Although the album is not exactly a fantastic masterpiece, the sound lives in elaborate and rapid sonorous constructions, that the genre intensely demands. With constant, interrupted and stricken melodies, Volaða Land really manages to fulfill the unbound esoteric emotions of the harmonies, increasing the feeling towards a lugubrious and poetic outlook, that elevates this album to genuine and almost fabulous standards of artistry.
With tempestuous and unpredictable harmonies, Volaða Land is an adventurous listening, that lives by the fire of its own striking limits. With some abrasive guitar lines that puts fire in the sky with hazardous notes of hostility, the weaknesses of the album rely on generic genre passages, although their strong style and non-conformity towards an incredible relief of emotion is somewhat a formidable point of rupture in their case.
With an aggressive outlook, and a hostile sonority, this album certainly honors the genre in a great deal of aspects, as blackened death metal is mostly a very uniform and predictable genre, and to be able to do it right is obviously no minor achievement. With amazing and excellent moments, that shows the greatness of their style, their striking and complex melodies reevaluates what the genre has as its best, showcasing in a certain level a purity of style that could teach a lot of musical elements to other bands of the genre.
While I can’t call Volaða Land a magnificent album – do to its fair share of excessively generic passages – I can’t avoid thinking how this is, indeed, blackened death metal done right, with soul, consistency and technique. A heavy album, with amazingly well written aggressive passages, Draugsól really has taken a step forward into the genre, and I certainly see them achieving perfection on future albums.
With a lot more positive aspects than negative ones, Volaða Land is a decent choice for enthusiasts of the genre. A fearless, strong and emotive album, combining aggressive melodies with poetic harmonies – and exceedingly pervasive guitar lines – this record has it all to be considered a cornerstone of the genre, undoubtedly!
Wagner