(Does the fire still burn, or have Kvaen started cooling off? Our own Andy Synn finds out)
Success, or so they say, can be a double-edged sword. And they’re not necessarily wrong.
It’s something you see even in our beloved Metal scene (where what counts as “success” tends to vary depending on who you ask) – from bands who suddenly get a taste of mainstream acclaim and end up having to simplify and sanitise their sound to satisfy their new audience, to artists whose debut album set such a high bar that everything else they subsequently produce is inevitably judged (and often found wanting) in comparison.
And while Kvaen (aka the solo project of multi-instrumental marvel Jacob Björnfot) haven’t encountered the former issue just yet, there’s definitely an argument to be made that the arc of their career thus far has erred more towards the latter – in the sense that, as good as 2022’s The Great Below was (I even said so myself) it ultimately didn’t quite reach the same heights, or possess the same staying power, as their outstanding debut.
But just because success can cut both ways doesn’t mean that lightning can’t strike twice… so maybe the third time will be the charm?
Initial impressions (you can check out the title-track right now) suggest that The Formless Fires is, at the very least, just as good as its predecessor, with the opening five minute flurry of live-wire tremolo riffs and lightning-fast drums, interspersed with passages of galloping groove, plus an unashamedly hooky chorus and an indulgently proggy solo section, sounding even bigger – and better – than ever.
The Necrophobic-esque “Traverse the Nether” (which features a guest appearance from Sebastian Ramstedt himself) then shows off some even more intricate fretwork and punishingly precise drumming, its lashings of lethally infectious leads and deviously shifting dynamics putting the focus even more on hookiness (while still retaining sufficient heaviness to show off the band’s extra musical muscle).
And, in turn, this is followed by the churning grooves, chunky guitars, and charismatic chorus refrain of “Tornets Sång” – a song reminiscent of The Infernal Sea at their best – whose subtle clean-sung embellishments (which you’ll encounter more of at key points during the rest of the record) and skyscraping, stadium-filling solo suggest that Kvaen might well have some burgeoning ambitions outside of the underground.
At this point you’ll probably be thinking “well, so far, so good“, as the band have – for all intents and purposes – picked up pretty much where they left off with The Great Below, only in a leaner, meaner form that focusses a little more on melody without sacrificing the inherent intensity of their sound.
But then “The Ancient Gods” hits and things quickly go from good to great, as the song’s initial moody acoustics give way to a series of sinister, stomping riffs and utterly captivating choruses – all culminating in the sort of truly majestic lead refrain which recalls the likes of Spectral Wound and Dödsrit – which successfully shift the entire album’s vibe from “impressively dramatic” to “absolutely epic“.
And that’s pretty much the level the band maintains from this point on, from the all killer, no filler, blast-fuelled bombast of “Basilisk” – which, from a certain angle, could almost pass for a Black Metal version of The Black Dahlia Murder (and I mean that as a compliment) – and the Dissection-worshipping, mountain-straddling, fret-shredding “De Dödas Sång”, to the brooding, unexpectedly prog-tinged strains of “The Perpetual Darkness”.
It all climaxes with arguably the moodiest and most melodic song on the entire album, “The Wings of Death”, which – while still possessing a hefty metallic backbone, as well as some unashamedly heroic, Heavy Metal inspired hooks – simply reaffirms the fact that Kvaen are less interested in being “trve” or “kvlt” and more about simply being true to themselves, with the result being an album that positively shines like a bleakly beautiful diamond in the rough, by a band who thoroughly deserve any and all success that comes their way.