Bardspec
Hydrogen
(By Norse)

While there may not be a new Enslaved album yet (but don’t fret, one is coming soon) we do have this mysterious little ambient project from guitarist/composer Ivar Bjørnson and Today Is The Day’s Steve Austin (who provides extra guitars and effects), which was released in June 2017 on By Norse. The record is ambient, so it is already safe to say that there won’t be any black metal tinges, tremolo riffs or scowled vocals. This is a bit of change from the artist, yet it is also a pleasant sign of musical dexterity. Hydrogen offers nearly an hour of different emotions, each conveyed within one of it’s six pieces. Arguably, we could say that there are only five major pieces to the recording as a whole and with most of them being in the nine and ten minute mark, (as the opening piece “Deposition” is merely an intro) that seems an accurate statement. As soon as the heavily electronic intro piece (which reminds me of something from Steve Roach’s current outings) finishes, we finally get to the meat of the disc in “Bone” and discover a largely folky and quite airy performance that is not unlike that of Karl Sanders’ self-titled releases. Bjørnson and Austin also play several melodic leads on the piece, which fills with a drum line that feels quite like a theme from an action film based in the Middle East, perhaps that new Mummy movie. It certainly feels a bit active towards the latter half, almost as if it could be used in the desert stage of a video game like Uncharted. Surprisingly, it also has a toe-tapping and almost dancey vibe to it, which cannot be denied.

“Fire Tongue” seems to continue that toe-tapping rhythm as Bjørnson and Austin’s guitar melodies twirl their way around the symphonic atmosphere of what sounds very mysterious, and possibly a bit erotic. If “Bone” brought us into the middle of the Egyptian desert, then “Fire Tongue” brings us into an ancient palace where several of the pharaoh’s concubines dance around for our pleasure. The piece is very enticing, quite deep and wholly unexpected for an artist so entwined with the Nordic spectrum – but it works in spades. I suppose in occult magick, or what Grant Morrison is now calling mag!c for some reason, listening to a piece like this would be a great way to summon the djinn. Electronics creep up later in the performance, bringing us once again a bit of a dance-heavy beat. It isn’t until “Gamma” that things change entirely into that of otherworldly fare which is by this time appreciated as there is only so much time that one can spend in the desert being surrounded by djinn and dancing concubines. The piece takes us directly into orbit, right between the moon and the International Space Station where if you listen closely enough, you might even hear a few transmissions echo in between the walls of the floating plastic structure. The moon’s surface is very close to us now. Can you touch it? The stars begin to feel so close that you could blow them out like candles, but then a slight tinge of dub enters the mix towards the end to add yet another dance club feel to the recording. “Gamma” still retains it’s atmospheric nature, but now feels just a bit more tap-friendly. Even so, it still makes for a good trip.

“Salt” comes next, being the longest single piece on the album at just a little over twelve minutes. It changes the feel from that of space, to something more ethereal in the electronic realm. Perhaps it feels like being in The Matrix, as ones and zeros fly over your head in increasingly random patterns. While there is one slight tremolo riff to be had here, we can already be assured that Bardspec is not black metal. However, this tremolo riff does add a little bit of a metallic nature to what is a hugely digital piece. I’m reminded of the soundtrack and visual look of Digital Devil Saga here, maybe with a dash of Transmetropolitan and even some Blade Runner. Might as well mention Ghost In The Shell, Shadowrun and any other cyberpunk sort of medium that would fit this kind of atmosphere. The guitar riffs actually become dissonant reverberations, to add an even more electronic feel to this already quite digitized excursion. The final track, “Teeth” (which I’m sure was not inspired by the vagina dentata film of the same name) begins very much in the same cool-natured fashion, but also begins to later build dance grooves and well, you get the idea. This transformation into dance actually seems prominent throughout the entire album, which could very well be a turn-off for many metal fans. In order for me to recommend this one, you’d have to be an eclectic music listener and not just a fan of heavy metal. Hydrogen is essentially a heavy dose of atmosphere and dance music, which may or may not be for everyone. It’s a good change of pace, but if you’re looking for metal from Bjørnson then you may be better off waiting for the next Enslaved release which as I’ve said, will be coming out very soon.

Purchase the album here.

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