Fälaren – Ljora

Writing for Metal-Revolution means that you get a lot of fascinating stuff emailed to you, pretty much every day. For those that loudly proclaim that metal is dead: you have no idea what you’re on about. Metal is not front-and-center anymore, but it’s very much alive, as my inbox is proof of. This leads to yours truly having a plethora of stuff to choose from, and most things never get listened to. A request really has to “pop” and feel unique. Enter Fälaren.

An email containing a band signed to Apollon Records always excites me, mainly because Apollon is a fantastic record store with something like 40+ beers on tap (that’s just a guestimate from my last visit there), great atmosphere, intimate concerts and a record studio attached. And it takes me 20 minutes to walk there from my house. In other words: I’m about to write about my local record store… But trust me, this does not lower the standards one bit. If anything, the standards are probably higher for this one. It is very much in my own self-interest to have a vibrant, top-quality music-scene in Bergen, and I’m not settling for any less. Which seems to suit Fälaren perfectly.

My first thought when reviewing Ljora – the debut-album of Trondheim-based band Fälaren – was that “this is not metal!”. That thought originated in the first two minutes of the opener, “Ruinam”, and it is of course bullshit, but it’s probably a thought most metal fans will have when listening to Ljora for the first time. The reason for this turns out to be the bright, sunny, Nordic-jazz atmosphere that joyfully infects this album and seemingly makes it too bright to be cool and edgy. Then, about 1:30 into the first song, some bass-lead drive develops, small rock/metal elements get added, and suddenly we’re lightly headbanging to Nordic-inspired folk-rock with a smile.

“Leilani pt.1” drags down the tempo, but this track is also ever-developing, clearly curious and exploring, which makes it more than just a little breather. It’s atmospheric and beautiful, a theme that will be carried throughout the entire album. Then comes the first true highlight, aptly named “Leilani pt.2”. This might be a relatively progressive album in terms of music, but these guys certainly stuck to convention when naming the tracks.

“Leilani pt.2” starts off bright and airy with a very nice tone, and it becomes faster and more energetic approximately 2 seconds before I’m about to complain that it’s on the verge of getting boring. And that becomes a theme. Fälaren clearly understands what they need to do in order to subvert expectation, and they never change it up just for show. There are tons of elements at play throughout almost every single song, never mind the album as a whole. The influences are endless and eclectic, yet they’ve managed to contain it and Ljora is thus an album that feels like it’s sliding effortlessly into new territory all the time without ever stuttering, faltering or flirting with boredom.

And thus, this little jam-fest – which was mainly recorded live at Apollon without a producer or engineer – flows on. I’d like to point out that every single song on this record feels like an adventure and whilst they work seamlessly together, any one of these tracks would do perfectly on their own. There is simply not a bad song on this album.

But some tracks stand out, and the first track to truly blow me away, is “Skækkent”. This is 7+ minutes of Norwegian Folk meets Alice In Chains and it’s absurdly good. “Skækkent” purposefully drags its feet, being melodic and darker than the other tracks, yet still relatively airy and playful. It’s like a temperamental teenager, and it works really well.

“Molthra” is fuzzier and heavier, it almost feels like listening to Pentagram for 2 minutes, before it finds its feet and returns to being Fälaren, but tracks like this makes me feel like these musicians are capable of virtually anything. When it is all said and done, there is only one thing left to say: good job. This is one of the best debut albums I’ve heard in a very long time, and I can’t wait for more.

www.facebook.com/band.falaren