Vintersorg

Four years after Solens Rötter, Vintersorg return with yet another demonstration of folk/black/avant-garde metal experimentation. But I offer a disclaimer and confession before I go any further: my benchmark Vintersorg album isn't one of their early folk metal classics, but Cosmic Genesis, with its powerful vocals, sustained patterns, Uriah Heep cover and all. New album Jordpuls ("Earth Pulse") continues the move away from that mid-career, more straightforward heaviness. Sung entirely in Swedish, Jordpuls is rich in melodies, rhythms and textures. The diverse sounds are almost beyond count: horns, strings, piano, harpsichord and other orchestral and traditional timbres accompany the more conventional bass, drums and guitar, solos included. The vocals are primarily clean, accented by harsh, mid-range growls, but there's almost too much singing. The instrumentation is complex enough already that the onslaught of vocal syllables threatens to push that complexity over the edge. Jordpuls is signature Vintersorg, but not the first I'd turn to for my fix.