There are many things I think about when hearing this band’s name but “intelligent structures” is right up there. I can entirely understand why comparisons might be made with Katatonia, Anathema and Amorphis because this is a band which doesn’t strain to be extreme, shocking or indeed anything because like these great bands it creates visions, images and atmospheres in its own way through the collection of musical ideas. Avant-garde, experimental and progressive are all terms which may apply. “What If” is the band’s seventh album. They’re all different. There are skybound symphonic ones like “Ad Sidera, Ad Infinitum” (2000), and ones with creepier atmospheres like the last “Stairs to Nowhere” (2012). Lofty dreams, bad dreams. They are all interesting and stimulating. So I didn’t know what to expect, and it’s 10 years since these Poles released anything anyway. Asgaard ask questions and “What If …” is another one. The intrigue was going to be in finding out the band’s answer this time round.
My initial reaction was one of surprise. Asgaard’s music can be complex but I wasn’t expecting overt simplicity. “Sisyphus” and “Creeping Miss Lunacy” set the tone with calm freshness and apparent harmless reflection but as ever with an Asgaard album, over their course and what follows we find ourselves in a maze of subtleties and depth. The songs are in one sense classically styled dark rock tracks with a range of moods and occasional incursions into heaviness to reinforce the mood. That’s the core. Acoustic tones, electronic elements, sinister suggestive tones and a great deal of delicate sadness provide the range. These songs get in your head. They can be psychologically disturbing too, even the ones in Polish whose lyrics I don’t understand but which are delivered with enough power and feeling that I can sense what they’re about. It came as no surprise to learn that one of them “Sny na jawie” means “Daydreaming” because that’s how it comes across. The airiness of the flute contrasts with the tension and the melancholy. Quazarre’s vocal skills add to the ambiance, ranging from drawn out emotion to his trademark darker-than-dark diction.
Asgaard don’t really cultivate adventure but do cultivate settings. “Horizon Upside Down” is classic in style yet with a faintly theatrical element. The title song “What If…” is like a mini-opera. Softly theatrical and melancholic, what I am hearing is the language of doubt and regret, culminating in folksy touches and the escape into a wonderworld. The clouds then thicken. “Blind Man’s Buff” is dramatic in the way of a tv drama theme through its insistent rhythm but as a piece it is haunting. Through the spoken word, obscured cries and swampy dark passages, Quazarre takes us through mental hell on “Blind Man’s Bluff”. The magnetic guitar style is disarming as the atmosphere is one of grotesque horror. The flower has burst open by “W sercu nieswiata” (In the Heart of the World). It is another song which is full of feeling. There is a symphonic touch. The guitar style has the classic Asgaardian pomp about it. It has instrumental traces of Katatonia. The style has a progressive metal nature but as Quazarre appeals to us in his uniquely demonstrative way, there are classical strings and a sense of a powerful force in the music to go with the emotion of the vocal delivery. “W sercu nieswiata” is a strong and far-reaching track. “Not Ever Again” is a complete surprise with its dark electro base. Quazarre’s vocals are fittingly inhuman to match. But as the track develops, the electro becomes darker and Quazarre’s delivery represents nightmares, paranoia and the angle of someone battling with demons. The regrets blend into psychologically disturbance. That’s essentially it except that we get radio edits of the two songs in Polish. I’ve noticed that repeating tracks is a trend recently. I’m absolutely fine with this so long as the songs are strong, which here they are in their powerful and emotive way.
I was rather hoping that “What If …” would live up to its mysterious and suggestive title. I wasn’t disappointed. This album is typically strange and thoughtful. Asgaard don’t indulge in gimmicks, and the basis for much of this is classic dark rock but their presentation style and textures are unique. “What If …” is not as overtly expansive as some of Asgaard’s previous albums but they are representing a different world from before. We still get a masterful artistic display on all levels. There is intrigue and bucketloads of sophisticated exposure of regret and sadness here. With some theatre but largely without ceremony “What If…” shines musically and artistically like a beacon.
(9/10 Andrew Doherty)
Leave a Reply