Vetrar Draugurinn – Hinterlands

 First single release “Hinterlands” opens the album on downtuned guitar lines and drums to which Marjan’s vocals add a layer of melody and set the mood for the rest.  The chorus is quite catchy and I like the hefty guitar in the background, giving extra thickness to the sound. There is a sense of urgency in the following track, “I am”, coming from the guitars and drums, but the vocals keep the song calm and even a bit sorrowful, especially considering the lyrical content. Acting like a ballad, “Second” is a really emotional and soulful yet upbeat track, with a very beautiful guitar melody, that showcases Marjan’s angelic vocals. With the trio of songs “The wolves at our door”, “Mother of northern skies”, and “Death will come for us” the album picks up momentum as the guitars and drums are more present and central, while the vocals dance somewhere above the intense instrumental. I really enjoy this back-and-forth between the instrumental and the vocals, making sure the balance is just right every time.

The highly emotional “Forever locked within” and “The narrow path” highlight the band’s gothic side a bit more, as the instrumental seems to take a back-seat giving Marjan more room to shine, and the overall atmosphere is gloomier and darker than before. I have to say that the drums on “The narrow path” are on-point, especially during the solos, giving the song a different, earthly feel, which I do enjoy quite a lot. The wonderful solo and chugging guitar riffs in “Wanderer” makes the song extra heavy and dynamic, while “Bleak Earth” has an underlying melancholy coming from the vocal delivery, which is balanced perfectly by the drums and groovy guitar melody. The wistful and doomy “Twelfth night” closes the album on a rather gentle and mellow note, with a note-worthy guitar solo towards the end.

What I find particularly interesting not only in this album, but about Vetrar Draugurinn sound and general approach to music, is the lack of growls or any kind of male vocals, be it harsh or clean. It is not every day that you find an album in the gothic / doom trend, such as “Hinterlands”, that is just instrumental and clean female vocals, and I find this to be quite an interesting take, given the current metal scene. However, I have to agree with Pedro Almeida (from youtube channel A&P Reacts) that some songs would benefit from some male vocals here and there, just to give them more weight and texture. And there were a few songs from this album that would have been better with this added thickness coming from male vocals, which would also complement Marjan’s bright voice. Maybe next time.