Review by Nathan on March 15, 2021.

Leave it to The Artisan Era to pluck a band that had completely flown under the radar and thrust them into my regular listening rotation. At first you aren’t really sure what this is trying to be. Is it another wanky Inferi clone? A more progressive version of Insomnium, or perhaps a more technical Be’lakor? Early Cynic reimagined for the modern era?

It’s only when you get halfway through Impermanence and feel like it just started that you realize Stortregn is much, much more than the sum of whatever their influences are. This is a twelve-star buffet of guitar noodles stringing you in every which direction, yet they seem to know exactly how long to stick around before they wear out their welcome. There are epic riffs, catchy riffs, techy riffs, beautiful riffs, all garnished with delicious bass noodles, powerful roars, and drumming with fills that are as smooth as room-temperature butter.

Normally I’m not big on the “everything and the kitchen sink” approach to music in general, I tend to prefer it when sounds are integrated, but Stortregn are master songwriters, with a chemistry and necessity to the way one section of a song flows into another. They overlap tracks frequently, using a lull in energy to shift into the next movement, creating that “full album” feel as the ups and downs are strung between the songs. The careful balance between the Naglfar/Dissection-esque melodic black metal, the progressive melodic death, and the slick fretboard mastery constantly keeps the unexpected coming at you with the entire album constantly adding a new movement to the story. Stortregn try a little bit of everything on this album and they nail whatever they attempt - they’re the jack of all trades with a few aces up their sleeve, and they’ve structured the full album in a way that you’re always simultaneously enjoying the moment you’re in and looking forward to what’s coming up next. I can listen to Impermanence three times in a row and pick a different element to dial in on each time around, thoroughly enthralled the entire time.

There are a few things that set Stortregn above the pack of bands that attempt this type of approach. For one, the chemistry and give-and-take between the band members is done perfectly. You can tell every single one of these guys are extremely talented, but they each take turns giving each other the spotlight. Sometimes the focus will be on the guitars - every song has like a minimum of six solos and 9 times out of 10 they’re filthy. Sometimes, the bass will make its way into the foreground, sometimes the vocalist’s roar with incredible resonance and duration forces its way in, and occasionally the drums pull out a jazzy backbeat that catches your attention, in attention to the smooth, efficient blasting with lots of texture keeping the songs moving - the extended section in 'Timeless Splendor' being a notable example (the bass lick in that part is quite sexy as well).

Really, if I keep going, every song is going to be mentioned because all of them have something that makes me go “shit that was cool” at least once. I am thoroughly floored I have never heard this band before, and I am going to have to binge on their discography now because for an extreme metal nut like myself, this is a smorgasbord of delicious music that is both insatiably addictive and multifaceted enough to keep me coming back for a long time. I will be very surprised if this isn’t still in my regular listening rotation by the end of the year. Yet another home run from this fantastic label, and what luck, Stortregn has four albums before this I have to catch up on now!

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Jerome on April 2, 2020.

Since the process of creating music is seen today as a very introspective and personal exercise, there emerges a certain romantism in rejecting tags, labels and proclaiming the artform as being self-contained. For many artists, this is expressed through the dissociation of their music to any movement, genre or scene. While no one can dispute that all works of art are unique, it still stands that themes, trends and influences from other artists will permeate every composition, be it consciously or unconsciously. One rather famous example of this unconscious influence is in Behemoth’s song 'Conquer All' from the album "Demigod" where the main riff bears striking resemblances to the song 'Be All End All' from Anthrax. When Nergal, Behemoth’s front man, was questioned about the similarity between the riffs, he admitted being surprised as he used to listen to Anthrax when he was a teen but never consciously used their music as influence. As such, categorising and comparing artists can be justified as music cannot be evaluated in a vacuum.

In terms of conscious influence, some records are simply too transformative within a given scene or genre to ignore. We all know a couple of these albums; At The Gate’s "Slaughter of the Soul" for melodic death metal, Burzum’s "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss" for atmospheric black metal, Isis’s "Oceanic" for post-metal (or atmospheric sludge metal). In the field of extreme progressive metal, Opeth’s early albums, namely "Still Life" and "Blackwater Park", are considered by many as a milestone for the genre. For Austrian musician Christian Höll of the band Vinsta, these two albums were not only used as influences for the composition of his own music, but rather as blueprints. In fact, Vinsta’s album Vinsta Wiads is, by all accounts, a lost Opeth album from the period between 1998 and 2002.

Glancing at the cover art for the album and listening to the first minute of the first song 'Vinsta Wiads' anybody could be fooled into expecting a folk metal album. In fact, this would have been coherent with their debut self-titled album which would be more aptly considered acoustic folk. As soon as we are introduced to the first distorted riff, Opeth’s album "Still Life" comes to mind and sticks with us during the remainder of the album. The folk metal influences are only partly noticeable through interludes such as 'Aufgongsjodler' and 'Nochklong' and are delivered not so much in a melodic/traditional manner but rather in an atmospheric one. It could be argued that these small, albeit present, atmospheric interludes as well as the singing in Austrian rather then in English are the main features that differentiates Vinsta Wiads from an all out Opeth worship band.

While Vinsta cannot be favorably judged for their originality, their execution in re-creating an Opeth album can be evaluated. In these regards, Höll manages to capture not only the sound and atmosphere present in both "Still Life" and "Blackwater Park", but also the riffs, production value and overall feeling. This is no easy feat as Opeth is known for their odd time signature changes, their complex chord progression and masterful transitions from hard hitting riffs to atmospheric acoustic passages. Vinsta showcases all of these aspects and Höll even manages to imitate Åkerfeldt’s well known deep growling. The best songs on the album are the ones which showcase Höll’s ease at transitioning between heavy riffs and calmer sections. As such, 'Vinsta Wiads', 'Gedonknschwa' and 'Bluatlauf' are clearly the highlights of the album.

All in all, if you think Opeth’s last few albums are getting a bit too mellow and you are yearning for a return to the "Still Life" and "Blackwater.." period, then Vinsta’s album will be the right pick for you. Just know this isn’t the most innovative album.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10