Excellence in metal is a rarity. The last album I thought was truly excellent was White Ward’s spectacular third LP, False Light in 2022. Since then, it’s been a struggle to find something close to that level of musical brilliance. This isn’t a bad thing, either – I want only the best releases to grab me and not let me go, and it makes the search all the more worthwhile when your efforts bear fruit. And what fruit that is: Aldrlok, by epic pagan black metal band Árstíðir Lífsins, is a true gem, and I have not been gripped by anything this hard in a long time. After last year’s substantial 44 minute “EP” Hermalausaz (intended as a precursor) the band are serving us the real monolith they’ve been crafting since 2021 – Aldrlok. With both releases being recorded, mixed, and mastered at around the same time it was only natural that we would see Aldrlok sooner or later, and it could not have come at a better time.
First, what is Aldrlok? This is not your typical Icelandic black metal combo of atmospheric dissonance mixed with psychedelia and death metal elements, but a cornucopia of diverse musical elements thrown together in a way that just works, to paraphrase the immortal words of Todd Howard. From deep Viking style chanting to mournful passages on the tagelharpa and nyckelharpa, to acoustic folk passages, to furious black metal akin to being stranded in a maelstrom, all of these songs are unpredictable in the best possible way. The opening song “Hvítir hjǫrvar Heimdalls aldraðra fjallgylða” is the best way to introduce the listener into the many different songwriting styles Árstíðir Lífsins present. Across its eleven minutes, the song starts with deep, dark chanting before alternating into spoken word, then showing the bombast of the backing orchestral parts alongside a Heilung-style Viking chant, before becoming black metal interspersed with beautiful clean singing. No song on this record stays exactly the same as it started, and that’s a part of the genius of Árstíðir Lífsins: expertly weaving together multiple songwriting styles into an epic that is incredibly hard to pigeonhole.
It’s impossible for me to pick a favorite song on this album, because I love them all. Stefán, Árni, and Marsél are at the absolute peak of their musical careers, and have written an all-encompassing masterpiece that will take you on an emotional rollercoaster as it did for me. That being said, this record demands your attention. Each listen uncovers new elements that I didn’t notice on prior spins, and is best consumed as a whole, rather than as a portion, as Aldrlok’s individual elements make a lot more sense in context rather than as singles. The best part is that there’s something for everyone here to enjoy. You want a folk song to break up the black metal? “Nú er lengstu miskunndir dalreyðar ná hátindi” is for you. You want a more straightforward song? “Nauð greyprs élreka” is about the most conventional black metal song on this album. Fans of epics won’t be disappointed either, as four of the nine songs are long, sweeping works that ebb and flow through many different songwriting styles before they reach the journey’s end. It’s by the closing notes of the tagelharpa and nyckelharpa on “Ofsaveðrsgnýr ber auma bústaði” that I realize this journey has ended too quickly, and I want more. Make no mistake: Árstíðir Lífsins have crafted their finest work to date, and I don’t foresee anything else gripping me in this manner for the rest of the year.
