anything else in this world, but it certainly comes close to ::
:: perfection. Borknagar recently released their twelfth ::
:: full-length album Fall on February 23rd, 2024 via Century Media ::
:: Records, which could practically be considered a follow-up to ::
:: True North from 2019. Was it worth the wait? Stay tuned to find ::
:: outà ::
:: ::
:: Starting off with the first track ôSummitö, we see a strong ::
:: blizzard striking hard in your face with melody, tremolo guitar ::
:: riffs, double-bass drums, harsh and epic clean singing vocals, ::
:: welcoming you into a cold but lonely world surrounded with ::
:: frozen glaciers and teal rivers. What you are about to witness ::
:: from here on out is a very heavy and dynamic curve filled with ::
:: beauty, emotion and very sincere expressionism, dictated by ::
:: very progressive musicality and spirituality, alongside the ::
:: magnificent vocal performance with the combined strengths of ::
:: ICS Vortex and keyboardist Lars A. Nedland, creating an ::
:: incredibly powerful aura that raises everything several bars ::
:: higher. In case you thought that it canÆt get any better than ::
:: it already is, once you get to the fourth track ôMoonö is where ::
:: you begin to realize how wrong you were, as the song radiates ::
:: such majesty and out body experience, which could easily be one ::
:: of BorknagarÆs best songs since the days of The Olden Domain. ::
:: Another outstanding example which is very close to that level ::
:: of performance and excellence is the seventh track ôThe Wild ::
:: Lingersö that gradually builds up to the epic finale of the ::
:: album, the ninth track ôNorthwardö. This finale truly feels ::
:: like a very crucial and epic chapter in this gigantic journey, ::
:: with such a conclusion that in itself is somewhat of a ::
:: bittersweet ending, which could really make you cry because ::
:: itÆs all over. But as they say, all good things must come to an ::
:: end. ::
:: ::
:: Borknagar provided some highly dynamic songwriting with a lot ::
:: of progression and complexity that just flows like the ::
:: teal-colored river all the way to the waterfall. What I believe ::
:: really made all of the songs even greater is the fact that ::
:: there is a strong accent on clean guitar chords, which adds an ::
:: extra layer of excellence to the mesmerizing power chord riffs ::
:: and melodies. The biggest highlight of this album is its ::
:: unpredictable nature, where you donÆt really know what to ::
:: expect from every song, and once it plays out you are instantly ::
:: struck like it was a bolt of lightning, experiencing the glory ::
:: that stands before you. Each of the songs carries this enormous ::
:: wave of emotions which is expressed through every bit of ::
:: BorknagarÆs performance, and yet shining so bright that the ::
:: light does not even fade away until the album reaches its ::
:: conclusion. During my listening, I had a feeling like there was ::
:: tons of progressive and psychedelic rock influences coming from ::
:: various bands such as King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Rush, Emerson ::
:: Lake & Palmer and various others, all of them cemented into the ::
:: bandÆs creativity which resulted in this outstanding musical ::
:: output that is unlike anything IÆve heard lately. Looking at ::
:: the album cover of the Israeli artist Eliran Kantor, you can ::
:: clearly tell that he truly knew how to convey the sound of ::
:: Borknagar through a visual representation with a strong use of ::
:: skyred and teal colors, resulting something so mesmerizing to ::
:: look at that you can actually feel the painting breathe a life ::
:: of its own. On the final note, the album has a fantastic and ::
:: superb sound production which wonderfully captures every second ::
:: of the musicality, giving a big push to the vocals to elevate ::
:: the instrumental performance. ::
:: ::
:: Borknagar is one of those bands that has never disappointed me, ::
:: and now 5 years after the release of their predecessor True ::
:: North, their return proved to be so triumphant and even better ::
:: than one would have imagined. Fall is a powerful and truly epic ::
:: album filled with Nordic anthems that really leave no room for ::
:: any lackluster or generic ideas, always proving that the band ::
:: know their craft better than anyone else. I would even say that ::
:: Fall is better than True North in terms of its musical output, ::
:: but I still feel like itÆs not really a fair decision to ::
:: compare their albums, because all of them stand out ::
:: individually as great with their unique moments. Borknagar just ::
:: keeps on giving after so many years, and I just canÆt imagine ::
:: how a superior and progressive album such as this could ever be ::
:: outmatched by anything that is yet to be released. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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