To put it into as few words as possible, I would call it the unlikely fusion of Agalloch and Lake of Tears, although that doesn't sum it up entirely. This is a unique combination of psychedelic rock, post-rock, gothic metal, and a host of other influences. There's none of that on Svartir Sandar, but there is plenty of interesting stuff going on. I'm unfamiliar with their back catalog, which is said to have begun in Viking metal territory. Trust me on those figures-science doesn't lie.Ĭhances are if you have heard of an Icelandic band, it's Sólstafir. But considering the ratio of great bands to people in these countries hovers somewhere around 1:30, there should still be about 10,000 Icelandic bands worth checking out. Chalk that up to population-a bit over 300,000, whereas Finland, Norway, and Denmark are around 5 million, and Sweden has over 9 million. Of all the Nordic countries, Iceland is the only one without a significant stable of well-known metal bands. As far as the metal crowd is concerned, this is definitely not intended for those who like their meat and potato metal, but for all those with an open mind, there's lots to enjoy here. You don't throw a song on your iPod you put Svartir Sandar on and let it take you on a voyage of sweeping landscapes and psychedelic visions. Svartir Sandar is not an album that can be enjoyed on a song to song basis, apart from maybe "Fjara," which follows a basic verse/chorus arrangement, and builds to a glorious conclusion.
Sometimes he sounds a lot like Roger Waters, especially on the closing track, "Djakninn." Aðalbjörn Tryggvason's vocals are slighty harsh, but more just shouting, except where he chooses to uses clean singing, which brings to mind the "Viking" label. The songs are looong, many parts repeated to produce a hypnotic atmosphere. The whole album has a real vintage, 70's feel, especially in the sound of the guitars, which eschew power chords and chugging in favour of open strummed chords and haunting melodies. And indeed, much of Svartir Sandar can hardly be labelled metal, apart from the percussive nature of music and the distorted guitars. The songs are long, droning, and enhanced by pianos, choirs, and samples (to name a few), but at the very core of it all stand four talented Icelanders with a penchant for pushing the envelope. Imagine if Primordial, Pink Floyd, and Enslaved got stranded in the North Atlantic with a couple bags of magic mushrooms, weed and a bit of alcohol.you'd get something akin to Svantir Sandar. No, Solstafir is a real anomaly, not only in the realm of metal, but in the universe of music. The tag "Viking metal" just doesn't cut it with this multiheaded mutant, a strange hybrid never meant for mainstream consumption, even though some of the clear vocals recall Scandinavian folk melodies.
The Icelandic music scene as a whole is filled with odd music, and Solstafir is no exception to this.
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