Skumring
Demo 2004 (Demo) 2004 None
It surprises me that I have yet to hear of any band which follows in the footsteps of The 3rd And The Mortal. So when I heard samples of Skumring's music and recognized everything that I loved about early The 3rd And The Mortal, I jumped at the opportunity and got hold of one of these demos, which are sadly limited to just 100 copies. As a very welcome bonus the music has the heaviness that I always found lacking in The 3rd And The Mortal's music. The name Skumring is Norwegian for "dusk". And just like The 3rd And The Mortal, the band is indeed Norwegian too. All the lyrics are in Norwegian, and for those of us which understands them, it's safe to say that they fit the music far better this way. The female vocalist named Cecilie, has the same serene voice that the more famous Kari Rueslåtten has (The 3rd And The Mortal's vocalist during the doom releases). In fact, they're so similar I don't think I'd be able to tell the two apart based on the voice alone. But the music itself proves that Skumring is not completely The 3rd And The Mortal influenced. Although Skumring undeniably follows in their footsteps, they bring in some other influences as well, like the heavy riffage and rawer sound of another Norwegian band, Funeral. This and a little of their own creativity creates an utterly depressing mixture. In fact even during the one and only fast paced section on the demo, on the second track, 'De Glemte Tider' (translated as "the forgotten ages"), the music still feels very sorrowful. The lyrics on the album contain the wish of ending ones life, portrayed through emotions, metaphors and images of nature. 'Søvn' (translated as "sleep") in particular contains a lot of expressions of a nocturnal winter setting. Probably the most depressing track is the third one, 'Forførelse I Natten' (translation: "seduction in the night"). Its emotions of silent despair are numbing, until the final point at which the words tell how agony can be left behind. The wait is over. It's time to be happy in a better place, somewhere outside this life... This is probably one of the most touching and impressive releases that I ever have heard. It also seems to me that they are more than capable of creating more good music like this. So all fans of beautiful melodic doom with female vocals, and more specifically fans of The 3rd And The Mortal, pray that this promising young band stay doom and create more of this.	1. Søvn 2. De Glemte Tider 3. Forførelse I Natten Approx. 44 minutes
Reviewed by: Arnstein H. Pettersen
De Glemte Tider (CD) 2005 Aftermath
Skumring is a young Norwegian band, playing in what could be considered a distinctly Norwegian tradition that began in the early 1990's with The 3rd and the Mortal: heavy melodic doom with clean female lead vocals. Because most bands with female singers generally also tend to have a lot of keyboard and violin and whatnot, the thing Skumring are doing is something you don't hear so very often anymore. 'De Glemte Tider' [english: The Forgotten Times] is the official release of the band's 2004 demo, with brand new quality artwork and production. A look at the number of tracks and the total length should tell you that you're in for some lengthy songs. Well, that's right, all three clock 12+ minutes, the title track being the longest with 18+. As I indicated, the style is really slow doom metal with a female lead and excellent acoustic guitar playing by Vàli as support instrument. The mood of the album is, what else, very melancholic and sad, and this is very well expressed through the melodies. Another nice thing are the vocals, which carry that distinct lowish accent of lyrics sung in Norwegian, which can also be heard on, for example, Funeral's 'Taarene' or Thorr's Hammer's 'Norge'. Some highlights of this generally very good album are the heavy up-tempo banging part in 'De Glemte Tider' and the solo in 'Søvn' [Sleep], which is very reminiscent of that on Pantheïst's 'Don't Mourn'. This brings me to the part of this release which I like less. A lot of the melodies and chord progressions are a little too deja vu-inducing. Many are the times when you think, "this is nice and doomy, but I've heard this a lot of times before." Additionally, the lyrics are also on the cliché side, though this will go unnoticed by non-Scandinavians. However, if none of this bothers you, don't hesitate to check this album out. Although not terribly original, the execution is excellent, and Skumring are a welcome addition to the doom underground, if only for adding some heaviness and quality to the host of melancholic/romantic doom bands around.	1. Søvn 2. De Glemte Tider 3. Forførelse I Natten Approx. 44 minutes
Reviewed by: Oscar Strik