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Mortiis
Ånden som Gjorde Opprør

Projekt

Posted: Tuesday, February 13, 2007
By: Matthew Johnson
Assistant Editor

One of a pair of reissues from the period following Mortiis's work with black metal band Emperor but preceding his more industrial phase, Ånden som Gjorde Opprør typifies the artist's self-described "dark dungeon music" with two extended orchestral pieces. Both tracks, "En Mørk Horisont" and "Visjoner av en Eldgammel Fremtid" (roughly translated from Norwegian, "Reflections of Horizons Dark" and "Visions of a Future Centuries Ago," respectively), are built from layered orchestral keyboards, with strings playing the predominant role on the first track and brass on the second. The particular sound patches employed on this album are clearly synthesized, and there isn't much of an emphasis on either purely electronic sounds on the one hand or symphonic realism on the other. This gives the whole affair a definite soundtrack feel, which is particularly emphasized by the evolving tone of "En Mørk Horisont," which builds to the sort of intensity one might associate with a chase or fight scene in film before fading off into the soft but dramatic contemplation often used in wide shots of natural scenery. Despite the often vivid sounds though, this album engages the imagination much more than the intellect. While there are some truly stirring moments here, particularly the orchestration on the latter half of "Visjoner av en Eldgammel Fremtid," all too often the loops from which these tracks are created are overly simple, offering emotional impact but little depth. Adding to this is a strong overtone of fantasy, compounded by the occasional guttural spoken parts and the propensity of Mortiis himself to dress up like a goblin, which may prove to be a turn-off to any but the most ardent fans of the genre. People who are into The Lord of the Rings trilogy, both in its book and movie form, as well as similar symphonic ambient works like Glenn Danzig's Black Aria, on the other hand, might want to consider adding this to their collections, especially now that it's widely available again.