Terra

This album sounds exactly like Borknagar. No surprise considering that the two members are and were members of the band Borknagar. When I purchased the album I had read that it was for fans of Borknagar, Arcturus, Ulver, and Solefold. Strike off the last one. I've yet to hear them.

What the ad should have said is this.

"For fans of Borkanagar's "Epic" and "Quintessence"."

This album essentially takes the guitar work from Epic, and blends it with the progressiveness, but staleness of Arcturus's "Sideshow Symphonies". It then let's Ulver sniff the mix, but really the music sounds nothing like Ulver, and doesn't contain the experiementing that Ulver has become known for.

I won't even try to impress. The guitar work is similar in style to Borknagar's "Epic" and "Quintessence". The song structure's are similar to Arcturus's "Sideshow Symphonies" which I found uninspiring. The drums, bass, and keys add to this dullness.

If you already own the three albums I've mentioned in this review save yourself the $14 and buy something else. Otherwise you might like this.

73/100

The music created by Øystein G. Brun and Vintersorg together over the last two decades is, generally, impressive. When Vintersorg joined Borknagar in the early 2000s, the band rightfully positioned itself at the forefront of the melodic black metal scene with the magnificent 'Empiricism'. A few years later Brun and Vintersorg founded Cronian, and despite the new moniker, 'Terra' sounds fairly familiar from the get-go. Still, there are also bits of ambient synths, electronics and/or Bathory-esque epicness that (to a degree) are new to the Borknagar/Vintersorg world.

The best songs on 'Terra' are "Diode Earth", "Iceolated" and "The Alp", with the latter two containing surprising electronic elements somewhat reminiscent of Ulver. The other tracks are comparable to what Vintersorg and Borknagar did (separately or together) in the years before - and that's the main issue here. A new band name may have felt like a fresh start to Brun and Vintersorg, but actually 'Terra' sounds far from fresh. On top of that, the overall quality of the songs is inferior to some of the men's earlier releases, like the aforementioned 'Empiricism' or Vintersorg's 'Visions From The Spiral Generator'. This prevents the album from standing out, let alone being a highlight in their combined discography.