Djevelsvart marked Glittertind’s first release as a full band, and for me personally it was the best album of 2013 by far, but what about the albums that preceded it, back when Glittertind was just the one-man-project of Torbjørn Sandvik?
Til Dovre Faller is a mini album that was released in 2005 on Norway’s day of independence (May 17), 100 years after the country’s independence from Sweden in 1905, and is a celebration of Norwegian freedom fighters throughout the years (if you want to read the full statement it can be read on the Wikipedia entry for the mini-album).
Quite simply, this mini album is a stunning release of an exceedingly high standard and one of the things that makes it so good is the sheer passion behind Sandvik’s performance throughout the whole thing, his vocals especially. They’re smooth and calming when they need to be, and rough and passionately noisy when the song calls for it.
A particular highlight is the closer The Battle Of Stiklestad, a beautiful and atmospheric piece that perfectly blends aggression with melody (the synths in this one are especially masterful) and it’s a satisfying end to the release, one last burst of energy before it’s all rounded up and over.
An all-round fantastic little release – and certainly something you can keep coming back to time and time again.
9/10
You can read our review of Djevelsvart here and our interview with Geirmund here.
