At the time of writing this I'm only familiar with their two recent albums so their so called black/viking releases are unknown to me. I'm not too bothered though because Masterpiece of Bitterness and Köld are absolutely stellar releases in their own right. Both derive a Pink Floydian psychedelica seen on recent Enslaved releases with a level of epicness comparable with Moonsorrow. The best part is they manage to mix this with a healthy rocking aesthetic so there's no worries about it becoming bloated and boring despite some impressively lengthy songs. Köld seems to be edging toward a more post-rock feel but if they manage to keep up this level of quality it'll more than make up for the disappointing lack of passion Nachtmystium and Enslaved have shown in recent times.

Its awesiome band i know soem songs all what I have heard is awesome, realy best band from Iceland awesome and good

I've seen them live, listened to two albums and I still can't get into them. It's just not my cup of tea. Of course, I may come back in ten years and deem the last work from them a masterpiece. But for the time being...not ma' thing.

That's a shame, given the overwhelming positive reviews on MA I thought there might be more people into this band. Admittedly though the the albums I spoke of are rock orientated so maybe this thread belongs in the melodic section.

It sounds like something to my liking but I just can't get myself to check them out. I'm a bit hesitant when it comes to post-rock influenced Black metal. I suspect that's mostly the fault of Altar Of Plagues. I just cannot decide what to think of them.

The fact I haven't given Altar of Plagues many listens in recent times indicates that I'm not too keen on them either.

I want to say that Sostafir would appeal to you but they often remind of Fen in places, particularly the new one. They are a little more immediate though, the post-rock elements still take a back seat.

Written by Guest on 18.01.2010 at 20:11

I want to say that Sostafir would appeal to you but they often remind of Fen in places, particularly the new one. They are a little more immediate though, the post-rock elements still take a back seat.

Oh god Fen is exactly the sort of band I should like given the style and the sound and the influences and everything, but I just can't get into them either.

I'll check out Solstafir though, as if I have anything better to do right now.

Well I liked a lot the album Kold, I don't know much more really, I should check their debut too.

Written by Lucas on 18.01.2010 at 20:30

Written by Guest on 18.01.2010 at 20:11

I want to say that Sostafir would appeal to you but they often remind of Fen in places, particularly the new one. They are a little more immediate though, the post-rock elements still take a back seat.

Oh god Fen is exactly the sort of band I should like given the style and the sound and the influences and everything, but I just can't get into them either.

I'll check out Solstafir though, as if I have anything better to do right now.

Fen is a weird one indeed, when I first heard them I thought everyone would fall head over heels for them and although many did, a lot of people really hated them.

New album so might as well reprise this thread.

Just posted in the album topic, but yeah. New album sounds very good, though overly long. Title track stands out on first listen.

Just heard the new album. Sounds very good. Been hearing it the whole day haha.

I've heard them some time back but they didn't stick for some reason. I'll have to check them out again I guess.

New album is barely even metal for most of its duration. I had listened to it once at home, on the background, so I was kinda familiar with it. Then I went to a record store where it was playing on the background, and I immediately realized I'd heard it before. I just couldn't identify it. I was like "Damn this sounds like Pink Floyd, and kinda like Kent, and what was that True Widow album like, again? What can this be, this is almost like progressive indie rock with post-hardcore vocals."

Then a few days later I played the album again, and realized that's what was playing. Based on Fjara especially, and the following few tracks that were playing after I'd paid attention to the music, it didn't cross my mind to assosciate it with a sludgy post-metal band.

I think that what bugged me the first time was the vocals. Not that it's bad or anything I just didn't feel connected or whatever. When I hear it now it appeals to me more so it's probably a mood thing but I don't get that immidiate feeling that I want to run away and buy every release they ever made.

Haven't heard the latest one yet but the previous 2 were very good indeed! They have a pretty unique sound and although I can understand why some wouldn't be into it (it took me a few spins of Kold before the vocals settled with me) I find them to be pretty damn good!

Written by Bigpaul on 29.10.2011 at 10:35

Haven't heard the latest one yet but the previous 2 were very good indeed! They have a pretty unique sound and although I can understand why some wouldn't be into it (it took me a few spins of Kold before the vocals settled with me) I find them to be pretty damn good!

Masterpiece Of Bitterness is another good album. I mean :

Nuff said.

The new album is great, I like that the vocals are sung in icelandic even though I don't understand a word

Didn't listen much of these guys... after listening a few more things on the internet.... wow, they are amazing ! Ritual of Fire is my new favorite instrumental

Not a bad band at all, been a fan of them since I heard Masterpiece of Bitterness. So far Svartir Sandar is one of the best releases this year. Haven't listened to their old stuff yet.

Nice band. There were days when Iv'e just looped Í Víking over and over again.

Fantastic band. New album is great and they are extremely unique

This is good shit!

Maybe greatest think this band ever did was changed sound from black metal to post metal, post rock, musically its much better and interesting, more inspirations, more variations as playing same music whit own lyrics (if you know what I mean)

Solstafir makes great albums. Kold was amazing, Svartir Sandar was great, and Otta while being a good album was too stripped down for my taste, but overall they are great live. Actually, they are AMAZING live, so much energy, so much passion. I met them twice, and they always hangout with their fans. I was lucky to catch them when they were still all together. Too bad with the drummer issue and the political crap that went on.