Nifrost - Motvind

We go wherever the wind takes us.

(Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on January 25th 2024.)  

Depending on who you ask, “Viking metal” can be a lot of things. It’s a rather nebulous descriptor that has been used by many to varying degrees of accuracy. More often than not, you see people tag any band that has a Nordic theme as such, despite their sound being anything but what Viking metal is actually supposed to be, that being a strain of black metal with an emphasis on an “epic” atmosphere and the use of folk influences. Nifrost is one such band, and seeing as they hail from Norway’s hotbed for the genre, it’s only natural that they’ll follow in their precursors’ steps. The band’s 2016 debut, Motvind, with its strikingly colourful artwork turned out to be a pleasant surprise from a style I never paid much mind to outside of a handful of heavy hitters.

Nifrost’s modus operandi involves all of Viking metal’s core tenets, the band using every trick in the book to its fullest extent. From the acoustic introduction that inaugurates the album and the crunchy riff that follows it, to the sailing melodies and leads on “Dei ville med vald”, Motvind is all about taking you on a journey through the Scandinavian fjords, giving you a romanticised glimpse in a time long past. Said feel is further accentuated by the varied vocal performances by Kjetil Andreas Nydal and Eyvind Aardal, who provide harsh and clean vocals that meld beautifully with each other across the 55-minute runtime. While they are used in conjunction often, there are tracks which emphasise one over the other, such as the ferocious “Ve”, whose almost death metal-esque inflection makes it one of the more intense moments presented, whereas “Vaart land” is steeped in melancholy, making great use of cleaner passages.

That being said, the album definitely takes a moment to pick up. The first three tracks all have a steady mid-tempo, and the fact that they take up more than 16 minutes of the total runtime makes for a slow start, despite some vaguely thrashy sections on “Ufred” and some Enslaved-inspired riffing on “Sitring”. This problem is further exacerbated by the fact that these three songs end similarly, using the tried-and-true “harsh and clean vocals over a cool lead melody”, which gets tiresome. It’s obvious that they know how to put together some effective tunes, evidenced by the fact that things kick into high gear after that point, making one wonder why they resorted to that specific way of wrapping up a lot of the cuts here.

If anything, Motvind is one of those cases where the deep cuts are the real standouts, seeing as it hits its stride at the halfway point. The furious blackened thrash riffing of “Dei ville med vald” feels like a kick to the teeth, setting a level of energy that the band manages to maintain while mixing things up, such as with the punky introduction of the following track, “Marebakkjen”, or the aforementioned “Ve”. Even the more relaxed cuts such as “Vaart land” aren’t tiresome because the album is simply paced better, and that also goes for the title track, which serves as our closer. Though it does boast a similar structure to “Byrdesong”, it serves a purpose by bringing things full circle, boasting a rather epic riff with a melodious lead on top, providing us with a sense of finality. Had either the second or third song been placed anywhere else this whole experience would’ve been a breeze, but as it stands they make for the only time here where the length of the record is felt.

As for the production, it’s crisp and voluminous, if a little on the clean side. The guitars are endowed with a great deal of crunch, while the bass’ rattling makes its presence felt throughout, at times providing its own little flourishes. As for the drums, they’re appropriately pulverising, especially the kick drums, with Henrik Messe getting a lot of mileage out of them. Surprisingly enough, at no point were things particularly overblown, and despite how big everything is it didn’t feel disingenuous or forced. Metal that tries sounding “epic” tends to also come along with a great deal of ear fatigue, but Nifrost manages to avoid that and at the same time instil a sense of grandeur in the listener.

Motvind might just be “another Viking metal album, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t a well-executed one. Nifrost broke out into the scene with a fully realised vision, and that in and of itself is admirable. Though things might drag a little in parts, it does open up on repeat listens, and is definitely something worth visiting more than once. Good thing I’ve 2 more projects of theirs to dive into before I start anxiously waiting for them to put out something new.

Highlights: Byrdesong, Dei ville med vald, Ve, Vaart land

Rating: 84%