Solefald – Norrøn Livskunst

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Black metal is a genre that has arguably undergone more innovation and reinvention in its relatively short lifespan than any other comparably new genre can boast. As such, there’s at least a few black metal albums every year that do something completely new and force serious reevaluation of what the genre’s boundaries are. No 2010 album was quite as game-changing as 2009′s Gin by Colorado duo Cobalt, but if one were, a top candidate would be Solefald’s latest LP. Norrøn Livskunst is so obtuse that it’s practically indescribable. Songs alternate between prog rock pomp reminiscent of King Crimson, vocal jazz owing its debts to Billie Holiday, Emperor-styled symphonics, occasional pure black metal fury in the vein of Immortal, and a dozen more styles, and they employ a combination of English passages, Norwegian passages, and nonsense scat passages in their lyrics. The closest comparison to this record is perhaps latter-day Arcturus, but even that doesn’t quite cover the profound weirdness found herein. As with any experiment this ambitious, it’s not successful all the time. There’s moments of meandering, and the strongest moments rarely have their full strength brought out as Solefald seeks to constantly outdo their own bizarreness. Still, Norrøn Livskunst is a constantly intriguing listen, bursting at the gills with bold experimentation and inventiveness. It’s a challenging listen, and one that will be difficult to describe, but one well worth the effort nonetheless.

Written by Brad Sanders
More: 2010, Albums, Black Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, Solefald