Lönndom - 2007 - Fälen från Norr

Out of Sweden comes Lönndom, the latest incarnation featuring the essence of what once was the mighty Armagedda and Lik. We get eight tracks contemplating nature and old folk tales of the north
and a journey through dark forests at night, with the intro and outro tracks tying the journey together nicely.

The vocals range from clean to spoken or whispered, with parts being growled, setting different moods throughout the journey.

Musically this is a mix of Isengard and Lik, with some parts of Armagedda's Ond Spiritism and some Swedish folk influences. Earlier Ulver comes to mind, mainly because of the concept. It is also something completely different and unique.

The soundquality of this recording is quite good. This music should not be presented with crisp, crystal clear sound, and they have avoided doing just that. This is rather presented with a slightly darker sound, yet everything can be heard clearly here. This is quite different in many ways, there are sounds of nature mixed in with the music, and the music has a distinct Black Metal sound, yet there are factors that are not. A very intriguing album. My biggest complaint is that the album feels too short. This is, however, a masterpiece.

Standout tracks are "Ripeluokte", "Himlalågor", "Stállo" and "På Fjället"

Sunday May 31 2009, by :Vragh:

Lik - 2004 - Må Ljuset Aldrig Nå Oss Mer

Swedish band Lik is the sideproject of Graav from the old school Black Metal band Armagedda. Presented on this album are seven tracks of well executed, and rather catchy at times, Black Metal with some Folk influences, mainky in the lyrics. Rather a mix of Armagedda and Isengard. This album actually sounds a lot like Isengard's Vinterskugge album, both musically and vocally. The only exception is the second track, "Hate to be Human", which stands out from the rest of the album with its slow, dark, eerie and almost hypnotic melody and whispered vocals. The mood in this track reminds me of Carpathian Forest's cover of The Cure's "A Forest", off of their Black Shining Leather album.

This album has a clear production, but still maintaining the underground feel in the sound. There are some synth parts present, but these arrangement are only there to add more depth to the music, just as the ones on Vinterskugge. The drums are very basic, which really fits the concept of this band.

This album has a nice Black Metal feel of days of yore, and if you feel like reliving the early magic you could do far worse than buying this album.

Thursday May 20 2004, by :Vragh: