Snøgg started as a one-man band in 2013 when Slovenian artist Matej Voglar decided to try something new. The goal was to establish a brand new band but by the end, Snøgg ended up becoming a duo. A few live shows followed, sometimes as a solo act by Matey, who goes by the pseudonym Ulv. Now, their self titled ep is unleashed upon the world and it makes me hungry for live performances.
What sets Snøgg apart from other black metal bands isn't just the massive use of keyboards and electronics, neither is is only the chaotic approach of the extreme passages. It also isn't the track duration. 'Snøgg' is one twenty six minutes lasting piece. No, what sets Snøgg apart is the brilliant combination of all these elements, along of course with the traditional black metal instrumentation and atmosphere.
In these twenty six minutes you can hear influences from dark ambient, black metal, melodic and progressive metal and even jazz, the latter mainly in the immensely varied song structure. This results in a highly interesting journey, sometimes calm and soothing and sometimes seemingly ripping open the gates of hell. This is 'kosmische black metal', something people like Tangerine Dream would have made if they would have hooked up with Darkthrone, or something like that.
Don't think about it, just check it out...
Serge