Viddernas tolv kapitel

I’ve listened to this album so many times now it’s almost ridiculous. It’s been spinning over and over again for a while, and I can’t seem to get enough of it. Viddernas tolv kapitel is Lönndom’s first entirely acoustic album (I think), and is far away from the black metal of the two guys’ other band Armagedda. It’s an album that perfectly captures the essence of nature, and in many ways serves as a tribute to nature. But it’s also an album filled to the rim with gloom and melancholy.

The warm and deep voices will both entrance and mesmerize you. The two guitars bring forth simple and highly effective melodies, often with a mournful tone of utter despair. It’s quite impressive how they manage to evoke such strong emotions with so little. In my opinion this is an hour of pure musical bliss. It’s without a doubt one of the best folk-related albums I’ve ever heard, by far surpassing other bands’ (Månegarm, Drudkh, Hel) folk releases. Lönndom manage to perform folk music that is so drenched with a sombre feeling of utter hopelessness, extremely atmospheric and encompassing.

Lending notes from both classic Swedish folk music and the nowadays neo-folk scene they create a sound I haven’t found in folk music before. At times the vocals chant in a way that’s reminiscent of Native American ceremonies, or that of a shaman trying to please the weather gods. Their voices can be filled with such agony just as a deep humming will make you feel safe from any harm. The atmosphere is so invoking it’s incredible, and throughout the album I go through so many different emotional aspects it’s exhausting. Dread, joy, sorrow, grief, melancholy… it’s all there. Much is thanks to the interaction between both vocals, much is thanks to the interaction between both guitars, and the interaction in between vocals and guitars. It’s done in a very pleasant and skillful manner.

Even if you don’t understand the lyrics I think this album has a lot to offer to the listener. Samples of wind blowing and owls hooting are used very tastefully, and gives me the feeling of being surrounded by nothing but trees, sitting just the three of us (me and the two Lönndom fellows) in front of a fire in the woods. The guitar play is beautiful all the way through, the production is so clear the guitars come off warm and live, and both voices also benefit greatly from the fantastic sound quality, really giving note to the depths of their voices. Slow and extremely melancholic, encompassing and utterly powerful. I honestly have extreme difficulties trying to put into words the range of emotions and thoughts I have about this album, and to even try to describe the sound of it feels ridiculous; I’d never be able to do it justice. Lönndom manage to do what so many black metal acts have failed to do; evoking a genuine sense of nature. Just perfect and in my opinion a masterpiece.

Originally written for My Last Chapter