Norse – All is Mist and Fog / Pest EP
Quirky Australian 2 piece band firmly entrenched in a modernized form of black metal. All is Mist and Fog is a 9 track album released in 2012 that finds Norse working quite effectively with the many tools provided by post 90’s black metal, but injecting their own urgent ideas in with these songs to keep me listening beyond track 3. The riffs feel quite spacious most of the time which creates a good headspace, but the band doesn’t rest there. They play with the flow of each song with jagged guitar ideas that come off as antagonizing. Some of the weird squawks and tense bends do feel fresh in this blackened setting, BUT seem rather reminiscent to the little guitar noise elements commonly found and flogged in nu metal. To be honest, such a musical attribute in this medium really seems odd and like Norse are barking up the wrong tree.
The 2014 Pest EP adopts even more of an avant gard songwriting style than found on All is Mist and Fog, built upon melody-less/tension swelling riffs that swirl about with jazz like qualities. At times I hear a fleeting Ved Buens Ende influence musically, but Norse further aggravate the atmosphere with complex blast beats and contorted chords/note fills to keep the listener perplexed. Cancer throat screams rage in the mix and fit within the construct of this sound perfectly. Pest is an interesting mix of complexity and technical proficiency, but the songs are almost too strange or attacking to be fully absorbed. An Australian band called Norse? Huh. Wacky. -Marty
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