Solstafir – Berdreyminn (2LP)

On their 6th release, this Icelandic metal band continues to evolve with a monumetal album that blends a wide range of rock influences: prog-metal, post-rock, classic rock, black sludge and haunting atmospherics. Vocalist Aōalbjörn Tryggvason calls to the Nordic Gods with impassioned anguish, while the guitars soar with a roaring, epic grandeur. The band uses multiple tempo changes and fluctuating volume levels to carve a wide-scope soundscape, often reflecting the harsh, barren geography of their native country through somber moods and a bleak, melancholic post-metal aura—all sung in the Icelandic tongue.