housed in 4-panels Digipak
A Unique blend of a mature version of SOTM, cleaner Peste Noire or In The Woods for the dreamy parts ! With a promising debut album last year, this young Swedish trinity returns with a stunning follow up album. This time with an amazing blend between blackened thrash metal further on to more experimental rock / shoegaze mixed with dreaming acoustic parts. While some bands out there tend to focus more on going backwards, Sorgeldom, rotates forward into un-earthly dimensions, seeking to find new ways shaping their tunes.
Brilliant music, although all around us, can sometimes be rather elusive. We, as music lovers spend a significant amount of time searching for those special albums, which are not merely enjoyed but also take strong root in our souls. The difficulty of the search for said music adds far greater worth to the actual discovery of albums, which upon revisitation remind us of the unique emotions we've experienced during specific times in our lives. Sorgeldom's Inner Receivings, I believe, has the potential to become one of those albums for a lot of people. It's a priceless gem that fell into my lap before I even noticed, but dammit, I'm going to cherish it forever.
It's truly fascinating to hear music this uniquely structured. Take either of the two opening tracks, for example. "I Kloaken Lattar VI Ankar" begins very traditionally, but halfway through the listener will feel as if they were immediately teleported to various secluded areas of some mysterious Swedish city. "The Cold Empty Void" is much similar, but its riffs vary slightly, giving off more of a colder, frostbitten feeling. From there, the music becomes considerably softer and more serene, which first awakens and then heightens the listener's emotions, preparing them for the rest of the album.
The production of Inner Receivings is immaculate and consists of many atmospheric subtleties that, although not uncommon in black metal, are rarely delivered as sincerely as this. The album features various tracks that were recorded in sewers, abandoned houses and out in the woods (all of which have been tried before), but each track is carefully blended perfectly together with quality studio production. This is atypical in black metal, given any band's constant struggle to create music that is neither overproduced nor underproduced. What I'm basically trying to say is that the band doesn't limit itself in even the slightest of ways.
Speaking of forgotten gems and no boundaries...did Sorgeldom really just dig up a Slowdive track from one of their unreleased demos and rearrange it to fit perfectly into the middle of the album? Following "Summer Day," comes the album's title track and final "traditional" track of the album. From there, pure emotion and atmosphere carry the listener on a cloud of self-realization to the remaining (and best) songs of Inner Receivings.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't very reluctant to write this review. This album has fit itself quite nicely into my constant rotation, and I will undoubtedly have a better understanding of it, say, a month or two from now. However, I am eager for the future fans of this band to buy it and begin listening immediately. Hopefully then will Sorgeldom begin to receive the attention of the metal community at large. As of right now, Inner Receivings stands firmly, boldly and proudly alongside some seriously crushing releases on my "Best Of 2010" list.
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