It appears that I am way behind the curve on Fortíð. I thought I knew these Icelanders but apparently just their name had crossed my path. So twenty years and seven albums later I finally catch up with them. The PR blurb was doing the usual mixing of genres thing at me, you know ‘death, black, thrash etc…’ but, wouldn’t you know it? In the case of Fortíð it actually and genuinely stands up. And in a very good way too.
‘Narkissos’ itself opens up with a nice harsh black/death riff with a slightly eerie melody. The harsh vocals are spot on, slightly echoing and there is most definitely a hint of ‘that’ Icelandic sound. Then an icy, epic quality rises in a turn of melody and things get tempestuous. It really does it the mark as an opener – harsh, violent but also with some classic heavy metal lead work striking out of the blizzard. Short and sharp like ice in the teeth. ‘Drottnari’ follows, leading out on a snaking little guitar break that has a haunting lilt to it somehow, a mid-pace tempo and riff whose style is impossible to pin down until it knuckles down to a driving black metal howl. Yet even there the guitar begins to weave a very Viking metal sound and that original riff suddenly falls into place. My mind starts harking back to the days when Enslaved did ‘Eld’ but it’s not really that close. This is more melancholic, epic and introspective. ‘Vefurinn Sem Eg Spinn’ utilizing some neat drum work in the intro then dives headfirst into a blazing, howl of a black metal riff; straight, raw and direct and then suddenly the clean vocals strike up. A sombre melody surrounds them, the song opens out into the epic on gentle notes, a hint of strings before being carried away by the surging Viking metal riff. Third song and still not a moment of stagnation, to a bar of treading water. This is masterful music indeed and the spirit comes through so clearly in the clean vocals. Tyr’s black metal cousins, Skalmold’s harsher brothers. The kind of band like Kampfar that stands at the crossroads of all the black, death, Viking genres.
‘Uppskera’ with the lengthy clean vocal intro, then finds a riff to gallop off across the bleak landscape with a melody that threatens to break your ribs with the swell it creates in your chest. The hair will fly, the fists will bang and the grins will be set hard when this hits a live crowd. Completely top notch, with hooks to pull you right into the cold clouds and let your spirit surge. Pure heavy metal guitars, sweeping vistas. Beautiful.
‘Thusund pthaninga smidur’ has a darker tone, a more sombre feel and pushed on by some magnificent drumming and deft tempo changes. Those heavy metal guitar runs are just superb but the raw riff at the lower end still keeps the feeling harsh and with jagged teeth.
‘Rotin Arfur’ has a real Viking swagger to it in the way the riff rolls and the vocals join it. ‘Illt Skal Med Illu Gjalda’ has an imperious black metal tone and excellent use of keyboards. ‘Timans Or’ has an almost ‘Blizzard Beast’ feel, a good use of the bass line and a full throttle attack.
And. ‘Vid Daudans Dyr’. The closer. Nearly eight minutes. A quiet acoustic opening, windswept sounds conjured by the instruments. An undulating melody borne on simple notes and then the riff and the melody that rips your soul out of your belly and just makes you want to sing. The melancholy, the sense of yearning in this song is utterly transporting. Just one of those perfect moments with a fantastic song to keep you held in the moment. Choral, ethereal vocals, harsh punishing snarls. And that melody comes once more. Lost in it totally it seems as though it is mere seconds long, but you come out of it changed, just a little.
A brilliant end to a fine, fine album. Took me twenty years but, hey, this is an album you have to hear. Just outstanding.
(8.5/10 Gizmo)
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