We often yearn to submit ourselves to the currents of emotions, wherever its coiling pattern may take the soul, to dive into the cacophony, and from its sound, we discern its words, try to find the slivers of peace from whence sorrow and despair lurks. But it is through this navigation and voyage, we traverse these waters to attain the understanding of that which we would shun.
Dark Seal’s ‘Arrivals’ manifests a river whose waters become unrestrained with the essence of Pagan Black Metal, calling upon an archaic force which in turn sculpts these sounds, baptizing the soul in its torrential flow. Echoing with a similar resonance as bands such as late Kampfar and Månegarm, Dark Seal manages to sculpt their own spirit while adding to these grand waters, never diluting its vastness, instead it expands the boundaries.
Therein resides a certain candor to ‘Arrival’, where the facets of peace and chaos are explored in the aspect of sound, the manner in which the album unfolds exudes the sensation as though the mind bears witness to a dialogue between this juxtaposition of energies. ‘Ceremony’ is a quintessential track which portrays this communion, as the strings and percussive elements weave this motion in the spirit they evoke. The guitars render unto the mind a flowing sensation, whereupon the actual riffs move organically, ebbing and flowing, almost in a pulsating fashion, this is the trait which bleeds and coagulates with the overall album. However, in the same breath, this very same flow which courses along elegantly morphs into an erratic yet feverish tone. This can be witnessed in ‘The Silent God’, as though the same river which soothes the naked body now erodes the very rocks with its strength, so too does the guitars evoke in its aura. While the guitars represented the coiling and everchanging motion, the percussions would represent the very texture that can be felt through the contours of its resonance. ‘A Frozen Pilgrimage’, is a track which displays how the thunderous motion of the drums gives another layer of animation to the guitars, both varying energies, yet their fusion compliments each other, and in turn, strengthening the sinew of this album. The vocals, in my opinion, acts as the crux of the album, whereby at times, it bends in similar motion to that of Cult of Fire, exuding, an almost ceremonial tinge to its evocation. This, in turn, bestows unto ‘Arrivals’ its connective tissue through which the senses can now feel its depth and shape.
‘Arrivals’ echoes the embodiment of a body that aligns itself upon the rock, where stillness is felt, but within the repose of meditation, the arcane spirits of lucidity and despair converse in tongues wherein the mind consumes the liturgy woven through its speech.
