PROGGNOSIS

Published on: 27 Nov 2010

The scenario starts being set as soon as you open your mailbox and Nordagust's debut In the Mist of Morning is in. The cover is cold, dark and raw, making you wonder about the content...Thoughts that travel through the gelid landscapes of Nordic lands usually punctuated by Black or Doom metal, or the white umber emotional slightly folksy (many times Viking tingled) and calm Scandinavian typified sympho prog. And you just can't wait to put the CD on the tray, sit down and travel...

This put, and with the notion that I just love that type of music that is able to transport us to atmospheres, ambiances and a vivid imagery of landscapes, well defined in our thoughts, let me just tell you what I felt in a metaphorical way:

The stage is the far North of Europe. I stand by the window of a wood shed, the fireplace in my back, giving me a sense of cozy comfort as I stand by the window looking at the almost unnoticeable lake in the distance, bounded by the tall pine trees that mix the green and white, all greyish by the soft and semi-thick mist of a winter morning. The landscape is covered in snow providing a vision of white that is strangely darkened by the soft absence of strong sunlight. And this is what I see as I close my eyes with Nordagust's music

filling my surroundings.

With calm textures that slowly built up in tension just to abruptly find their fjord that suddenly dive the music back to calming waters, the musicality of Nordagust envelops emotional singing, heavenly pinched Mellotronic symphonic tapestries, folk instruments intrusions that enrich the music by giving them a sense of ancient poetry and a melancholic and sensible vibe that allows the listener to really feel the music that is being played.

Trying to frame the band within more recognizable boundaries, the Mellotron playing uses the same philosophy as Anekdoten or the calmer parts of Anglagard, providing a deep orchestral feel in the background with its languid and accurate notes. The singing is tremendously emotional, as it purely transmit a set of feelings that mostly relate with the desperate loneliness and the strange nostalgic beauty that the rawest natural landscapes set upon the watcher. The guitar stands out in a very melodic and harmonious way, providing continuing melodious lines that travel through wonder, power, delicacy, traditional tunes and darkness. The folk instruments complete the set adding it originality, uniqueness and that geographical touch that always amaze the outsider.

If the languishing parts do bring Landberk to memory, a strange connection to an imaginary non metal and slowed down Arcturus also come to mind, as the music of Nordagust is never heavy and distorted but many times makes me think of a pure symphonic doom or black metal sonicscapes. Reinforcing this though, In the Mist of Morning seems to have a strange relation with the Viking metal propositions of band such as Sig:Ar:Tyr (even if these are Canadian) or later Rakoth.

As the album plays on, the listener is continuously offered a vast palette of grey textures and that always present emotional arousing that allows us to really feel the music. This is one of the wonderful factors of Nordagust's music : the imposition of emotions in a dark and deep way, just like later Antimatter is able to provide.

This is one of the best discoveries of 2010, and for suckers of calm/tense darkly pinched and emotional music, here enriched by an orchestral and folk capsule that stronger those factors, In t he Mist of Morning is an obviously obligatory discovery. Superbly though and played, I cannot recommend this enough

By Nuno

Review  PROGVISIONS

in the mist of morning 

The music of Nordagust can be described as Norwegian inspired symphonic prog, dominated by mellotron (yes ... I have the full attention now of a lot of progVisions readers), vocals and guitar. The songs are driven by strong melodies and dramatic arrangements. “In the Mist of Morning” is an atmospheric musical journey through the deepest woods and valleys of Norway, uniting the essence of progressive rock with the spirit of the north wind.

