From Bandcamp, “First as drummer of ENSLAVED, and later as drummer of EMPEROR and ZYKLON, Trym has been part of the Norwegian black metal scene since its earliest days. This project, however, is quite different from what he has done previously.” The album has eight songs, and “Landsbyen (the village)” is first, and the opening tones are clean, somber, and symphonic. But you can feel a storm brewing just around the horizon. It takes an unexpected turn, with jovial, folky sounds, and everything you might expect to hear in a village…voices of town folk mixing about and neighing of horses. “Trusselen (the treat)” has darker, and more mysterious tones, and the sonority rises and falls a few times throughout, giving the song a very tense setting.

“Slaget (the battle)” has all of the lead-up and the tension you might expect while a battle is brewing. This is the third song now, and with no vocals. I am starting to piece together the songwriting here…Trym is telling the tale and imparting various emotions through music alone. “Gravferd (the funeral)” has mostly neutral tones to me…it doesn’t sound much like mourning, although it doesn’t sound jovial by any means. It gets colder and darker as it passes through however. “Sorgen (the sorrow)” has those operatic vocals that you might hear in a church, which I sometimes associate with sorrow, funerals, and death. “Minner (the memories)” is a piano led song, and for some reason, the medium of ivories always allows me to feel more deeply.

“Vandrigen (the journey)” is exactly that…a long trip where the destination and conclusion are uncertain, and the music reflects it. Sometimes the road is straight and narrow, and other times it is hazardous. “Håpet (the hope)” closes the album, the concept of hope never comes easily. You have to work for it, fight for it, and keep it on the forefront of your mind at all times. Even then, it can be fleeting at best. That is the feeling I get from the song. Overall, this was an original album that was both creative and thoughtful, and the journey that Trym took the listeners on was filled with sorrow, tears, resolve, hope, and even some joy.