One of my Top 10 (maybe even Top 5!) all-time favorite Norwegian black metal albums, Windir’s fourth long-player, Likferd (which is the word for ‘burial’ in the Sognal dialect, as heard in the remote region of Sogn og Fjordane), was released just over 20 years ago.
Precious few LPs in this oft-controversial but obviously enduring musical genre blend its numerous strains -- the primal metallic savagery, classically-steeped symphonic sophistication, folksy pagan melodies, even the discreet electronics -- with such seamless authority and majesty.
But Likferd’s accomplishment goes well beyond the music itself, because almost everything else about this work -- from the native historical themes addressed within, to the cover art depicting Adolph Tidemand’s aptly named Likferd at Sognefjorden (1853) -- positively scream ‘Norway.’
So much so that Likferd was only the second Windir LP to feature any English lyrics alongside band architect Terje ‘Valfar’ Bakken’s native dialect; or even a formal backing band (*), instead of the assorted session sidemen he had recruited for his first two LPs.
Anyway, I can all but guarantee that those of you willing to embark upon Windir’s burial boats are in for an immersive, cinematic, remarkably sensory experience, thanks to sonically and emotionally complex headliners like “Resurrection of the Wild,” “Martyrium,” and “Blodssvik.”
And while I can’t recall if Valfar actually partook of any formal compositional training, I dare say that masterfully rendered efforts like “Despot,” “On the Mountain of Goats” (don’t laugh), and “Ætti Mørkna” qualify, for all intents and purposes, as classically constructed symphonic pieces.
Except that, on Likferd, they’re performed by a virtual orchestra of multi-tracked, soaring keyboards, tremolo-picked guitars, well-timed blast-beat flurries (naturally), and topped by alternating hoarse, clean, and choral vocal sections that Valfar masterfully weaves into a rich musical fabric.
Even the aforementioned electronic elements, though somewhat at odds with the album’s analog heart, are effectively integrated into the whole, perhaps most notably on “Dauden” and the epic “Fagning,” ultimately complementing and completing Likferd’s sonic canvas.
So, while I wouldn’t go so far as to proclaim this the perfect black metal album for people who don’t like black metal, I will say that its crisp, clean production, tasteful musicality, and sheer mastery of the form may be your best shot at converting to the cause -- or deciding it’s simply not for you.
Come on, give it a chance, live dangerously!
By the way, a fair chunk of this blog was adapted from my All-Music Guide review of Likferd, written just weeks after the album’s release, and several months before Valfar sadly perished from hypothermia in the frozen wilds of Sogn og Fjordane, understandably taking Windir with him to the grave.
* If you must know their single pseudonyms, they are Strom (lead guitar), Sture (rhythm guitar), Righ (synthesizers), Hvàll (bass), Steingrim (drums), plus Cosmocrator (clean vocals), and they would later join forces in Vreid.
More Windir: Sóknardalr, Arntor, 1184.