Entry 252 - Afsky - Ofte jeg drømmer mig død

 

Jesus what a cover. My interest in this album and Afsky in general sparked by the absolute grief captured in the cover of Ofte jeg drømmer mig død. A woman clutching to the remains of someone she loved, the barren lands sprawl all around them as she cries in anguish... wow what an image.

With such a powerful visual first impression its a tall ask to have the music convey the same level of emotional depth. The first few moments of the album are a resounding yes. The combination of acoustic guitars and cello are always something I can get behind. After that though the metal begins...

While Afsky certainly plays competent black metal that is quite emotionally charged, I'm not sure it matches the intensity of the cover. Putting those immense expectations aside though and letting the music speak for itself there is a lot here that I can get behind.

Essentially this is black metal done the right way. It doesn't try to go beyond itself by incorporating elements that don't belong. Instead it knows what it is and what it wants to accomplish.

The knock on something like this though is that it can easily become boring or risk averse. Fortunately Afsky has managed to avoid that trap. The music is dynamic enough that it keeps my interest. The distortion is also interesting, it switches between a heavily over driven tone and full on distortion. That alone gives the album a bit of character that wouldn't be there otherwise.

Ofte jeg drømmer mig død drew me in with the cover and eventually won me over with the music. Afsky is at their absolute best with the acoustic work, however the metal is also good enough that I'll revisit the album in the future.