When it comes to Black and Post Metal, Iceland is a force to be reckoned with. In fact, I’ll probably write a blog entry about it in the future, even though these lovely people sort of beat me to it long ago. To put it briefly, it’s Metal that sounds like a volcano erupting in the darkest place on Earth, while you hide in a cave with freezing temperatures. Árstíðir lífsins is one of the many exponents of the style, but with the difference that it takes the Icelandic formula to its ultimate end. With a discography already filled with enigmatic poetry, where does Aldrlok fit in? Well, you’re in luck today.
Aldrlok is an epic poem. There’s no other way around it. It takes a ton of inspiration from the Eddas and other Nordic classical poems. It’s an album that takes its time to set you on a journey to ancient and uncertain times of change, where traditions that had been kept for a millennium were suddenly replaced by new ways. It’s harrowing yet majestic. Listening to Aldrlok is like watching an eagle spread its wings in slow motion, then proceed to keep scalping its dinner, while the sun radiates strongly over the snow, and the only sound left is the water falling from Gullfoss. It’s a complete procession of the endless beauty of nature, but also of its unrelenting brutality. Aldrlok is a love letter to Iceland, its fascinating history, its barren lands that still seem to hide secrets from us; its fury and its serenity.
There are many aggressive passages in Aldrlok that resemble what you’d probably find in Misþyrming or Svartidauði (your typical Black Metal from the cave), but what sets Árstíðir lífsins apart is how it uses moments of calm to deliver breathtaking scenarios. The acoustics, the patience, and the use of small traditional melodies create something unique. This is a great soundtrack to venture into nature to find yourself, only to get lost and learn how to live in the woods for ten years. However, I do have a few issues with Aldrlok.
The album is longer than some kids’ movies. Eighty-two minutes of atmospheric Black Metal is absurd, regardless of how high-quality the riffs are. There were many times when I just sat there, alone in the cold, waiting for the tsunami to finally wash my pain away, but instead, it just kept building up for another three minutes to the point I lost all sense of tension. Right around track five (I’m not even going to try to spell the names of these tracks), I told myself, “Wow, that was a gorgeous way to end this…wait, what? There’s almost half left? Ridiculous!” To be fair, the last half was still interesting, but all the long tracks could have been cut by four minutes. Hence, I don’t see many of us going back to Aldrlok every week.
Still, if you wish to embark on a journey to darker and more poetic times or if you’re one of those weirdos who sees themselves as vikings, then Árstíðir lífsins is dropping something for you soon, if you’re willing to have the patience of a medieval peasant. By the way, did you know you can get Árstíðir lífsins‘ entire digital catalog for like 20 bucks? That’s more criminal than the length of this album.
Music here: https://arstidirlifsins.bandcamp.com/album/aldrlok
Label: Ván Records
Release date: 31 May, 2024
Website:https://www.facebook.com/arstidirlifsins/
Country: Iceland
Score: You can’t put a number on poetry!! or 3.0 for impatient kids, 4.0 for patient kids.
Metal Eclipse Reviews 
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