As I do before any review of a band that I do not already know, I like to trawl the internet to look for information on said band. With STILLA this proved to be extremely hard as the band are somewhat elusive (which definitely translates into their music, but I'll get to that part later). Hailing from somewhere in Sweden and formed a mere four years ago, STILLA are back with their second release, "Ensamhetens Andar" closely following their previous release "Till Stilla Falla". The opening track of this album, "Vandring utan Spar" starts off with a groovy, clean guitar riff. Not emanating the Black Metal feel at all. The vocals quickly start and the Black Metal element grows until we are assaulted when the guitars switch to distortion and the drums kick in; pure Black Metal.
This track is melodic yet harsh and brutal. Which I didn't even think was a possible description for anything until I heard this. The second track happens to be the title track and is my absolute favorite of the album. For once my favorite track is the longest song on the album! If I had to choose one word to describe this track, "sepulchral" comes to mind. You envision something extremely dark and haunting yet absolutely beautiful. If you imagine the old school raw Black Metal sound, but improve the production slightly, this is what you would get. You still have the bleak feel, but it's more pleasing to the ears. At around the six minute mark of this track, the vocals are attacked with reverb and become extremely haunting and eerie. All while keeping it melodic.
The shortest song on the album comes in the form of a four and a half minute onslaught named "Själavrängaren". They go above and beyond with this song. They constantly change pace, tempo, mood and feel. At around the one and a half minute mark, we have some synth! As if things couldn't get any more dynamic, STILLA throws a curve-ball.
As I said previously, STILLA seem to be extremely elusive. Their Facebook page seems to only be touched once in a blue moon, along with not having any other social media pages other than a broken webstore on their record labels' website. Even the album artwork is the epitome of mysterious; a blurry hooded figure with a wood-grain overlay. Their music also follows suit. They constantly keep you guessing with their steady changes in pretty much everything; tone, pace, mood, everything!
This album really clicked with me. It was easy to listen to. STILLA sounded like absolute professionals on this album, something that a lot of bands who have been around for as long as they have still struggle with. Sounding harsh and dark, yet professional and, well, good! For fans of pretty much any type of metal, STILLA welcomes you.
