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Svarti Loghin: Drifting Through The Void Black Metal ATMF April 16th, 2010
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Review
Svarti Loghin is not quite what you would expect when you hear the term Black Metal act. Instead, this album comes off more as an Atmospheric album with hints of Black Metal that a bunch of druids or even hippies would have recorded thanks to the environment the band lays out right from the start of the album. This different take on a final product Black Metal album is definately a welcome breath of fresh air, but for some, this may present a lack in an overall longer lasting replay value with the band's second full-length effort, Drifting Through The Void. Coming off as a far more spiritual release thanks to the lighter material and a very nature-oriented feel to the music, Svarti Loghin present a sound that one would think was being performed by a group of druids, or hippies, or even druid hippies. Much of the music is laid back, utilizing acoustic guitars and keyboards against electric guitars against a lo-fi production quality that only enhances the overall feel of the album. Not only that, but the vocals, which are low and sound a bit distant, go from clean singing to a desolate Black Metal wail. Even if you went into this album without being armed with this knowledge, the introductory track "Red Sun Sets" would tip you off right away, regardless of whether you want to believe it or not, thanks to the more acoustic material being played on this track against a natural backdrop of running water. The entire album is very relaxing, and can sometimes actually slip into a more Alternative Rock feel, like on the track "Odelagd Framtid", but at least it works with the music and sounds good period. Yes, there are no real short tracks on this release, with the shortest being a cover track of the Black Sabbath song "Planet Caravan", which is the perfect cover song to add to this release. There really isn't much on this album as far as vocals go. They are on the album, but just aren't really a necessity, as the music is enough to let you simply slip away and get lost. It's rare that the music will really pick up any steam on here, but it can at times. "Bury My Heart in These Starlit Waters" does have a section that uses some rather fast double bass kicks, and another section later with a slightly sped up tempo utilizing a slightly odd cymbol measure prior to going back into the double bass kicks again to close the track out fluidly. If you enter Drifting Through The Void as some fast paced and intense new Black Metal recording, then you will be greatly disapointed. Svarti Loghin successfully manage to create an atmospheric album that stems from the lyrical topics of nature and even loneliness. The only downfall is that some of the songs may seem a little repetative after a while, but not to a great extent that it'll severly hurt the album, and it's only early on during "Kosmik Tomhet", as well as a little bit on "Odelagd Framtid". Aside that, the more you listen to it, the more you seem to just slide into what the band has created and begin to enjoy it more and more. While the chance of immediate prolonged replays are low, this is an album that the listener can just break out at any time down the line, whether it be a day after the initial spin, or a year or two from that point, and throw it on regardless of what mood they happen to be in.
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