Style: Atmospheric black metal
Primary Emotions/Themes: Being stuck in a mist so thick that you can't see... something is hunting you
Thoughts: What a monumental undertaking it is listening to this record. Fyrnask have issued a mighty challenge to their listeners - and its name is Kenoma.
Kenoma takes black metal and ambience and marries them in a way that I have not heard before. Typically when a band will incorporate ambience into black metal the two are distinct from one another. The ambient sections will dominate at one moment before transitioning into the black metal and vice versa. Two styles, one album. Fyrnask has thrown that concept out the window on this release.
Instead the black metal is the ambience and the ambience is the black metal. What's the difference? A lot actually. Let's take a deeper look into the opener for some answers. Hrævaþefr starts out normal enough, a subtle ambient intro slowly incorporating a black metal melody before a blast beat takes over. It's after this moment that the band shows their true colors.
During the blast beat, a harrowing ambience begins to build with the guitars. The whirlwind of the riff begins to have a secondary character to it that is brought on by something else... something deeper, more terrifying. There is a secondary force working with the guitars to make the entire album more disconcerting.
The same thing happens but in reverse after the blast beat. The ambience is the primary focus, but it is complimented and mutated by a black metal backing. The two intertwine to create something different than either one could do on their own... something far greater.
This trend continues for the entire thirteen minute length of Hrævaþefr. Gregorian chants are complimented by a black metal backing. Blast beats are twisted beyond recognition with a deep and disturbing ambience that insidiously works it's way into the music. The two are inseparable on this album, and that is the hidden treasure that is Kenoma.
I've written about this band in the past and how they had a hidden potential that they had not tapped. Kenoma sees them realizing that potential. These six songs are the fulfillment of all the promise that was shown on the earlier albums... perhaps even to a greater extent than I even thought possible.
Written April 14th 2024
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