Vilst er síðsta fet

Hamferð. A word quite unique to the Faroe Islands. The word literally means "skin-journey", and the story behind it is that in the old days, when a sailor was going to die, or was already dead, at sea, his apparition would appear in front of his family at home. A kind of farewell, you could say. Hamferð is a word connected with depression and sadness, but is a great name for this band, because the music is indeed dark and melancholic. I mean, just look at the album cover! Not only that, but the lyrics are all in Faroese, too, to make this EP, called 'Vilst er síðsta fet' (Lost is the last/final step), even more unique.

Hamferð's unique funeral doom sound is inspired by their homeland the Faroe Islands, its mysterious folklore and tales, its grey, drab climate and isolation. 'Vilst er síðsta fet' opens with the band's rendition of an old Psalm "Harra guð, títt dýra navn og æra" to great effect. It's not unique, as it's been done before; even on the Faroes, but it's still pretty cool.

Hamferð blend the dark, depressing epicness of funeral doom metal with progressive/death metal elements (the vocals and the somewhat sophisticated style and song-structures). Their style is comparable to other bands of the genre; especially a band like Ahab, because of the slow, heavy, thunderous riffs, clear, pounding drums and spooky keyboard. The music isn't overly complicated and super technical. Instead, the band uses the simplicity and repetitiveness to invoke a very realistic atmosphere; almost as if you're part of the old tales Jón Aldará sings of. The enthralling, dark atmosphere is as intriguing and captivating as the one in black metal bands such as Burzum and Emperor. There is also a combination of death metal growls and grunts and clean singing with an operatic quality to them. Another aspect that ties the knots between these bands are the concepts of old tales that are used to create music.

Listening to 'Vilst er síðsta fet' is almost like having an out-of-body experience. The atmosphere is a constant feeling of dread and it indeed makes the band name Hamferð even more relevant, because it feels like you're slowly sailing towards the inevitable meeting with death. There is no happy ending here. Only sadness.