Helga – Wrapped In Mist
Helga – Wrapped In Mist
Season of Mist
Release Date: 24/11/2023
Running Time: 46:00
Review by Rory Bentley
8/10
I’ve had this record for a while now, mainly cos Season of Mist are top lads and lasses that give us stuff way before release, but I’ve only gone in on it properly recently because now that my mornings are an absolute pea-souper of fog and darkness at this time of year, some Nordic Folky stuff is exactly what I need. What I got with “Wrapped in Mist,” however, was more than I bargained for. After dry retching at the maddeningly insipid press notes I remembered my objective I settled in for some pleasant Myrkur-lite folk Metal.
Initially with opener ‘Skogen mumlar’ that proved to be the case. Lilting ethereal vocals, rustic traditional instruments and some chuggy Opeth guitars are always going to go down well with me even if it’s not that original, Helga does it to a very high standard nonetheless. 8 or 9 more of these with an acoustic ballad at the end and that would have had me reaching for a 7/10 before likely never going back to this again. ‘Burden’ then kicks in with its Tool-like polyrhythms, chiming atmospheric chords and luscious Post-Rock to immediately prove me wrong. Helga herself shows more vocal versatility here, coming across more anguished like a Swedish Chelsea Wolfe and this adds a layer of darkness to proceedings that turns things from agreeable to truly interesting.
‘Water’ adds further colour and depth to the record with a melancholic, slightly creepy Pop song that boasts a laconically delivered mournful chorus that builds in intensity each time it comes back. Despite clocking in at under 4 minutes it gets a lot done and its crescendo packs the same punch as the more expansive, sprawling tracks that precedes it. Speaking of packing punch though, the album is not afraid to get nasty and draw blood when you least expect it. After 4 excellent yet understated tracks ‘Farval’ goes full “Hammerheart”-era Bathory and hits you with some scything riffs, blast beats and throat-shredding screams. Impressively they still manage to work in some Folk-Pop hooks, but this is a savage surprise that shows the band has a full grasp on all elements of Nordic and Folk Metal.
The album finishes with a strong flourish with the one-two of ‘Mountain Song’ and the title track, both of which touch on different strengths of the band’s repertoire. The former mixes shimmering Shoegaze with beautiful, rustic strings while the latter goes full-on rousing hurdy-gurdy campfire songs with a huge lung-busting performance from Helga herself.
Some of you may recall me going absolutely ham over the Fredlos album, which spoiler alert easily makes my top 10, the result of which has been other Folk Metal albums having a tall order to live up to it. While this debut doesn’t reach those lofty heights, the fact that I still plan on going back to “Wrapped In Mist” is testament to an exciting and surprisingly innovative first pass from a band I’ll be keeping a keen eye on going forward.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Skogen mumlar
02. Burden
03. Water
04. If Death Comes Now
05. Farval
06. Alive Again
07. Vast and Wild
08. Som en trumma
09. Mountain Song
10. Wrapped In MIst
LINE-UP:
Helga Gabriel (Vocals)
Ryan Fairclough (Bass)
Cameron Gledhill (Guitar)
Cai Sumption (Guitar)
Sami Javed (Drums)
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Rory Bentley and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of said party. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.