| The Forest of Doom (Demo) | 2001 | No Label |
The references are pretty clear: the ambient moments of Burzum come immediately to mind when listening to this work. Yet, the creators of this ambient demo have managed to show more than enough creativity and own ideas: the combination of the subdued spoken voice, the distant distortion guitars (perhaps reminding a bit of the other excellent ambient doom project Until death overtakes me), the bass which is moving around freely between the other instruments and the synth flute creates a strangely doomy atmosphere which shall certainly appeal to some doom fans.
The music drifts along endlessly without ever reaching a destination, suggesting the circular rather than linear composing tendencies of its creators. The evoked mood is not really depressive, neither 'happy' of course. A strange feel of serenity and calmness seems to linger all over this work.
This demo is very appropriate to meditate upon and I would suggest it to all doom fans who need some quiet meditation music between the relentless heaviness of the heavy ordnance of the genre…
1. Descent from the mountains of madness
2. The dreamshadows
3. Voyage through the aether (I)
4. The forest of doom
5. The ancients
6. Voyage through the aether (II)
Approx. 49 minutes
| Tolling Beyond The Tombs Of Ancient Grimnity (CD) | 2003 | No Label |
For those of you who do not know Trollmann Av Ildtoppberg already, allow me to introduce them. Trollmann Av Ildtoppberg is Norwegian for Magician/Warlock Of Fire peak mountain, which is an odd name for a band that in reality comes from England. As said, they only use two instruments to create their music. The deep wandering bass and the brighter synth form a perfect couple and create a rich yet simple music. Another of their trademarks, is the way in which the music always seems to wander on and on, never having a beginning, never finding an end. An eternal path of doomed philosophies.
After listening and enjoying their demo for quite a while now, I had quite different expectations for this EP. Unlike the chaotic wanderings of the music which was seen in the demo, they have instead focused on the calmness that their first work gave a preview to. Now the chaos has been sacrificed for the cause of embracing a more smooth and thoughtful calmness. This is music that gives you plenty of time to ponder about our miserable existence.
Does anyone remember the ground shaking bass of 'The Forest Of DOOM'? For those who enjoyed it, this EP includes a new and longer piece (6 minutes longer to be exact) in the same intense low, low bass. Not to mention a blood chilling horror synth that gives the whole track a kind of unsafe aura. Something new and something old mixed into a track that just creeps slowly up on you.
The very same track, 'Doom's Children', also has the only vocals to appear on the album. This was another surprise. Unlike the more hidden vocals of the demo, this speech is loud and deep. The lyrics are short, but interesting as -like everything on this album-, they make you think. When only a few words are chosen, why those exactly? What is the special meaning behind them? Hmm....
It is clear that the music of Trollmann Av Ildtoppberg is maturing, and maturing fast. It is clear that they will continue to be one of the bigger names within drone for quite a while. There is a third release out which I have yet to hear, and I can't wait to get my hands on it.
1. Aether
2. Doom's Children
3. Tolling Beyond The Tombs Of Ancient Grimnity
Approx. 43 minutes
| Arcane Runes Adorn The Ice-Veiled Monoliths Of The Ancient Caverns Of Stars (mCD) | 2003 | No Label |
The sound of Trollmann Av Ildtoppberg used to be a deep buzzing and bassy one with a clearly distinguishable and minimalistic keyboard. This has now changed into a more ambient state without the deep bass, and with the keyboard merging in with the noisy buzz that replaced the bass. Another major change is that I do not hear any vocals at all. They are completely gone. From being a band with a clean and barely distorted sound, Trollmann Av Ildtoppberg has now changed into a highly distorted noise chamber.
Still as I mentioned before, there are still a few things that link this release to the previous ones. One of them is the depressive and thoughtful waves that seem to go on and on into infinity. Although lighter and noisier, the same aura of ever lingering sadness is still there. This is a thing that has not changed the least since the previous release, 'Tolling Beyond The Tombs Of Ancient Grimnity'. Trollmann Av Ildtoppberg are still the masters of grim philosophy, just like they have always been.
This release is really hard to compare to any other bands. The closest one that I can think of is Xyxyxma's first demo, 'As The Glass Shatters'. The extremely distorted noisiness is just the same. Yet this EP is much more silent and heavier on the heart. Actually I cannot think of any other release that sounds as utterly depressing as this one. Remaining in good mood while listening to this would be quite an achievement in itself, but laughing is utterly and undeniably, impossible.
It might well be that what this EP symbolises, is the bleak dawn of a new era of Trollmann Av Ildtoppberg, but after listening to it for so long I can only conclude that if they keep up making music that has such high standards, then it doesn't matter how many changes they undergo. Because then they will still make CDs that will stand the test of time and ultimately become classics in the drone genre.
1. Arcane Runes Adorn The Ice-Veiled Monoliths Of The Ancient Caverns Of Stars
2. Aeons Of Darkness
3. The Doom-Trolls Of Grelch
4. Beyond The Void
Approx. 58 minutes