ARBOR IRA unleash an interesting mixture upon the gentle listeners, because the music is full of extravagant vocals, rhythmically accentuated grooves, melancholic string melodies, black metallic gloom and relaxed moods in an eventful field of tension. A multitude of ideas finds enough room to unfold during the epic pieces, and so Enslaved/Funeral Belt begins as a sort of chamber music that blends into sinister doom / death metal with harsh vocals. The monotony is broken by a light-footed rhythm before long-drawn leads and a sweeping solo are used. Towards the end, the speed increases and so the music nestles dynamically to the emotional, warm-hearted song. A wonderful arrangement of violin and cello ends this piece in a touching manner.
The musicians are never in a hurry, and that's how bitter-sweet melancholy sets the scene, when tender strings strike sky-stricken, entranced singing and pounding drums. Sinister riffs rise on the horizon, and the voice darkens the pitch-red sun, but reduced, fragile-looking passages add a pleasantly flowing sense of relaxation; you feel like you're in a smoky dive, listening to the ritual piece Circle. Danceable echoes are almost like a mocking contrast and it is good that you can never be sure what ARBOR IRA will do next. Even over a distance of almost 13 minutes, the musicians are able to convince very well; during the mini-opera Wundervolle Heilung viscose riffs drag you into the abyss, strings accompany your way into the lightless darkness and evocative songs freeze the blood in your veins, before a reduced part in Fjoergyn style provides for deep relaxation.
Here gentleness and harsh oppression balance each other and so the musicians take the listener on an unfamiliar journey, which leads through subtle symphonic climes, apocalyptic darkness, oppressive fog, courageous frenzy and relaxed restraint. The Weltenfresser strolls on hard-to-reach, but varied paths worth pursuing!