The Focusing Blur

With The Focusing Blur, Vintersorg have managed to produce one of the most unique metal albums of all time. It doesn't seem as if some Viking metal artist would have ever done this considering the limitations of the style. However, Andreas Hedlund has taken viking metal in an extremely progressive direction both musically and lyrically.

The songs are all based on modern scientific ideas and advancements that include complexity, expansion, and relative perspective: microcosms and macrocosms. With these eccentric topics comes some very interesting instrumentation and arrangments. There is a blend of viking metal with electronics, theatrics, and peculiar meloldies that accentuate the song in such a quirky way. If not for the subtlety of it all, it would come off cheesy, but Vintersorg have not stressed the folk element in such a form that makes you laugh. Some may look sideways at this music, but true originality will often make you stretch your mind to grasp it.

For specific tracks, The Thesis's Seasons, A Sphere in a Sphere (To Inifinity), and Curtains are the tracks that stand out the most. However, each song has it's own uniqueness. You won't find that every song sounds the same as many bands of this background. Each song has several catchy phrases and melody lines that will stick in your head. It's definitely not a "true" album, but if progress helps to advance the genre out of static isolation, then you will definitely want to check this album out. The album features a mixture of traditional vikind/black metal vocals with Hedlund's very excellent natural voice. He's arguably one of the best actual metal vocalists today.

This album is a journey, and once hooked, you'll find you don't want to put it down. The song A Sphere in a Sphere (To Infinity) has to deserve some sort of lifetime merit award. This song is just too damn good. Give it a good strong listen and expect something out of the ordinary in a very good way.