Nordagust is a six piece act hailing from the home of black metal, Norway. This release first came out as demo in 2007.
First things first, this is not a black metal disc, not even a metal CD. The band is being labeled as progressive rock, which is correct actually. Nordagust means "spirit of the north wind", according to Nordic mythology. They are said to be using a wide array of sounds and traditional instruments. I did hear some mouth harp, string instrument and a few nature samplings (birds & water), but a vast display seems to be pretty far fetched. Next, the vocals…I guess the expression "an acquired taste" applies here. With too much treble and a complaining feel, I found them distractive and somewhat annoying at times. The best part of their music is the keyboard work; always bringing a pleasant touch of darkness and ambience. The bass and drumming are just doing their basic rhythmic duties, in a generally shy fashion. As for the guitar playing, well, it's ok, but not the level one would expect from a progressive band. It does have its crunchy moments and, at times he could use some tasty effects in his licks, although nothing outstanding is being proposed. As a matter of fact, after track # 6, "Forcing", one good instrumental piece by the way, the album starts to become boring and one can feel that an hour is a bit too long when nothing new is offered. Sorry guys, but when you grew up with Pink Floyd, Gentle Giant, Yes and Frank Zappa, it takes a hell of a great band to impress you, see. Besides the already mentioned instrumental, "In the Woods" is another pleasant instrumental; while compositions such as: "Expectations" and "Elegy" do have their pleasant moments.
I normally enjoy music coming from Norway better than this. I think Nordagust simply didn't have the means to match their pretentions.
Track listing:
1- In the Mist of Morning
2- Expectations
3- Mysterious Ways
4- In the Woods
5- Elegy
6- Forcing
7- Frozen
8- The Tide
9- Make me Believe
10- Elegy Epilogue
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