Árstíðir Lífsins – Hermalausaz (Review)

This is the latest EP from Árstíðir Lífsins, an international, (Germany/Iceland), black metal band.

Following on from 2020’s epic Saga á tveim tungum II: Eigi fjǫll né firðir comes an equally epic EP. Despite containing only two songs, Hermalausaz is an album-length release at 43 minutes in duration, and packs a lot of content into its extended running time.

Árstíðir Lífsins fuse folk, ambient, and classical elements together into an engaging and charismatic form of black metal. Containing influences from the old-school and the new, these two songs are sprawling hymns that make strong, effective use of their various influences and constituent components. Well-written and expertly rendered, this is the best I’ve heard Árstíðir Lífsins sound.

This is highly textured music, with a diverse array of different aspects available for it to call from. Traditional blackened aggression is used, alongside atmospheric songwriting, powerful choirs, emotive strings, and introspective nuance, to craft music that captivates across the breadth of these two colossal tracks. Árstíðir Lífsins really seem to have pulled out all of the stops, and the the music flows naturally and holistically to its conclusion.

Hermalausaz is a very strong release. It seems ridiculous to call this an EP, due to both its duration and quality, but regardless of what you want to refer to this as, it’s top tier stuff. Apparently there’s an album on the way too – based on Hermalausaz, I eagerly look forward to what it offers.

Very highly recommended.

Find out more here and here.