Solnedgang - Valkyrie (EP Review)

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

Links

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Introduce Yourselves: Solnedgang

What is the name of your band?

Solnedgang

What is the genre of music that you play?

Post-rock/metal probably describes it best.

Can you give a brief history of the band of how it came together and where it is today?

Solnedgang is a one-man band and I (Jon) am originally from Norway, but I’ve been based in the UK since 2009. I had been playing, writing and recording just for fun for years and I got a bit bored of it all until I reached a point when I wasn't really even playing my guitar anymore. Then I got back into it at the end of 2022 and suddenly tapped into this well of inspiration, and I surprised myself with the quality (in my opinion) of the stuff I was writing. Trying to force myself to actually put some music out I came up with the name (which means ‘sunset’ in Norwegian) and set up a Bandcamp site. The feedback I've been getting has been truly amazing. I don't think I'll ever get a particularly big audience or anything, as instrumental music is still fairly niche, but just the fact that a few other people seem to like it makes it worthwhile to keep working on and releasing stuff and not doing it just for fun anymore.

What can people expect from your music?

Expect immersive, atmospheric and melodic instrumental rock drawing from a vast array of influences, most notably post-rock, post-metal, black metal and progressive rock/metal. My releases so far, and the upcoming album, have all been inspired by Norse mythology and I feel that comes across quite well in the music, despite it being instrumental.
\

What is the best release that folks should check out from your band?

My first single ‘Nornir’ is probably the best track to start with, and there is the Valkyrie EP as well. Check them out here:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1PD7uqkbQfqIQs7W5aAsYW
Bandcamp: https://solnedgang.bandcamp.com/
Or on www.solnedgang.co.uk

Where can people find you on Social Media?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089333672717
Instagram: https://instagram.com/solnedgang_music