Black For Death: An Icelandic Odyssey Pt. II

... heralding across a great plague-stricken field does the foray venture onward, treading through a vast mountainous region laden with glacial snow and shimmering ice, breathing an air so crisp, so youthful, that even the brooding shadows of contagion disappear amidst the journey so grand. Treacherous are the Nordic mountainsides amidst a horizon black, though so chivalric are the adventurous, seeking great towers golden and shield-halls bronzen amidst a resounding doubt through this forlorn journey ... Such imagery and magnitude are easily summoned by the Nordic melodies of Solefald's Black For Death, their second and final contribution to the An Icelandic Odyssey saga, where the once avant-garde blackish metal warlocks have since turned their gazes towards Bifrost, though assuredly such a vision with as much varying complexity as Solefald possesses will change as does the moon's phase weaved within the great macrocosms, so it seems that perhaps Red For Fire and are nothing more than a sun's passing through an afternoon sky, a fleeting moment in the rancid confines of time's ever-ticking clock ... though personally I'd hope for Solefald to continue down the gracious territories of their heritage, praising the nobility or barbarism, such is highly unlikely, so it seems that yet another death is present throughout the sensations of evolution. Littered with contributions from Sareeta (Asmegin, Ram-Zet) on violin and Trickster G (once known as Garm) on vocals, Black For Death assuredly stands as a valiant testament towards Nordic myth and lore, however, due to the overly experimental and progressive nature of the band, it does not stand amongst the ranks of such albums as Moonsorrow's Verisakeet or Thyrfing's Farsotstider, which are both bold examples of dedicated passion and spirit to a cause higher than audible air vibrations, whereas it seems Solefald reach for the physical aesthetic within the ranks of their own pretension, though, what can I say, for being an effort of willful experimentation, this is amongst the best of them.