Review Summary: Whether you’re here for the metal, prog, folk or anything in between, it’s an effort that you’ll be happy to get lost in.
Things seem to be a little different than usual on The Flight of Sleipnir’s sixth full-length studio album. While their studio lineup previously revolved around Clayton Cushman and David Csicsely performing various instruments, Skadi sees bassist Dave Borrusch and guitarist Justin Siegler joining the duo. The album also features fewer songs than any other aside from their 2009 debut, leading one to wonder its scope will compare to their past efforts. But at its core, Skadi sees the Denver group continuing to deliver their perfected fusion of folk, doom, prog, and black metal.
While there are a couple more musicians performing this time around, each instrument still bends over backward to accommodate every style shift on display. The guitar ranges from acoustic strums to hazy tremolo picking and occasional doom chords, the drums deliver a mix of tribal beats, slow motion blasts and waltz tempos, and the vocals are largely delivered with a drowned out shriek with occasional layer chanting. With the exception of “Voices” serving as a mellow instrumental, each song gradually oozes through its movements like some kind of blackened doom Opeth.
Fortunately, the band stays consistent enough to avoid dragging redundancy. The tempo rarely goes above a trance-inducing crawl despite the prominent extreme metal influence; instead, the tracks’ development is based more on using the dynamic to build atmosphere. The production job also has a more distant sound than their other recent outings, giving everything a hazy sheen not unlike Burzum at their most nostalgic.
Seeing how every track on here is of a similarly high quality, the highlights will likely depend on the listener’s personal taste. While “Awaken” and “Falcon White” do a splendid job of bookending the album with the opener in particular showing off the most black metal, the folk flourish that gives the album its character stands out the most on “Earthen Shroud” and “Voices” with the former featuring some smooth organ as it builds. Elsewhere, the second track “Tenebrous Haze” may be the most unique track thanks to it riding the doomiest set of riffs.
I’m not sure where Skadi can be ranked in The Flight of Sleipnir’s overall outstanding discography but it’ll definitely be a top contender as far as 2017 releases go. It is another fine example of an album that welds multiple influences to achieve a greater sense of purpose. Whether you’re here for the metal, prog, folk or anything in between, it’s an effort that you’ll be happy to get lost in.
Highlights:
“Tenebrous Haze”
“Earthen Shroud”
“Voices”
Originally published at http://indymetalvault.com
