Solbrud are a black metal band from Denmark and this is their fourth album.
IIII is an album of four parts, each written by one of Solbrud’s four band members. The end result is an ambitious album with an imposing length – 94 minutes – that takes the listener on a compelling journey into a vast atmospheric black metal vistas. It’s a landscape with lots to see and capture the attention, one that’s made up of different local areas and conditions, but that functions holistically as a working ecosystem of depth, complexity, and feeling.
Solbrud’s music is emotive and richly textured, and the focus on different songwriters for each of the four quarters lends the record a feeling of movement, growth, and exploration that’s a joy to experience. Operating across a range of styles – light introspection, solemn doom, blackened groove, intense aggression – IIII offers a diverse path for listeners to tread. The band’s atmospheric black metal has a well-developed identity that speaks well of its creators’ talents, and IIII is as enjoyable as it is accomplished.
The length of IIII, but also its quality and breadth of content, means there is a lot to explore here. With hugely variable song lengths Solbrud lead the listener into an immersive trip through their well-developed world that’s really captivating. Parts of it are dark and cold, but others are quite beautiful. Solbrud cover a good amount of ground on IIII, and if you have a taste for atmospheric black metal then this is a feast of this stuff.
The album is well-paced, and flows really nicely across the songs. Tracks like opener Hvile really lean into the Cascadian atmospheric black metal style, while others such as Når Solen Brydes Del II – Mod Afgrundens Flammehav ramp up the doom flavour. One of my favourites is the mostly instrumental Sjæleskrig, which has a progressive rock feel that’s captivating.
Solbrud have impressed. IIII is an odyssey of atmospheric black metal, and offers a rich experience for lovers of the style to become absorbed in.
Very highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 