When Sólstafir released the title track of Hin Helga Kvöl as the album’s lead single, it was met with a collective “Fucking hell!” The scrappy black metal cut looked back at the Icelanders’ extreme roots for the first time since their 2002 debut album, Í Blóði Og Anda. It was an approach that, in the 22-year interim, had become overwhelmed by a windswept post- rock tone, as majestic and massive as the mountainous landscapes that inspired it.
However, any hopes of album number eight being a full metal comeback were swiftly dashed by other, more atmospheric snapshots getting released. The few remaining purists still haranguing Sólstafir to this day were obviously disappointed, as has been their default setting for a long time now. For everyone else, the title track holds a key role in a record that, across nine tracks, examines the four-piece’s past, present and future with beauty and depth.
Every shade of Sólstafir comes through here. Nú Mun Ljósið Deyja is another rampage of speed and fury, whereas Sálumessa is a spacious giant, frontman Aðalbjörn ‘Addi’ Tryggvason’s vocals echoing over slow, solemn guitars. Vor Ás and Freygátan touch similar levels of grace, albeit condensed into tighter structures tailor-made for live shows. Blakkrakki, on the other hand, barges into Motörhead and AC/DC reverence, its simple cries of ‘Blakkrakki! Blakkrakki!’ transcending language barriers with their undeniable catchiness.
Later, Kuml sees Sólstafir crescendo in their most ambitious mode. The finale defies genre – slickly following rhythmic, Nordic chanting with keys, barrelling chords and prog rock saxophones – to announce that Hin Helga Kvöl isn’t just a retread through past glories. Two decades after shedding their punk and black metal shackles, the band still have new ideas to explore. And, even more impressively, they can fold the result into their current soundscape without any issue at all.
Hin Helga Kvöl is out this Friday, November 8, via Century Media
