HARDINGROCK - Grimen

Hardingrock the latest project from Ihsahn (Emperor), who, together with his wife Starofash (Heidi Solberg Tveitan) and Knut Buen (a well-known Norwegian instrument player) presents a homage to ancient Norse culture with this album, entitled Grimen. It’s a collection of folk songs, inspired by the Scandinavian cultural heritage, rewritten and re-orchestrated in a modern manner, with influences from the metal and electro areas. More precisely, each of the three musicians contributed with what they knew best, Ihsahn with guitar riffs, percussion and pagan vocals (with black overtones here and there), Starofash with the electronic ambient, melancholic piano and female voice, and Buen with classical parts and violin (actually, harding fiddle, a traditional violin), bringing a specific tone to the entire sound landscape. The association of these genres could seem bizarre at first sight, but it’s exactly the contrast and the diversity that give the album its charm. The manner in which Hardingrock passes from Norwegian folklore to fast songs in a totally different tonality is a lesson in what experience and passion for music mean.
Grimen is a tribute to Norwegian culture, so the exclusive use of this language was a normal choice for the most believable atmosphere. Of course, the same Norwegian language can be an obstacle for those who don’t know it in assimilating the album. 
(+) an inspired combination of folk and metal, production, cover art
(-)  the black metal vocals sometimes feel forced and inconsistent with the instruments

Dragos P. Nota: 8.5