The first time I encountered Stein Sund was as bassist of Norwegian Viking Metal heavyweights EINHERJER, then I grew to enjoy his work with THUNDRA a lot and now he is offering a third musical outlet in the form of EVIG NATT (Norwegian for “eternal night”). And it is a completely different style than anything he had done in the past, as it is Gothic Metal in its original incarnation, meaning with “beauty and the beast” dual vocals and lots of atmosphere, yet at the same time it definitely is more than just a rehash of what bands such as THEATRE OF TRAGEDY had laid the foundation for over a decade back.

Technically EVIG NATT is a duo, consisting of Stein Sund and singer Kirsten Jørgensen, supported by a cast of session musicians, who coincidentally mostly hail from Stein’s other band THUNDRA. Now I mentioned that they are more than just a revival of the old sound and Stein made sure that the inclusion of some Black Metal elements added another dimension, avoiding being labeled a carbon copy.

I had quite frankly not been sure what to expect, due to the Norwegian name I had rather guessed at pure Black Metal, but (to my taste) thankfully that was not the case. Instead we are treated to a lot of atmosphere (where especially the guitar sound has more grit than your average Gothic Metal) and I also have to note that Kirsten is not the typical soprano, but is a bit deeper, which complements the excellent melodies (and of course counters Stein’s growl) very well and makes a song such as opener “Nemesis Of Heart” a thoroughly entertaining matter, at least to me.

Now if you detest Gothic Metal, then “I Am Silence” still will not sway your opinion, even though more than once EVIG NATT breaks out of the genre confines and gets a bit heavier and faster than what we have gotten used to throughout the years, which keeps everything nicely fresh and interesting, as for example “My Demon”, which sets out calm and atmospheric, but then surprises by a Melodic Black Metal passage, before re-introducing the piano and Gothic Metal atmosphere, which underlines my point, overall almost being more Black Metal than Gothic Metal throughout the song.

And it is these excursions that make “I Am Silence” stand out, be it the just mentioned Black Metal eruptions or when everything gets tuned down to only female vocals, piano and cello (“A Final Lament”), which is further enhanced by the fittingly lush yet crisp production, which showcases the respective details and ensures that the flow of the songs is furthered.

Groundbreaking EVIG NATT are not, yet they at the same time take a traditional sound and spice it up to appeal to both the original worshippers of the genre as well as listeners of the newer styles to result in one of the best Gothic Metal albums of the year 2007 so far (PARADISE LOST is the only one rivaling it in my book), hopefully generating enough interest in the band to convince Stein to continue with EVIG NATT as well, it would be worth it!

(Online October 22, 2007)