Sundrowned – "Become Etheral"
Post-Black Metal From Norway
On Friday, Sundrowned will release their debut album "Become Etheral". I have already listened to it and strongly recommend it to you. It is a marvellous piece of work that you definitely shouldn't miss.
Drowning in the sun and dissolving into an ethereal figure of light – whether the album is about that is a wild guess. But it's not just the title and band name that stimulate the imagination and provide a strong pitch for stories.
The post-black metal band from Haugesund, Norway, released their debut on Fisisk Format. Ørjan Kristoffersen Lund (NAG, Avast, Agenda) from Bridge Burner Recording Studio in Stavanger produced the record. Brad Boatright (From Ashes Rise, Sleep, Nails) from Audioseige took care of the mastering. It was an essential part of his work to preserve a certain clarity for the individual notes despite the reverberant and heavy sound.
Sundrowned combines lightness and heavy riffs
Sundrowned's sound is partly reminiscent of bands like Rosetta and Alcest but follows a different approach. The focus lies on atmospheric sounds and melancholic melodies. The heavy riffs are more like a strong background that holds everything together – but that doesn't detract from the joy.
Sundrowned is mostly the solo project of Jone Amundsen Piscopo. Aron Eggertsson, Gabriel Innocent, and Markus Jakobsen supported him on the record, and they also accompany him during his live performances.
Solid metal allusions follow the soft and light moments on "Become Ethereal". This gives it a well-balanced amount of drive and leads to perfect equilibrium. The dreamy parts do not seem too extended and do not overload the album at all.
Alchemy and the search for perfection
"Become Ethereal" is the prelude of an album series with three parts that sees the colourful facets of humanity through the lens of classical alchemy – in search of perfection.
Jone Amundsen Piscopo took up the concept of a soul that exists in the form of memories. His music is about both – the actions that influence us and how the people around us shape our personality and emotional state overtimes.
Norwegian artist Bernhard Østebø designed the album cover during an art performance that took place at a Sundrowned concert. He improvised charcoal drawings while the band played. Later they became the artwork or the record.
Through this fragile technique, Bernhard has managed to create a clear and almost formless visual style that perfectly complements the aesthetics of the music.