Release Date: January 26th 2024. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD
Valkyrie - Tracklisting
1.Folkvangr 04:46
2.Draugr 05:52
3.Lament 05:30
4.Niflhel 07:57
Review
Solnedgang is an Instrumental Post-Rock/Post-Metal studio project from the creative mind of a highly talented individual called Jon who is originally from Norway and is now based in London, UK. Solnedgang plays a brooding and emotive style of Post-Rock/Post-Metal with flourishes of Black Metal, Doom Metal, Prog Rock and Shoegaze which adds upto a whirlwind of heavy instrumental sounds that can be quite uplifting one moment and crushingly bleak the next.
Their latest EP - Valkyrie - is quite more Post-Rock dominated at the start with Solnedgang playing music comparable to bands such as Pelican, Mono and Russian Circles. Though, listen closely to the excellent opening track Folkvangr and you hear brief moments of Post-Metal grooves starting to emerge which slowly start to expand into heavier themes. The song is quite cautionary but retains a hopeful sound for the EP to build upon.
Second song Draugr is a different style with a Blackened Shoegaze delivery moving firmly over into Post-Metal territory with a dogged and determined Post-Doom flow becoming heavier and more technical as the song firmly becomes dominated by a sublime Blackened Doom Metal flow. The whole sound of the EP is quite DIY based with “less is more” based production values giving Valkyrie a true underground feel.
The final two tracks of Lament and Nifhel is where Solnedgang impressed me the most with the varied and different styles of Post-Rock and Post-Metal being used with an aggressive fast-paced charge used for the heavier parts of the EP. Considerably more Progressive with Solnedgang drawing upon bands such as The Ocean, Cult Of Luna and even The Cure.
Valkyrie is quite a rich and highly interesting EP which allows Solnedgang the perfect opportunity to show a wide range of emotionally driven Post-Rock/Post-Metal grooves that suddenly ends where I wanted the EP to keep going. However, this is still an excellent release for Solnedgang to introduce themselves to the greater reachers of the underground Post-Rock and Post-Metal community.
Words by Steve Howe
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