Sometimes an album’s formed perception benefits from the surroundings of the listener, or the conditions of the listening experience. Being the first (at least, to my knowledge) band to introduce the term “volcanic black metal”, Vosbúð from Iceland deliver their / his first full length album Heklugjá after a vigorous but potentially glossed over EP in 2019, setting the mark in the project’s journey for good.
Thematics are described perfectly by the band’s self-genre assertion, and don’t let your mind rush to conclusions when it comes to the music, especially when knowing their roots. Heklugjá takes a stand for atmospheric black metal with dusty production, partially originating from the United States but with a firm personal touch and plenty of creative material in its long compositions. That is also the only drawback of the record, as its lengthy duration sometimes feels unnecessary, especially in moments when the tracks get a bit repetitive, not confident enough to affix the next idea.
Fortunately, this is mostly clear only through the third and fourth piece, where almost exhilarated melodies lay hints of modern / post-black metal bands from the US and despite that, the flow of the album is at least maintained through this rocky path. A couple of songs are really long and packed with material, especially the opener “Myndhöggvari lífsins og dauðans” at 17 minutes, and the closing piece “Heklugjá” at the same length. Vosbúð’s ingenuity is boastful in these pieces and the album has potent messages as a whole, depicting a rather ambitious atmospheric black metal release that only slightly shakes due to it’s own weight.
One hour might be too much to not build the urge to fast forward a bit, however Vosbúð do now shy away from epicness or high quality guitar lines, wonderful bass sound and a production to go along with its subject. There is no one fitting more to speak of volcanoes than an Icelandic band, and Heklugjá is a fine debut, imperfect at some intricacies and yet melded with passion.
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