Another Nordvis signing crossing my path, another name new to me. Grift are the vision of Swedish maestro Erik Gärdefors, his now solitary journey into the melancholic regions of blackened and doomed metal. Apparently inspired by the poets and artists of his Swedish homeland this is at once an accessible but dense offering, a musing on the existential angst we feel.
The curious aspect of Summer is that from the opening notes, ‘Aftonlandet’ and all that follows has that lovely balance of traditional black metal with a real nod towards the early 90s beginnings of the Norwegian branching out and experimentation like In The Woods… On ‘Heart Of Ages’ and a less primitive Mortiis in his dungeon crawling days. Real touches if Solefald in their very early ‘Linear Scaffold’ days, apt considering the latter’s obsession with poetry and philosophy. There is the relentless drumming, the riffs forever falling into a well of despair, but underpinned by a hugely melodic sense, an undulating rise and fall that is deeply familiar but imbued with a real freshness that raises it well above simple nostalgia. ‘Svältorna’, the second of the six songs on offer is I guess a perfect example of where one person may veer away along the path trodden by Agalloch into post-rock toenail study but Grift remain firmly in the melodic, melancholy misty world of black metal. That folk, or neo-folk feel you hear is brought carefully, a little piano to help it along, something that may be a steel guitar too (don’t quote me though), but remaining very much in the world of underground metal.
The vocals are almost exclusively harsh – occasionally we are treated to whispered, muttered voices – and ate excellent and deeply expressive; again the memory of Solefald brought to mind in the passages where the music steps back to allow the echoing howls and rolling rrrrrs to take centre stage, particularly on ‘Det Bortvända Ansiktet’. I have no lyric sheet translation so I can’t comment on the content of the lyrics but the rhythm flows beautifully.
I suppose the drawback for some, here, is that there is no new concept on how to build the wheel here. What there is though, for all the clear roots of this music, is a sense of individuality. There is the presence of a mind hard at work here, a struggle with the complexities of existence but woven into a dance that as an outsider you have no difficulty in following. With a light touch to the production, a hazy, misty atmosphere to the album as a whole this is the perfect time of the year to come to it, too. It is personal without being overly long or self indulgent to an off -putting degree; the kind of album to wrap up warm, sit before a fire and just allow yourself the think a little, to feel.
Syner is an album that should appeal to anyone looking for a little thoughtfulness, and fans of the earlier musings of Solefald, In The Woods, Elend and even a little Drudkh could do far worse than invest in a little Grift.
Nordvis really are on a bit of a roll at present. Quite lovely.
(8.5/10 Gizmo)
https://www.facebook.com/Griftofficial
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