Solstafir
“Endless Twilight Of Codependent Love”
Season Of Mist
Released : November 6, 2020
Over the years, my adoration for all things Solstafir has continuously grown. Even the albums that I thought I had completely peaked on, find new ways to strike awe in me years down the line.
Far from their beginnings as a black metal project, Iceland’s Solstafir have been crafting some of the most incredible post-metal music ever created. Post-anything is a term I genuinely despise; it implies that a genre has reached its plateau and no longer has room in which to grow. That isn’t true of any musical genre – least of all metal. Of course, this is mere semantics so there isn’t much more that needs saying on this matter. Solstafir have now been treading these waters longer than they explored the black metal genre, and their progression from album to album has been nothing shy of astonishing. Some might risk saying they’ve ventured too far from their roots, but the truth is that bands like Solstafir, and there are very few bands that can be spoken of in this vein, are pioneers. Purveyors and explorers boldly walking their own paths on yet untrodden soil. For that I am thankful.
Solstafir are about the creation of a soundscape more than they are a riff machine, churning out guitar licks to wreck necks. Occasionally, you might find hints at the extreme metal they used to produce, but for the most part, those aspects have been laid to rest. Instead, the band focuses on a more shoegaze approach, without actually being a shoegaze project. If that makes sense. They create trance inducing melodies and soundscapes. Passages of mesmerizing beauty.
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On the eighth track, Or, there is a really soothing blues riff, complete with a piano passage, to show how far and wide the music of Solstafir has come. It is soon followed up by a bluesy lick that could only come from Solstafir. Like the vast majority of what the group have done thus far, it is a solemn sounding ditty. Glum the way the blues was meant to be. It eventually picks up and moves into something more akin to the bands sound.
One of the many fascinating things about this band, is that the listener doesn’t need understand a single word of Icelandic to know what the songs are about. That is because the feeling that is given off speaks volumes. The atmosphere and ambience Solstafir can create with their instruments is universal. Its grandeur limitless. In all my years as a music aficionado, I have never before discovered an artist that can sing to me in a tongue foreign to my ears, yet still resonate so deeply within my soul. It isn’t just the way the lyrics are delivered, but the way the music in general sounds. These are far from pieces of music written to procure wealth or riches; far greater – these are compositions written from deep within. These are the sounds of souls sharing themselves with those brave enough to lend an ear. To actually devote themselves and dedicate their time to fully listening.
Endless Twilight Of Codependent Love is available for pre-order now from Season Of Mist – and is highly recommended. This was perhaps my most anticipated album of the year. The wait was long but the reward was well worth the suspense.
For Fans Of : Sigor Ros, Alcest, Anathema
Track Listing :
01. Akkeri
02. Drysill
03. Rokkur
04. Her Fall From Grace
05. Dionysus
06. Til Moldar
07. Alda Syndanna
08. Or
09. Ulfur