A mind can be plagued with spit spoken by many tongues, where each sermon flays the soul to the point where salvation may exist by clawing at one’s own crown,where flesh becomes embedded beneath the nails as the only sensation is to taste the elixir of repose. But if in the same draught of breath, if one were to smear the conflagrations of broken thoughts like the charcoal which blends and bleeds unto the canvas, then its creation becomes like a pulsating artery, filled with virulent emotions that spills unto lips, potent and indulging to the senses.
‘Brenndar rústir & fuðrandi fjörur’ by Forsmán manifests itself as a jewel fashioned from a stygian force that transmutes the crude and sulphuric elements of Black Metal into a being that appears uncontrived and innate in its shape. Erupting in a congruent energy, Forsmán adds its vehemence to the everflowing stream with such entities as Misþyrming, Naðra and Zhrine.
Dissonance integrates and spreads itself into the album like the mist that slithers through the marsh,blotting out the light, clinging to the trees,while contorting their silhouette, so to by extension, do the guitars serve in their expulsion. The temperament of the string’s motion adopts a cacophonous energy, swelling inwards, where the tone’s texture becomes metallic, serrated and haphazard. However, it is through this maelstrom of chaos fostered through the strings where an identity of the album is forged. ‘Svartir svanir’ is a track where the guitar utilizes this discordance of many frequencies and through this transmission creates many shades for the mind to delineate. Furthermore, the sound undergoes a metamorphosis, shifting from a vehement tone then climaxing into a boisterous crescendo then leveling into a rhythmic swagger and cadence also exhibited in the track ‘Andvana’. This coiling flow of sound becomes the waves that break against the body, connecting experience and tangibility in one journey.
The art’s zenith arrives in its feral spirit,for the convergence of the musical energies casts a spell and binds each other to create a beast dominant in shape, incendiary in its motion. The primal countenance of the vocals becomes the source of this spirit, for its vitriol energy feels almost masochistic in delivery, where tongue forms a dagger,inflicting a symphony of wrath upon the consciousness,where every word is an attack,erratic and belligerent in its temperament.’Drottinn fyrirgefur allt’ as a track exudes this malediction where the vocal patterns and register adds a certain density to the atmosphere, where its likeness feels as though it sinks into the very earth, dragging and creating an incision with its tension, this is an aspect which bleeds throughout the album.It is from this atmosphere which entices the soul to become devoured into its maw, for the senses to be digested and become merged into its very being.
Pulsating in a similar vein to the vocals are the percussive elements, where they act as the camphor, stoking the fulmination of vocal fires. Here,the production renders the drumming in a raw-like state, for instance, on the track ,’Hræ hins almáttuga’, where the reverberation of every beat gives the illusion as though it is occurring within the body and mind, as though, the spirit is being dismantled and deconstructed. Furthermore, the juxtaposition between the militant and frenzied tones sinks the atmosphere further into a cavernous depth, blackening the aura as it closes in on the senses.
Forsmán becomes the cleansing flame that cauterizes the eyes, for it is without vision that the soul will see, and through the sight of sound, the consciousness transcends into a realm where chaos and agony copulates, and from its union comes forth an ecstacy sublime in its ichor and perceptible only to the blinded soul. (Justin Joseph)
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Iceland is a country that, as an Australian, I am fascinated by, much like I’m sure any Icelandic person out there is fascinated by Australia; it’s a foregone conclusion at this stage, am I right?
Their proximity to Scandinavian countries, their culture and language and now, their Extreme Metal scene, which, I admit, for me, had Mispyrming as their frontrunners, as I was very impressed with their albums from 2015 and 2019 respectively.
Since then, of course, my awareness of other excellent bands and artists from Iceland has grown, and as I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, I’m very happy when I see a release from a band and the album title and track names are all in a different language; this is the case too with this album, performed entirely in Icelandic.
The first thing I noticed when I started listening to this album was the production; what a fantastic sound! Excellent tone throughout, just a brilliant sound; very similar to Mispyrming with faint traces of melody but ultimately harkening back to a gritty, realised and slightly unpolished Black Metal sound; akin to Mgła and Scour in certain doses.
The drumming is on point, with the blastbeats at times truly hammering home on tracks like ‘Andvana’ , while the vocals have a low throaty rasp and growl to them, perfectly complementing the push and pull of ferocious Icelandic Black Metal.
There’s a lot to like here, with the aforementioned traces of melody really underpinning how tenacious and powerful the Black Metal is; a track like ‘Valdniðsla’ sticking out due to a slight hook with a melodic twist that, to this reviewer, evoked a riff from Emperor that is top tier!
While I would discover bands from Iceland apart from Mispyrming such as Auðn, Martroð and Fortíd, discovering Forsmán in the manner in which I have, by way of this excellent album, has really helped the completist in me shape my understanding and appreciation of Icelandic Extreme Metal even more.
At around 44 minutes, it’s yet another brilliant offering that doesn’t overstay its welcome, instead it makes a wonderful statement about Icelandic Extreme Metal and leaves you with a sense of satisfaction in knowing that you’ve taken a chance on another Icelandic Black Metal band and can come away feeling pretty glad that you did. (Rich Hughes)