The album opener “In the Mist of Morning” brings you immediately to the dark woods of Norway. The atmosphere of the album is defined; mysterious sounds, the soaring voice of Daniel Solheim on top of a bed of slow mellotron and soaring guitar melodies. The tension of the music is slowly building up to a kind of climax. Intense music full of emotion. In the first section you can also hear the voice of Madder Mortem's vocalist Agnethe Kirkevaag. “Expectations” is a little bit more up tempo and has more aggression in the guitar parts. But the music stays on the mellow side and is always full of melody. The next track “Mysterious Ways” is a dark piece of symphonic rock with influences of bands like Änglagard and Anekdoten. Full of rhythm changes and aggression. But always accompanied by the melodic melodies of the mellotron. “In the Woods” is a short and delicate piece of music with Nordic folk influences. A combination of swelling mellotron sounds (with a breathtaking melody) and acoustic instruments and samples of sounds from the woods. Very nice. The sound of the mellotron in “Elegy” gives memories of the first King Crimson albums. The music is drenched with mellotron and the guitar parts have often a soaring sound. A lot of prog lovers are at this point already in a state of bliss. The track “Forcing” has some influences of the Swedish band Änglagard. It is an up tempo instrumental track with aggressive guitar parts. And some mellotron sounds reminds me of the French band Ange. Wow ... this is a modern and Nordic version of real sympho from the seventies ... just love it. “Frozen” has a slow opening but soon the tension of the music is slowly building up to a climax. In this track you can hear some great melodies. Nordagust's music is dominated by mellotron and guitar. “The tide” has a good balance of slow and up tempo parts. That is why the band can keep your attention. The next track is entitled “Make me believe” and is for me one of the highlights of this wonderful album. The vocals (by Agnethe Kirkevaag) are sung with a lot of passion, great mellotron and guitar parts, a lot of rhythm changes ... and when the tension of the music is building slowly up it climaxes in a soaring guitar solo. You will be completely overwhelmed by the passion and tension of the music. This track seemlessly goes into the closing part “Elegy epilogue”, a breathtaking mellotron melody that ends with the sounds from the wood.

The music on “In the Mist of Morning” is drenched with Mellotron. The music is melancholic, intense and full of passion and emotion. For me an unexpected surprise ... and I was completely overwhelmed by the music ... when my CD player stopped at the end of the album, I could only push the play button again. Overwhelmed by the emotion and intensity of Nordagust's music. We must be thankful to Karisma Records to have the guts to release this remixed and remastered album. “In the Mist of Morning” came out in 2007 as a demo. Daniel, Ketil and Knud welcomed newcomers Jostein, Sissel and Guro in the band to have the opportunity to play this material in a live setting. Well what can I say more ... for me Nordagust's album “In the Mist of Morning” is the surprise of 2010. No need to say that this album is a must for mellotron lovers.

Douwe Fledderus - November 2010

MONSTER har nå skiftet navn til NORWAY ROCK

"The best demo I can remember to have heard, came from NORDAGUST about 2 years ago. And now there is a new, and the development is obvious. The band has grown tighter, and it all sound more dynamic, it's heavier,and there is more focus on the songs, and it's more orchestral. Stylistic you can call them progressive. You can easily tell they have been listening to bands like LANDBERK and ANEKDOTEN. Most peculiar is, that these guys already has managed to achieve, what most bands today is struggling with, to get their own identity

The new songs are more dynamic,organic and heart-rending sad. The best song is "Elegy", mellotron and heavy guitars weaves a perfect underground to the mellow vocals, and I like everything I hear-exept from the production. Give this band a record deal now !"

"The main idea of the band NORDAGUST is to find inspiration from old and unknown nordic folk music, and to integrate it with heavy rock. Of cause this has been done before, but these guys do it very well. Sometimes it's really heavy, but also progressive,ambient and magic.Not so far removed from a band like ANEKDOTEN. There is a special atmosphere over the whole product, and the band has succeeded in capturing the sound of nature, in a credible way.The best song is the dynamic "Elegy"."

"It's been 2 years since we last heard from Daniel Solheim and company.This is the trio that emerged when OCEAN folded. This is their second demo, and they present 23 minutes of music, and three new songs. Compared to the first demo from 1999, they have moved in a heavier and more progressive direction.

The music can be described as norwegian-inspired symphonic prog-dominated by mellotron, vocals and guitar.It changes between sensitive and heavier parts, and the music emerges as mighty as the norwegian nature. Edward Grieg would probably get curious about prog-rock after listening to this.!!!

Sometimes it becomes a little turgid, but the overall listening-exprience is very nice. In connection with the first demo, the dynamics is clearer and the production is better, even if improvements still could be done. The guitar's sound dry(intended or not). I have a feeling that these boys can work wonders in a current studio, which I believe they have serious plans to do.

I think this music will be difficult to play live with only three people, but I hope they can do that in the future. Hopefully there will be an official CD release by this gang soon.

Watch out for these guys !