Band Origin: Hudiksvall, Sweden
Genre: Progressive / Ambi-djent
Label: Century Media
Running Time: 52 minutes
Release Date: November 28, 2011
Best Part: There's no loss of quality riffage and polyrhythmic mindfucking going on in here.
Favorite Tracks: Dagger, Traces, Deceit, All These Feelings, and When No One Walks With You
Grade: 4
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Måsstaden in way more than 20 words or less:
Probably one of the most anticipated records to come from the Djent community Måsstaden is a well put together piece of technical prowess and ambiance, but it falls a bit short of the mark - mostly due to my long drawn out expectations.
The Band:
Vildhjarta is a seven piece experimental and progressive metal band from Sweden originally formed by Daniel Bergström, Jimmie Åkerström and Johan Nyberg in 2005. Creating tracks which focused specifically on the fusion of ambiance and polyrhythmic instrumental progressions. The trio were split throughout the country and started out by sending each other ideas by email in order to eventually create tracks, verse by verse. They would eventually add in more members in order to create a full band and amassed a following through message boards and early released demos. The band announced nearly three years ago, their intention to release their debut album which was to be entitled Irreversible, but never delivered despite being a group very capable of producing their own record. They would always find themselves pushing back their own deadlines, instead opting to try and sign with a record label in order to have a solid deadline, and to finally get their long touted debut album out to fans en masse.
Vildhjarta released a self-produced two single track pack entitled Omnislash in 2009, and also released numerous samples and demo tracks over the years.
Vildhjarta is a seven piece experimental and progressive metal band from Sweden originally formed by Daniel Bergström, Jimmie Åkerström and Johan Nyberg in 2005. Creating tracks which focused specifically on the fusion of ambiance and polyrhythmic instrumental progressions. The trio were split throughout the country and started out by sending each other ideas by email in order to eventually create tracks, verse by verse. They would eventually add in more members in order to create a full band and amassed a following through message boards and early released demos. The band announced nearly three years ago, their intention to release their debut album which was to be entitled Irreversible, but never delivered despite being a group very capable of producing their own record. They would always find themselves pushing back their own deadlines, instead opting to try and sign with a record label in order to have a solid deadline, and to finally get their long touted debut album out to fans en masse.
Vildhjarta released a self-produced two single track pack entitled Omnislash in 2009, and also released numerous samples and demo tracks over the years.
I don't remember how many time in the past I had written the words "I can't fucking wait for Vildhjarta's debut album" on this blog. It was at least five or six times, at minimum. I'm definitely not the only one who was sitting around waiting for Irreversible to come out, and while I try not to raise my expectations too high, in fear of easy disappointment, the waiting game certainly has had its effects. If Irreversible had been released a couple years ago, or even last year I may have not had any of these gripes at all - Måsstaden seems like an entirely different beast from what I was expecting.
Let me start by saying that Måsstaden is a great record, it's definitely not without its technical proficiency and there is far from a lack of groovy riffs, drone-like dissonance, ambiance and cerebral imagery in this concept album which brings you to the fictional town of Måsstaden. Musical evolution and change is something to be expected from any talented musicians, and Måsstaden is an example of this in the case of Vildhjarta, having added many new layers to their original short releases. One prime example is the use of dual layered vocalists and less of an emphasis, as a result, on the instrumentation. I think this is a common argument among a lot of enthusiasts for the 'genre' - to have vocals or not to have vocals? Where some people love them, others complain that the straight instrumental version is better, it's a double edged sword. The best example I can give for this is on Måsstaden is the track Deceit, which has been one of Vildhjarta's staple songs for years, having released an instrumental demo for the track long ago. Obviously comparing an instrumental demo to a studio recorded track with vocals, after three to four years, there is going to be differences. The problem is that the differences are staggering when looking at the instrumentation itself. Deceit was a perfect example of what Vildhjarta was about, a fusion of heavy rhythms, ambient and that 'Djenty' pop coming in loud and clear. But that feeling is seemingly lost in the Måsstaden version of the track, which had added in not only vocals, but the overall use of effects, some changes in the song structure and more. At various points in the record some of the angles seem to either bleed together or get overshadowed by something else which leaves a feeling of the tracks just feeling a bit too 'busy' at times. At the end of the day Måsstaden is still a good record, it's shortcomings are more a result of my built up expectations than as a result of poor craftsmanship, which is definitely not the case. For a debut album the production quality is extremely high, and the group has definitely taken years to hone their craft. Now that we have an idea of what these guys are capable of, it's just a question of what they'll follow-up with.
Sample of the Day:
- J
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