Review Summary: Esoteric outsider music of the most mysterious order.
Jotunheim. In Norse mythology, it is the land where the vengeful ice giants live. Once the world was created by Ymir’s corpse, Jotunheim was to sit at the edge of Midgard, which is the known world. Since Ymir was the forefather of all giants, those who populated Jotunheim swore to take vengeance on the gods and wreck havoc upon humanity. The idea is that Jotunheim is the unknown world, which will shrink more and more as the world is explored.
So how does this tie to Thursar’s first album? For one, it explores very uncharted territory. Imagine this: midi music thrown around with little in terms of songwriting, some of the most guttural black metal vocals you’ll hear, and psychedelic rock/folk sections. The bass rumbles around aimlessly, like whoever did it was drunk. It’s not for the faint of heart or the little patient. Every type of midi synth is used, including guitar synthesizers and presets galore.
Lyrically, it’s creepy with the “bog witch” vocals. When you can make out what he's saying, he’s clearly telling stories. But the rhymes are very simple, the singing stops in weird places, and is clearly off-key. It’s almost like he’s stumbling over his words at times. The original release came with a 12 page lyric booklet, which sadly I could not find anywhere. For themes, it seems to cover tales of battle, war, and appeasement. The best is when he does the voice of a witch, which sounds genuinely unnerving. Especially when he says “put this ring on your finger, and once the sapphire turns black you must run away from this place and never turn back.”
Unlike a lot of Hekaloth Records releases, it keeps things fresh with strange solos, jarring transitions, and unhinged melodies. The solos have a technical but very lo-fi feel, which is a stark contrast to the midi presets. But the true fault of Journey to Jotunheim is not the execution, but rather how long winded it is. It may be ironic due to the name, but this album does not carry my interest for its 72 minute runtime. Insanity such as this tends to lose its novelty and strength past a certain point. Then it starts to drive you nuts.
It’s mysterious, lo-fi, and ominous. But even with its faults, no matter how much you may hate it, you won’t find another album like this.
Recommended Tracks: Thorkel's Arrival, Escape from the Doomed City, Three Gifts.
