Band:	Árstíðir Lífsins
Album:	Hermalausaz
Style:	Black metal, Folk metal
Release date:	December 2023

01. Ýrr
02. Þistill

As we near the end of what has been quite a memorable year for Icelandic black metal, the blackened folk trio Árstíðir Lífsins take you on a final journey inspired by Nordic runes and Skaldic literature with their latest epic EP, Hermalausaz.

Árstíðir Lífsins is an Icelandic black/folk metal band (much in the vein of Falkenbach and Saor) that formed back in 2008, and perform as a trio consisting of vocalist Marsél, and vocalists/instrumentalists Árni and Stefán. As of late, Iceland has seen its fair share of volcanic activity, with an eruption occurring at the Sundhnúkur crater north of the town of Grindavík making the news internationally this December. However, we as metalheads have also noted another kind of eruption taking place in the land of fire and ice this year: the eruption of top quality black metal releases, as bands such as Altari, Fortíð, and Úlfúð have contributed some of the year's finest black metal albums.

Now, with five full-length releases and three EPs to their name, Árstíðir Lífsins unleash their latest offering, Hermalausaz. Released three days following the Sundhnúkur eruption, this is a self-described EP consisting of two tracks only, "Ýrr" and "Þistill", both of which run for over 20 minutes. With a total running time of 43 minutes, one could argue the fact whether this should even be considered an EP at all, or rather a full-length release instead. Following in the footsteps of previous releases, Hermalausaz merges folk, atmospheric and modern black metal elements together, with a theme inspired by the cryptic runic inscription of the western Norwegian Eggja rune stone, conveyed by lyrics written in Old Norse selected from Skaldic poetry.

The first of the two tracks is the 22-minute "Ýrr", which begins in true folk metal fashion with the soft tranquil sound of waves gently crashing against the shoreline. Although there's nothing out of the ordinary about the use of nature sounds in folk metal, it still plays a vital role in capturing the listener's imagination, and that's what this beginning provides. This is soon followed by hypnotizing blackened tremolos, folkish heroic chants, passionate blackened shrieks, and a rampant rhythm section. The first half of the track for me closely resembles that of Drudkh in how the atmosphere steadily builds on its enchanting folkish melodies and repetitive hypnotic rhythm.

From a section midway through, things start to change; here the vocals become noticeably more passionate and varied, encompassing choirs sounding like hymns chanting to the Old Norse Gods alongside blackened shrieks, screams, and wails, in addition to an impressive variety of instrumentation, from melancholic acoustic harmonies to sweeping violin strings. The latter stages of the track go down a slightly more ferocious route, where the tremolo riffs and blast beats become all the more rapid and melodic, even bordering on meloblack at times. The song ultimately closes as it began, with the sound of gentle waves calmly crashing back to the shore.

"Ýrr" concludes its journey calmly and peacefully, but this peace is quickly interrupted as listeners embark on another restless voyage with "Þistill". Opening and closing sections characterized by ferocity sandwich an ambient midsection led by a gentle acoustic passage, as if the journey eases up momentarily only to then take a rather treacherous turn soon after, like a calm before the storm scenario.

Hermalausaz is a grand effort, with two ambitious, lengthy tracks that take the listener on a voyage like nothing you've experienced this year. The journey is at different points calm, relaxing, and tranquil, yet then treacherous, ferocious, and adventurous. Sure, it's long and at-times repetitive, but never is this journey dull.