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| 2000 Century Media Records |
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Quintessence
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The Rivalry of Rhantoms
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The Presence is Ominous
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The Ruin of Future
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Colossus
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Inner Landscape
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Invincible
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Icon Dreams
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Genesis Torn
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Embers
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Revolt
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Line-Up
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I.C.S. Vortex (Simen Hestnaes) - Vocals, Bass
Øystein G. Brun - Guitar
Jens F. Ryland - Guitar
Lasare - Synths
Asgeir Mickelson - Drums
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When a band names their latest album "Quintessence", you can be sure that
they're pretty confident in their abilities, and after 1998's stunning
Archaic Course,
Borknagar no longer have anything to prove. To us, anyway, as
the band has gone through yet another roster change, with a new keysmith
and drummer in the ranks, with the latter maybe having some big shoes to
fill after the stopgap entry of Nick Barker on tour. And this is
where I digress on the percussive aspects of the record, noticing
some intricacies upon the first few spins, but only really hearing
them after discovering the out of control Spiral Architect CD. This
guy is an amazing drummer, not
in terms of fills per second, but in the simple fact that he plays
exactly what is needed here. After hearing his previous work, I know
what this guy is capable of, and the restraint used here saves the day
for me, because this is just the foundation for that soon to be classic
Borknagar sound. Brun has said that he sees these compositions in
terms of colors, and while I may obstain from the magic mushrooms,
I can see the idea behind this. Equating the colors with layers of
sound, you can either mix everything
in small doses to create something from the impressionist era, or pollute
everything into a nice muddy brown design. Again, restraint appears
to be a factor, for there
is tons going on here, but all so appropriate, it's obvious that the
goal was known and agreed upon before the first riffs were penned.
Truth be told, I was a bit disappointed
upon the first few listens, for there's so much to grasp, and some
of the more grandious elements from The Archaic Course are absent.
As time progressed though, this
is rapidly becoming THE Borknagar release for me, the exchange of Woodhouse's
pristine yet somewhat light production for that mammoth Abyssal sound increasinging
the heaviness factor in the relevent places. Excellent performances
from some of the more known names
in the Scandanavian scene, this may indeed be the quintessential document
for all parties concerned, and a very logical step onwards from the band's
outstanding previous collected works.
8 out of 10
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