HELRUNAR, the masters of atmosphere, come around the corner with a monster work in two parts. The music touches deeply, but at the same time it needs some time to hit the emotional nerve centre.

Demanding as usual and not at all kitschy or embarrassing concerning the lyrics, HELRUNAR offer a lot of contrasts in their musical universe. Let’s start with the vocals – the lyrics close to nature are presented in screeching way or in contrast very contained, only spoken or whispered. The calm and reduced sequences hit the listener’s heart directly and the fast outbreaks show the aggressive side of the band.
In many cases HELRUNAR act in mid tempo or a simple guitar chord sounds in the vast sound area, then they throttle the speed and creep like a wounded animal, ere harsh and ice-cold Black Metal takes on the lead.

Sól I – Der Dorn Im Nebel:
On the first part of Sól, the sentimental atmosphere dominates and we search for catchy compositions in vain for the present. The pieces show up with nice dynamics and pulsating energy. Sometimes the musicians play quite uncommon melodies and the slight dissonances create a frosty mood. Thereby the artists convince in throttled speed with aggressive growl voice as well as in fast-as-an-arrow measures. The track named Kollapsar is composed in this variable technique including a whispered part. Above mentioned term “for the present” means, that after the second turn, the record grabs me by the neck totally. The track Unter Dem Gletscher sounds mild grinding and hypnotic with an outstanding refrain; afterwards, in the song Nebelspinne, HELRUNAR offer some simple, but all the more impelling words for enjoying consumption. Finally, the tune Tiefer Als Der Tag sweeps away everything that remained, but also holds an extremely calm part to build up suspense, ere the excessive conclusion leaves nothing but ash. This is music to hear, to feel and to enjoy!

Sól II – Zweige Der Erinnerung:
The obvious hits that attack the listener immediately can rather be found on Sól II. Among others, they are called Aschevolk and Rattenkönig. Last mentioned enthuses with cascades of chords and an enormous contrast, which conjures nice goose pimps. Sluggish measures are replaced by hymnal leads; stomping rhythms boost the energy level once again – 11 minutes of acoustic madness!
A while later, the Moorgänger strides in mighty way, with calmly plucked melodies in the background. Despite this silent build-up, I get the impression of hidden aggression, but no storm follows. I like the unpredictable manner of HELRUNAR!
In the end, the epos and title track Sól concludes this oeuvre in exalted style: choir chants and floating melodies are combined with lumbering measures. The band sounds dark, conjuring and simply black as pitch, but offers some calm guitar parts. The piece augments with fine lead melodies up to an instrumental intoxication.

This record is a special treat with gentle and fragile acoustic guitar parts as well as aggressive Black Metal. The vocal performance enriches the variable songs in mellow up to nasty screeched way. Sól creates a very captivating dynamics. I got addicted in the long term!