Album Review: Borknagar - Fall

Borknagar is a Norwegian metal band, founded in 1995. Their style combines black and folk metal with progressive and melodic elements. Borknagar's lyrics often deal with philosophy, paganism, nature, and the cosmos. Fall is their twelfth studio album.

Band Members:

• Øystein G. Brun – guitar
• ICS Vortex (Simen Hestnæs) – vocals and bass
• Lazare (Lars A. Nedland) – vocals and keyboard
• Bjørn Dugstad Rønnow – drums
• Jostein Thomassen – guitar

The album starts with Summits, which begins as a black metal song, and then it transforms into an atmospheric journey with ICS Vortex’s voice. I’ve always liked his voice, in his other previous works with Dimmu Borgir, Arcturus and of course, Borknagar. The song is about finding yourself and your own best potential. Beautiful transition before the guitar solo, that is kind of sweet. The song has a melancholic undertone.

This is my favorite track of the album, way to start a record.

Nordic Anthem, as its name implies, this song is a freedom anthem. It's a call to reject oppression on all fronts, find your point of view. Also, claiming their northern land.

Afar, it’s another song about their northern lands. Black metal but with clean choruses and melodic interludes. Moon, calm, yet with a quick and sick guitar solo after the first part, that seems that is going to accelerate the song, but no, it returns to this calm melodic part with clean vocals. Introspective song with a nice main guitar solo.

Stars Ablaze, starts like a soft melodic song, with folk elements, although it gets black metal sometimes. Clean voices participate too. Unraveling, it alternates between black metal and clean voices, creating an intricate yet enveloping combination. The Wild Lingers, a song about nature. Sweet, harmoniously, beautiful track.

Northward, the last song of the album. Borknagar ends with a track leaning more to black metal, however, decorated with northern folk elements and clean vocals in some parts.

This album has a melancholic vibe, singing mostly about nature. One can picture themselves in northern lands, such as Borknagar's Norway. It would be ideal as a soundtrack to a long drive across the highway on a cold winter day, with snow and rain falling from the sky.

Rating: 8/10
Release Date: February 23rd, 2024
Released By: Century Media Records
FFO: Vintersorg, Arcturus, Dimmu Borgir

Tracklist

1) Summits
2) Nordic Anthem
3) Afar
4) Moon
5) Stars Ablaze
6) Unraveling
7) The Wild Lingers
8) Northward