Carpe Noctem - I'm currently on spin five of this side and I'm still trying to wrap my head around this song. It's difficult because I keep expecting it to explode and it only ever flirts with that. Every moment of the song seems like its barely controlled chaos that NEEDS a completely hyper-speed blast beat but it only ever comes in short bursts. What my brain is expecting here vs what its getting is causing a great deal of dissonance, not just musically but mentally and physically. When the release does come my body physically relaxes at the release of tension. It's a very strange phenomenon and despite how uncomfortable this makes me I quite enjoy it.
Árstíðir Lífsins - Well this was a pleasant surprise. Based on the Carpe Noctem side I would have expected more dissonant black metal... what I got was epic/melodic black metal instead. The song starts off with waves crashing into a shore and slowly builds from there. I say this a lot but this song truly feels like a journey across a land. The ebbs and flow of the song has it visiting multiple motifs. Sometimes its subdued yet tense, other times its fully engaged and intense, yet other times its a whirlwind of riffs and vocals. The way everything flows together is outstanding, especially with the tasteful inclusion of violins and acoustic guitars throughout the song. I am absolutely going to be checking out more material from this band, this is excellent.
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