
Prisma Aeternus
(self-financed)
34:06min
Gothenburg’s so heavily rooted into the sound of NORRSKÖLD that you can immediately tell after a brief listen to “Prisma Aeternus”, the third full length from this melodic Black Metal band. There’s a little DARK TRANQUILLITY, a little early IN FLAMES. And that’s never a bad thing. It’s sort of odd how you just immediately recognize a Gothenburg band from its music unlike pretty much any other place of origin. Within the first five seconds in ‘Witness The Illusion’, Gothenburg stands out like a mullet at a Black Metal show. The guitars have the signature riffs as the vocals lay it on in thick quality with barbwire ferocity. ‘This End’ is a beautifully melodic piece that swarms with passion and pulchritude. The third track ‘Hollow Adoration’ projects a folkish electric guitar sound weaving in and out of chugging rhythms as ‘Perfection Into Solitude’ slows in wayyyy down to give pause to the prior energy. ‘Dissolved’ picks it back up until ‘Indifference’ ejects it into high gear. The guitars are pure eloquence, capturing that near perfect atmosphere we’ve come to expect from the land that bred them. ‘Beyond The Night’, ‘Only Silence’ and ‘Star To Reside’ round out the album in sheer magnificence. NORRSKÖLD should be bigger than they are. But based on the new album, their presence will no doubt be felt in the Metal world like a thundering typhoon. For more info, check out www.facebook.com/norrskold
David Simonton
• NORRSKÖLD - Reflections Of The Night Sky (Thomas Meyer)
• NORRSKÖLD - Blessings Of Winter (Thomas Meyer)