Medieval. If I were allowed to choose only one word to describe 'Måsstaden', Vildhjarta's debut full-length release, then it would be this. The utter darkness and despair that this album manages to conjure up, along with moments of shimmering beauty and a sense of timelessness, is truly magical. The direct yet hugely challenging guitar work, hauntingly dissonant and wielding terrifying power, is layered thickly yet somehow gives the illusion of having spades of room in which to work. The ambiences are stunning, and the perfectly distorted vocal duo Daniel Ädel and Vilhelm Bladin give huge weight and direction. The storytelling, through both words and music, to me is on a level with the writing of Shakespeare, Tolkien and the Greek mythological storytellers, whose works clearly influence it greatly. As a musical journey, it is comparable in style and magnitude to a symphony that Mahler, Sibelius or Shostakovich may have written.
Upon listening to this release, you will descend into a narcotic tale of evil intent and impending doom, epitomised throughout in the lyrics and music combined. This album leaves a trail of destruction in its wake, conveyed in brutal manner by the bone-crushing riffery and hellish abuse of melody by the impossible guitar lines, a kind of which I have heard nothing like before: such is the magnitude of the albums production that, when the low notes fall, you physically shudder as their gravity crushes your insignificant mind. One of the central concepts is perpetual impurity and the presence of evil within all things; this goes hand in hand with the other underlying themes, namely religion, apocalypse and the negative effects of globalisation. However, the story within this album is far from clear-cut: reality is very unclear throughout, giving a listener a lot of creative space in which to conjure up his own sequence of events, something all good concept albums, such as Uneven Structure’s 'Februus' and Meshuggah’s 'Catch Thirtythree', create within the plot.
So, is Måsstaden something that will change music for all who encounter it, even sceptics? The words speak for themselves on this: “I defy the curse and then define a new set of rules.” This album will be revered for decades to come. - Zyglrob
Vildhjarta - Måsstaden: a vast progression from 'Omnislash', far and away the heaviest record of 2011 and a twisted yet perfect narrative which captures something of the trials of existence in under an hour. Just fucking listen to it.
måsstaden is available on iTunes here for $9.99 with two exclusive bonus tracks ("All for the Sake", "Of Others"), so download your copy today!
Related links:
Djent.com
Vildhjarta's Official Site
Vildhjarta on Facebook
Vildhjarta on Twitter
Vildhjarta on YouTube
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