NORD

Nord is the debut album from French post metal band Year of no Light. I don´t know much about the band except that I was pleasantly surprised when I listened to Nord. The album was released in 2006. Year of no Light consists of two guitarists, one bassist, one drummer and a singer who also operates keyboards.

The music is very heavy and I´m more than one time reminded of Isis which is also due to the use of distorted hardcore growling vocals. Year of no Light also has a very melodic and sometimes allmost symphonic edge to their music which reminds me of a band like Shels. There are actually a considerable amount of melody amidst the heavy riffing which suits me fine. In post metal the riffs have a tendency to overstay their welcome but that is not the case with Year of No Light. They do play their riffs many times but they always build towards a climax and their way of doing this always seem to work.

The musiciaship is very good. The band is tight and I especially enjoy the sparse use of keyboards which means that Year of No Light has an extra trick up the sleeve when it is needed.

The production is very powerful.

The cover artwork is well done and gives you an indication of what´s inside.

Year of No Light is one of those albums that moves my boundaries when it comes ot liking a genre like Post Metal. It´s really enjoyable for me that some post metal bands appeal to me even though the genre as a whole isn´t the most exciting music style for me. Nord is so good that I´ll even reward it with a 4 star rating for being very heavy yet melodic and memorable. Great album.