While many musicians claim to pour their innermost emotions into their music, many end up with a finished product that feels laboured to the point where any believable sense of emotion is distorted by an all-too-obvious contrived feeling. Art itself is a fickle mistress. Some artists are able to translate whatever demons may be dwelling within them to an immediate form of expression while others strive for an eternity and end up with something inferior. And music is no exception. I don’t exactly have any insight into MÖRKER’s recording process, but I think it would be safe to assume that they fall into the former category.

"Höstmakter", MÖRKER’s sophomore LP is a brilliant excursion through the depths of the innermost soul. A pallet of emotions are set off before the listener. MÖRKER unleash a new and equally compelling sentiment with every guitar riff, with every scream, and not once does MÖRKER’s music feel strained in the least.

I can’t remember the last time I listened to an album that made such brilliant use of piano. Piano or keyboard use in Metal is terra-incognita for a lot of Metal bands, and its use is often frowned upon by fastidious, conservative Metalheads who want their Metal loud and straightforward. MÖRKER’s eloquent piano use often clashes with the brash, metallic sounds of the music at large, and whenever it is brought in, it echoes the sadness and choler displayed by the vocalist. In "Segertåg", the piano flows beautifully into the chaos of the melodic guitars and devastating drums.

Contrarily, a song like "Djupa Spår Av Tvivel" can only be described by the term "epic", and it is almost uplifting in its extravagance. What MÖRKER does flawlessly with its melodies is alternate between a variety of different musical ideas. While "Djupa Spår Av Tvivel" feels larger than life because of its lively, upbeat riffs, a track like the title track plays to the listener’s sense of despair. The guitar work alone creates a fantasylike atmosphere that other bands only dream of. Every song on this album is excellent and unique to its own ideas. Even the brief, sombre interludes are fantastic as lone songs.

Albums like "Höstmakter" tend to leave me speechless for long periods of time. When a Black Metal band can balance beauty and ferocity the way these guys do, it makes me fall in love with the genre all over again. This is easily my favourite Black Metal album of the year so far as well as a serious contender for "album of the year".

(Online August 10, 2008)