Visions from the Spiral Generator

When I picked up Visions..., I have to admit I wasn't expecting much. True, Vintersorg is a great singer, and with Steve DiGiorgio added to the lineup it would make for an interesting experience at least. But something just didn't seem to click upon first listen. I don't know why, but I'll spare you the details and get on with the review. I gave it another listen, and boy, am I glad I did.

Vintersorg do not sound like many other bands. If I had to categorize them, I would say they are progressive viking metal with black-ish tendencies. Confusing, perhaps, but you'll see what I mean when you listen to this. The riffs are definitely "space-y", and the lyrics have mainly to do with astronomy and such. The bass is very stylish and pounding when the music reaches its climax, and when it isn't, it's very subtle yet it accents the keyboards and guitars perfectly. Vintersorg is a wonderful singer, and his voice is very impressive and soaring, but he also makes use of his black vocals, which in my opinion aren't the best, but they are the only black vocals that could fit well with this album, and they sound great here.

Highlights: Vem Styr Symmertrin?, A Metaphysical Drama, Universums Dunkla Alfabet and ESP Mirage (Visions From The Spiral Generator) alone make the album well worth getting. However, each song is amazing and you will never tire of them, believe me. For an added experience, try listening to this while playing Final Fantasy VII or the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

This is some great shit. I would highly recommend buying this, especially if you like Borknagar. But, that's probably why you bought it anyway. Well, even if you don't like Borknagar and simply want a new and unique musical approach, Visions From The Spiral Generator definitely deserves to be a part of your musical collection.

It seems this album is regarded as the black sheep of Vintersorg's repertoire, and with good reason. Compared to the previous albums, which were all very immediate and powerful, this one takes a good few spins to truly sink in. Rather than driving the songs with infectious folk-metal melodies and powerful percussion, Visions.. builds an atmosphere around a more progressive base, a more sparse approach to rhythm and a lot of dizzying, strange moments. The production is also a lot more open and less dense than previously, while Vintersorg's vocals often occupy a much higher register than before - rather than bellowing forth the lyrics in a deep baritone/bass style, he sings much clearer, sometimes approaching a near-falsetto.

All this aside, it's damn good album. After the brief intro track, the second track "Vern Styr Symmetrin?" starts out with a traditional burst of aggressive metal riffing before settling into a clean chorus with some spacey noodling guitar lines. The weirdness really sets in with "A Metaphysical Drama", with it's bizarre chorus and loping, prog-rock riffing. The absolute highlights, though, is the 7-minute opus "The Explorer", which has a truly massive chorus filled with excellent vocal hooks, a pulverizing verse riff and some highly odd keyboards. Of course, it's followed by the weirdest track on the album, "A Star-Guarded Coronation", which builds from a very 70's-inspired clean strumming riff overlaid with crooned vocals, odd synth loops and a jazzy drum approach - a very strange sounding start, but then it builds to a crescendo with the chorus line that'll stick in your head for days, which is followed immediately by an excellent solo before reverting to pure mellow rock sounds. It's pretty much a ballad, but nothing like previous mellow moments such as "The Enigmatic Spirit".

Of course, there are more typical tracks here too, particularly "Universams Dunkla Alfabet" and the brief, heavy closing track "Trance Locator", which would've fit easily on Odemarkens Son or Cosmic Genesis. It seems when this album first came out, a lot of fans were highly disappointed, but rather than the heady ale of the older discs, this one is more of a fine wine - opened immediately, it just takes weird, but age and time are necessary to fully reveal it's flavours and naunces. Highly recommended for progressive-minded metal fans with the patience to fully explore and allow the album to sink in. It's very much worth the effort.