QUINTESSENCE/REEDITION

Description

It's simple, "Quintessence" is THE quintessential album by the Norwegian black metal band Borknagar, no less! The undoubtedly most aggressive track on the album, "Rivalry Of Phantoms," quickly plunges you into an incredible trance. Plenty of heavy double bass drumming, fast and distorted riffs as they should be, and a black metal vocal full of rage – the perfect track to open an album of this caliber. It's Simen Hestnæs's last performance with the band, and it's clear that his best work by far is on this album. Just listen to "Ruins Of The Future" to realize it, one of Borknagar's best tracks. His vocals are impeccable: an excellent clean voice and an ultra-raw black metal voice, sometimes bordering on death metal. The sound, meanwhile, was left in the hands of the legendary Peter Tägtgren, and it shows! The vocal arrangement alone is reminiscent of what you can hear in Hypocrisy. "Quintessence" is packed with hits from start to finish: The aggressive "Rivalry Of Phantoms" and "Ruins Of The Future" make you move frantically. "Colossus," on the other hand, is more melodic, with no black metal vocals (or almost none), focusing more on the band's epic side, which has now almost disappeared. The dreamlike "Invincible," "Icon Dreams," and "Genesis Torn" leave listeners reflective and relaxed. Then there's "Revolt," a track still considered today one of the best Borknagar has ever composed. Everything is perfect in this song: dark atmosphere, slow mid-tempo riffs, but also fast and aggressive at opportune moments, a cool spacey solo, extraordinary vocals, brilliant lyrics... in short, a cult song.