VEDERKAST: And In The Abyss They Sleep (HEAVY METAL,Stoner): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

If a large part of Norwegian bands come from Oslo or Bergen, it is unfair to ignore the influence of other regions of Norway in the pool of creative musicians that this magnificent country offers to the world of metal. Coming from Tromsø, at the edge of the Arctic Circle, the musicians of Vederkast have made Scandinavian mythology a source of inspiration and the harshness of their climate the substance of their melancholic mood. Three years ago the Norwegians released their first album "Northern Gothic" which gave a clear idea of their style, a mix of several variants of metal. "And In The Abyss They Sleep" follows this way by asserting more precisely the content of each of these components.

Vederkast is fundamentally heavy. You only need to judge its inspired and sharp riff art that opens and signs almost all the tracks or the melodic quality injected in each of the choruses that enamel the record. It is in the heart of the opus that the most direct and radically heavy face of Vederkast shows, between clear and calm sequences, especially during the verses, and more powerful breaks in the refrains ('Searching'). They skillfully handle the beautiful minor harmonies without excessive complexity ('In The Waves') and punctuate their structure with sludge adornments ('Yearning').

The progressive filiation is more ambiguous to grasp, and although you can find it occasionally, it would be exaggerated to use this qualification on the whole record. For example, in the ten minutes that 'Echoes Diminish' lasts, an important number is devoted to the development of instrumental inspirations via a bridge and a succession of guitar solos, but the constructions remain quite classical and the Norwegians' willingness is more akin to allowing intensity to unfold than to demonstrate any harmonic virtuosity. The beginning of the disc is in this spirit with ample, massive and emotionally charged compositions in which melancholy rubs shoulders with fury which Vederkast does not hesitate to embellish with subtle string arrangements (the rocky 'Hope Lost' and the poignant 'Reflections Linger').

It is in its final progression that the disc takes on an extra dimension. First of all with the Dantesque 'Blindfolded', very melodic and enriched by an epic grandeur in its final ascent and above all 'In The Abyss They Sleep' that stands out, with its mysterious, almost mystical atmosphere and the variety of its arrangements.

Through this second record, Vederkast confirms the path he started in his first album "Northern Gothic", somewhere between stoner, heavy, progressive metal and atmospheric metal. With this solid second album, Vederkast reinforces its status as a band with strong potential and it could gain even more interest if the signals, still timid but real, sent at the end of the record and which go in the direction of an evolution towards more sophistication, are confirmed in the future. - Official website

VEDERKAST

AND IN THE ABYSS THEY SLEEP

AUTRE LABEL

HEAVY METAL