About.com Rating



The four year gap between Vintersorg albums can be excused when you consider the sheer number of projects mastermind Andreas “Vintersorg” Hedlund is a member of. In addition to Borknagar, he's also in Waterclime, Gravisphere, Fission, Cronian and probably a few others. Jordpuls is Vintersorg's seventh full-length release.

The first song “Världsalltets Fanfar” begins aggressively, with harsh vocals and intense drums, before easing back in tempo and intensity and featuring some melodic singing.


Toward the end of the track there are some nice harmonies and a '70s vibe before the tempo picks back up. It has a catchy chorus, as does “Klippor Och Skär,” the longest song on Jordpuls at just over 6 minutes. It runs the gamut from feel good folk to progressive to Viking metal.

Jordpuls is a diverse album, as Vintersorg transitions seamlessly between various styles and genres. It's sometimes technical, other times more free-form and experimental. “Till Dånet Av Forsar Och Fall” incorporates both cold black metal riffs and warm flute sections along with some nice guitar work. The lyrics are not in English, as you can probably tell from the song titles, but the theme of man versus nature is very evident in the music.

While Vintersorg's music has a lot of depth and intricacies, Jordpuls is more immediately accessible than most of the band's previous work. Tracks like “Palissader” are instantly catchy, as are several other tracks. There are others that take more listens to fully absorb, and even the most accessible songs reveal more layers on subsequent listens.

There are many ebbs and flows throughout Jordpuls. There are a few lulls in the middle of the album, but the beginning and end songs are very strong. Vintersorg has found a great balance between harder edged metal, melody and folky atmosphere. The result is one of their strongest albums.

(released April 5, 2011 on Napalm Records)



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