...from Outer Intelligences

So it's been about a year since Sorgeldom's sophomore effort, Inner Receivings took many of us by surprise. Although listening to something innovative and, well... completely weird was challenging, Receivings managed to worm its way into a handful of the year-end lists of both our staff and our readers. Although Sorgeldom's apporach to black metal is brazenly bizarre, it also has a strange tendency to remind its listeners that everything about black metal is, in fact, bizarre. From its strange origin to the intimidating murder stories and inner-circles surrounding the second wave of the 90s to present day makeovers (whether they be tinged with shoegaze or electronica), black metal has always been digging a bit deeper into the soil of innovation, imagination and creativity than most other forms of music. So, in one sense, Sorgeldom is intriguing because of its ingenuity and its ability to distance itself from any other project of the sort, but in another sense, the band is very traditional, because transcendence, if you will, is something that has been a part of black metal since the very beginning.

...From Outer Intelligences kicks off in traditional fashion, using instruments one would find at a landfill to welcome the listener into a realm celebrating the many obscure, yet familiar emotions of this world. The comfort given off by the album is also strange, given the eeriness of Sorgeldom's usual production techniques. There are, however, many differences between Intelligences and its predecessors. Both Innerlig Förmörkelse and Inner Receivings shared a similar disjointedness that occured a few times after a grouping of songs. For example, Inner Receivings begins with fast-paced, traditional black metal and then transitions relatively smoothly into a much more etherial, shoegaze haze before switching back to the traditional side of things on the album's title track. The only reason this works, is because all of Sorgeldom's songs sound only like Sorgeldom. Where Intelligences differs is that the songs themselves feel a bit disjointed. Therefore, the beginnings and endings of each song transition perfectly, but there are synapses throughout the entire album in many of its songs. This isn't necessarily a flaw, since it's what Jodöden, Dr: Sundén and J. Marklund were obviously going for, but it's one of the album's noticeable differences.

Clean vocals are also a bit more prevalent in the album's mixing, and would at times be completely awkward were it not for their sincerity (to use a word that truly defines this band). Picture your kid brother singing his heart out at a funeral or wedding or something... where the vocals may normally make someone want to cringe, nobody does because of the importance of the situation. It almost makes the moment all the more worthwhile.

Now that the nitty-gritty, nitpicking shit is out of the way, let's get the heart of the album, shall we?

"Utesluten Från Universums Koreografi" kicks everything off in true Sorgeldom fashion with a shitstorm of blistering riffs, which thicken the song's walls just enough for the nightmarish vocals to continuously echo until they resonate. It's euphoric, in a strange sense, given the album's coldness. The sounds will indeed haunt the listener at times, but not without giving them a warm blanket of sure protection beforehand. This is what Sorgeldom does... it reminds the listener that they are less than a speck of dust in a frightening universe full of unknowns, but it assures them that there's nothing to fear. Additionally, it provides said listener with noticeably improved guitar solos, which is something as just as important as the metaphysical -- to a metalhead, that is.

...From Outer Intelligences' other primary tracks, "Through Dust Into Lostness," "...From Outer Intelligences," and "Hänförd Av Tvångshandlingens Synagoga," (which might be the band's crowning achievement to date) are further proof that Sorgeldom is one of the most forward-thinking bands floating around out there. In addition, the album's lengthier tracks are encompassed by the remainder of its eccentric emotions that serve as an intermediary between the listener and the rest of the universe.

Originally written for MetalReview.com

...from Outer Intelligences is the companion album to Sorgeldom's Vithatten, released simultaneously but weaving its way up a quite different web. This is by far the most esoteric, progressive recording that the band have yet recorded, but it does contain a few traits in common with the other albums, at least in the eccentric riff patterns and mixture of acoustic and electric instruments to create a lattice of mesmerizing contrasts. There are also several aesthetic differences between this and Vithatten. Where that album goes for the whole live, rustic, lo-fi production, this is as clean and polished as their 2nd album Inner Receivings. The guitar tone is thin, yet richly melodic, and the drums and bass are naturally better balanced. The cover art also forsakes the wonderful black/white illustrations of its partner album, but this is their best packaging yet, capturing a few of the same Garden of Earthly Delights images (via Hieronymous Bosch) that Celtic Frost used on Into the Pandemonium.

Inner Receivings definitely had a streak of the popular post-black/shoegazer sound to it, which honestly held it back a bit, though I enjoyed it more than the debut. With this album, the Swedes have abandoned that to incorporate their folksy swagger into a more harried, technical style that had only been hinted at. Songs like "Utesluten Fran Universums Koreografi" and the 9+ minute epic "Hanford av Tvangshandlinges Synagoga" feature a lot of tempo changes, with a mix of the clean and harsh vocals, periods of calm being ruptured by harsher, melodic black metal rhythms and then back again, and I can promise that at least it never borders on ennui. However, I have to admit that I enjoyed the vocals here the least of all their records. The harsh rasps are a bit too full and overbearing for the thinner guitar tone, and the cleans often feel as if singer is a little drunk and slovenly. Neither approach is all that much of a distraction, or distinctly 'bad', but I never felt as if they were really adding anything, and set my ears to focus on the guitars, which are crashing and hurtling around all over the mix of Swedish and English lyrics that are both cosmic and philosophical in nature.

Where Vithatten is the 'forest' session, this is definitely traipsing along the margin of the inner soul and infinite space beyond the known world. A nice splicing of themes, for sure, but this CD does also include a number of more folksy pieces like "Mannen vid Stugan" and "Tragedin Skraddarsydde mitt Hjartas Omma Sommar". Alas, those woozy clean vocals I mentioned do sort of pollute the former piece, and the last (and outro "Kontakt") are pleasant but not at all important or representative of the album as a whole. My favorite single track here is likely the bold "To Where Your Tracks End", with its railroad samples, flowing dual acoustics and the best clean vocals on the album, which are pitched with a psychedelic, almost Pink Floyd numbness that totally sells the atmosphere. I felt that, with this track, Sorgeldom were opening up a Pandora's Box of potential...if only more of the music had a similar, consistent depth and vision.

Ultimately, ...from Outer Intelligences is still a strong enough effort that fans of the outer fringe of progressive/folk black metal (like Klabautamann, early Opeth or Ulver) could get a lot out of it. Some of the guitars lines in the heavier tracks are absurdly cool, though the ratio of hot to not licks is quite even, and they occasionally seem to aimlessly careen about the compositions without proper transitions and placement. Yeah, I didn't like much of the vocal work, and it's perhaps the least consistent album they've released to date, but regardless there is no question that Sorgeldom have ideas that might eventually elevate them to a position of great distinction.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com