Seidr’s second full length Ginnungagap is as mysterious and cosmic as their 2011 effort For Winter Fire, and it builds on the foundations of the debut and outstrips it in terms of scope and sound. For Winter Fire certainly took its sweet time (both in being birthed by the band and in its run time) and Ginnungagap is another masterclass in the old adage, “good things come to those who wait.” Opening track “A Blink of the Cosmic Eye” rumbles on ethnically tinged strings before giving way to droning shades of electronic noise for a stately ten minutes which in turn segues into a more recognisable progression of music. It’s always been the way for Seidr, that they allow themselves to express their musical vision in their own way and not because they feel that they have to do something in a certain, preconceived manner.
Seidr are a doom band, yes, but the little aspects of drone, post-rock and black metal that seeps into the cracks from the members other projects is enough to give them an edge over similar acts. A. Lunn (Panopticon) and W. Crow (Wheels Within Wheels) were joined much later on by A. Nicholson (Below) and J. Kerr (VIT) and while the newer additions don’t feature too heavily on this new record (or at all if my reading serves correctly), it’s clear that Seidr are now the fully formed entity that they’ve always wanted to be. There’s a sense of comradeship, of family and of wanting to know more about their place in the universe. There’s a definite, palpable feeling of there being something more in Seidr that isn’t found anywhere else, particularly during the heartbreaking guitar that sits behind A. Lunn’s powerfully commanding voice on the deeply moving “The Pillars of Creation” and in the weighty majesty of the monolithic title track.
“Ginnungagap” travels a path of unending questioning and Seidr bind together elements of doom and drone and gorgeous moments of despair throughout the seventeen minute journey into the great unknown. The song pulses with a distinct awe and the scale of the track never overcomes the flow or cohesion, rather it adds to the fantastical nature of the piece and the fact that Seidr are constantly striving to learn and become more at one with the natural world and the skies above. It’s a deeply personal project at heart and Ginnungagap (which, in Norse mythology came to signify a “magical (and creative) power-filled space) strives to encapsulate the old meanings and merge it with the modern world.
“As The Red Planet Rises” blissfully imbues its doomed frequencies with soft shades of post-rock influenced metal – something which A. Lunn has used a lot in Panopticon work – and the genuine emotion that emanates from the song pushes Ginnungagap into new dimensions of total pain and sets up the truly mesmerising and desolate “Sweltering II: A Pale Blue Dot in the Vast Sky” to devastate the heart. Contrasting voices bellow and shout for control and the music dips and sways from doomed elegance to affecting moments of simple constructions that flicker with the most profound agony found on this Earth. Soaring guitars and steady drums underpin a vocal that writhes with an aching melancholy and the absolute misery of not knowing your place makes the near half hour length of the song a terrifically involving ordeal. Ginnungagap might just be the doom record of the year.
Ginnungagap will be available from September 16th on Bindrune Recordings.
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