Borknagar – Fall (Review)

This is the twelfth album from Norwegian blackened progressive/folk metallers Borknagar.

Borknagar are a very well-regarded band, so it’s a real pleasure to be able to catch up with their latest release. On their new album the band have created 54 minutes of new material for lovers of the band to Fall hard for, (ahem).

The eight songs on Fall are professionally crafted and ooze quality. Fall has a black metal base, but has expanded beyond that, with fully embedded progressive and folk metal aspects that allow Borknagar to range widely across these eight songs. The blackened aggression is combined with moments of epic grandeur, dark beauty, resplendent introspective folk, and the sort of emotive hooks that many a band would kill for.

Borknagar’s music is progressive and well-rounded, delivering textured soundscapes of blackened splendour that demand you take the necessary time to explore them fully. You’ll become captivated by a turn of melody here, an infectious vocal there, or a riff seemingly made of sublime shaped distortion elsewhere; there are many hooks and memorable moments to ensnare the attention.

The clean vocals are exceptional. Whether isolated or incorporated into layered choirs, they stand tall as highlights of the album. However, they don’t exist in a vacuum, and the rest of the music is strong enough to be remarkable in its own right too.

At this point in their existence Borknagar know how to do this sort of thing in their sleep, but that doesn’t lessen the impact or delivery of these songs one bit. Passionate and imbued with feeling, Fall is the sort of album you’ll keep returning to again and again.

Don’t miss this one.