Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Album Review: Dråpsnatt - I Denna Skog

Dråpsnatt - I Denna Skog

Artist: Dråpsnatt (Sweden)
Album Title: I Denna Skog
Record Label: Frostscald Records (Russia)
Released: 2009 (September)
Purchased From: Morbid Winter / The Old Outpost

Frostscald Records has become imprinted in my mind as a pretty dependable label for quality metal. Towards the end of 2009 they released two very solid albums by somewhat similar Swedish bands, Skogen and Dråpsnatt. Although I didn't discover Skogen's debut album Vittra until late 2010, I was fortunate enough to find Dråpsnatt's debut, I Denna Skog, on sale towards the end of 2009, and it became one of my favorite metal surprises of the year.

Dråpsnatt has a style that owes a debt to various members of the early Norwegian black metal scene, but they manage to not sound too close to anything else I've heard. I can hear the fuzzy, thick guitars of atmospheric black metal, the beautiful, layered synths of ambient black metal, and the clean guitars and nature samples of folkish black metal. The vocals, performed by each of the two members of Dråpsnatt, range from throat-searing screams and creepy croaked/whispered harsh vocals (courtesy of Vinterfader, who also plays keyboards) to passionate, almost Ulver-like clean vocals (courtesy of Narstrand, who also plays guitars, bass, and drums). The vocals were the first element that caught my attention. I've heard the harsh vocals compared to those of Varg Vikernes, though I don't agree with that comparison. These sound less like the howls of an insane man than the shrieks of a very angry man. With every line screamed, Vinterfader sounds like he's not holding anything back. Narstrand's well-performed clean vocals provide a nice balance to the harsh shrieks, and overall the vocal performance is one of the great strengths of this band.

Another of Dråpsnatt's strengths is the fact that each song has enjoyable melodies. There are moments of stunning beauty to be found on I Denna Skog, despite the aggression of the vocals. Despite any pretenses otherwise, what my ears crave when I listen to music is a catchy melody or a moment of beauty, and I Denna Skog has these in every track. Highlights on the album for me include the melodic section just after the first ambient part of lead-off track "I Denna Skog," the layers of clean vocals (followed by a nice section of clean guitar) on "Orostider," and the entirety of album closer "Ett Sista Andetag." These moments, among others, are the type that give me goosebumps when I listen to the album, especially if it's been a while since I'd last heard it.

I enjoy the juxtaposition of beauty and aggression on this album, and I'm impressed with the fact that Dråpsnatt is able to turn these disparate influences and moods into a cohesive and immensely enjoyable whole. Wrap it all up in great production and you have a timeless nature- and folklore-themed black metal album that hopefully will not go unnoticed by fans. Actually, I'm rather surprised that Dråpsnatt has not made a bigger impact on the scene yet, as this is essentially everything I want in a black metal album. Hopefully word of mouth will spread and this band will find the dedicated following they deserve. Already since the album's late 2009 release, they have released another album (which I will also review), and there is a third on the way as I write this. Give this band a listen; you may find yourself hooked.

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