![]() Their masterpiece and a sign that they were done iterating upon their larger concept, an identity had secured therein and the refinement process has continued for the last ten years. The appeal of the band wasn’t obvious for its puzzle of sub-genre elements but rather the sort of “heroic surrealism” they painted with on those earliest, heaviest releases peaking both extremes of mellow and aggressive tonality on ‘ Essence of Nine‘ (2011). Although the ~19 minute piece “Algiz” says it all in red-eyed technicolor it was ‘ Lore‘ (2010) that spread their odd tendrils worldwide landing on No Colours and eventually Northern Silence‘s doom/other imprint Eyes Like Snow, which folks might’ve noticed I’d been a big collector of ’til their hiatus. ![]() Their debut album ‘ Algiz+Berkanan‘ (2009) struck between the eyes of many, emphasizing the progressive, melancholic doom metal, and post-metal ideals of Cascadian black metal and groups like Agalloch with the equally eclectic and ambitious reach of groups like Yob in mind as well, extracting their own sound from these broad-reaching climes and much like Woods of Ypres they’d end up with their own sort of interpretation that’d take some bolds steps into the 2010’s. This isn’t exactly the right way to frame the band’s beginnings, which were initially more suited to psychedelic doom and folkish post-metal ideas but, even from the earliest demos and recordings (later compiled as ‘ Ascension‘, 2012) we see the band as an amorphously observed but perfectly lain assemblage of these influences into a unique sound and well, more importantly a very good sense of self and style. In this sense this project is post-black metal in the truest definition, just as post-hardcore was a style developed by former hardcore musicians so is this a “post-black” development that includes heavy influence from progressive rock, doom metal, folk music - An extension of interests beyond black metal, still retaining some malleable extreme metal traits within their arsenal. All but one member from the latter band would eventually join The Flight of Sleipnir live and later feature on record circa 2016 and beyond. The Flight of Sleipnir formed in 2007, around ten years after the lot of them (well, the initial duo) had cut their teeth in Denver-area blackened death metal act Throcult and underrated black metal project Acheronian Tides. They’ve made this record particularly easy to sink into, not catatonic but perhaps even more fluid and relaxed than the last few, only folks who have their mind palace fully-stocked with chill will manage to weather it with any sense. The remedy to these mental gymnastics is a leap of faith on the part of the categorically obsessed listener, to allow these fellowes to self-define within the expanse of this comfortably numbing seventh full-length, ‘ Eventide‘, and let it be all of the things that it is at once and move on towards feeling it’s night-shaded essence. Earthen as possible, reverently psychedelic, folkish, blackened -ish, doomed and somehow viking/Norse mythology themed there spikes a fresh frenzy of attempts to summarize their impossible to shoehorn sound as each new release arrives. ![]() Around for fourteen years and variably considered ahead of their time or, just out of this world for the entirety of it Arvada, Colorado based quartet The Flight of Sleipnir are inarguably original thought-whirlers on the post-doom/folk metal (but not really post-metal, or folk metal) spectrum who’ve been slept on and more-or-less unseen for seeming eons. ![]()
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