Nortt ‘Galgenfrist’ CD 2008

Nortt 'Galgenfrist' CD 2008When I first got this CD I was abit under-whelmed with it compared to their other releases, but I’m glad to say a recent talk with the vocalist from Gloomy Sunday at the Bradford Heavy Fest inspired me to listen again. With this release we see Nortt treading a more ambient, introspective and (dare I say it) delicate path, but rest assured the path is still pitch black and firmly of the left hand.

The album contains three dark ambient soundscape pieces start, middle and end which encase the brooding darkness of the other remaining four tracks. On these, Nortt expertly manage to create a real sense of desolation and despair with eerie guitar and otherworldly vocals which creeps in and out of the music with great effect. As I mentioned before about the introspective and delicate nature of this release, it weaves a twisted web of quite despair that really gets under your skin. It’s worth mentioning that the drums are very minimal, with any drums on the tracks sounding cold and distant like some far away funeral procession. Nortt has said in the past his music is “all about nihilism and destruction” and although not as apparent as earlier releases, this new one certainly embraces these themes. Maybe even more so because when this one gets you, it really sucks you in.

The more ambient feel of this release prompted Nortt to ask in a recent Terrorizer interview “Is it still metal? It’s up to the listener to decide”, well I can see where he his coming from there but I reckon only the metal scene, and especially the one he has come from, could create a beast as dark as this.

Label: Avantgarde Music
Website: www.nortt.dk

Scribed by: Mark Burns