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This
album tells a story that begins with the first song and ends with the
last. Vintersorg differ from what you usually
associate this kind of music to. Mostly because all the lyrics are about
the complex connection between science and fate, nature versus magic,
the earthly versus the unearthly, the galactic versus the ungalactic and
the essence of man. Scientists such as Einstein, Newton and Galileo are
often mentioned and referred to.
But
also because what they present is a very progressive and innovative
black metal.
The
first thing that strucks me with The
Focusing Blur is all the different moods that comes over me; from
anxiety to calm, from aggression to happiness, from calm chaos and so
on. And all of this often happens in one single song. The melodies
perfectly reflect the different elements presented in the lyrics.
Take
for example The Essence with
a harmonic acoustic guitar intro, which suddenly bursts into a death
metal chaos that gently flows over to melodic metal and continues on
with a soft keyboard tune. This diversity is more or less typical of all
tracks. You can’t possibly get bored while listening to such an album
!
One
of the most “brutal” songs and also one of my favourites is Matrix
Odyssey
which starts and ends with a monologue about the evolution. It has
many Death parts with a lot of angry energy, technically difficult drum
patterns and heavy riffing guitars but also parts with melodic and
progressive metal. All ingredients in perfect harmony. This is where you
clearly see the wide spectrum of Vintersorg’s music.
I
also have a special liking for Blindsight
Complexity with
its choirs of clean “innocent” vocals combined with “grim” death
ones. It’s good versus evil, both in nature and in the mind of man.
Vintersorg
always have had a passion for folk music. This becomes clear while
listening to The Focusing Blur.
Though I can’t pinpoint the tunes or melodies. It’s more like an
influence and mood that penetrates all the tracks.
You
could say that this album is somewhat more diverse and melodic than
their previous ones.
Asgeir
Mickelson (Borknagar, Spiral Architect) and Steve di Giorgio (Death,
Testament..) have made guest appearances and contributions on drums and
bass.
As many as four studios have been used for the complex recording of this
album.
The
only weakness of the album as I see it is the two instrumental tracks : Prologue
Dialogue-The
Reason
and Artifacts of Chaos.
They are very dark and gloomy but would be better as sound
effects to a pc game.
Besides
from that, I can highly recommend The
Focusing Blur
to anyone who’s into Progressive and Melodic Black metal !
Rating:
8/10
Review by Lisa Hieta_Larsson
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Vintersorg
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