Nordlys - Dark Publications

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Similar Items:

•	Where Twilight Dwells
•	Lux Noctis
•	Bloodangel's Cry
•	Faith
•	Turning Season Within

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars

Good but lacking April 7, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

The first album where twilight dwells showed a lot of promise and overall I liked it, but the song writing was weak in places. In places the singer sounded amazing and in other places badly out of tune, out of time etc. Yet I heard an inexperienced band that had a lot of potential and I liked the concept and style they had built so I awaited the second album. Here it is.

Yes there is a great deal of improvement from the first album and a refinement of their stylistic vision. Yet the first thing that stands out to me when listening to this album is that while the "folk metal" concept may be original, the melodies are not. All the music is highly melodic but all the melodies are from some other song. Usually a Nordic folk song or some other Nordic melody found in metal. Many of the riffs in the rythem sound familiar too. The music though did have a good sound, while not original song writers they are great performers. Musically the band sounded like Nightwish in parts, other parts dark and Gothic like old Theatre of Tragedy or Marylyn Manson or something. Other parts like Northern Light had a folksy acoustic sound similar to Lyset or Ankomst that Leaves Eyes has done. Though the guitar has a unique deep tone that I like a lot that gives it a different sound. The vocals sound better when sung in Norwegian. When in English there is an accent that makes it harder to understand and she seems to have more trouble staying in key and time when singing in English. Maybe she is concentrating too much on the English, but it is less natural for her. Also the singing sounds better on the heavier songs than the ones that more acoustic and where the limitations of her voice become more obvious. Her singing is not really good, but the producers added a lot of special effects and such to it so that it sounds awsome in a lot of the songs. If you don't know what I'm talking about think about Ozzy. He can't sing, but they use effects on his voice that makes it sound great. Similar thing here. Compared to punk rock or regular metal bands her singing is great. Compared to the more similar symphonic metal works of Liv Kristine (her sister), Tarja (of Nightwish), and Therion it doesn't stand up to them (yet.. maybe she'll keep getting better).

Also they took out a lot of the trumpet and piano sounds that were in the first album. I think the album would have been better with them, but they want to distance themselves from being labeled "symphonic metal" and are trying to develop their own unique "folk metal" sound further. Overall both the singing and the music was better than the first album though.

Open Your Eyes: Good song. But sounds like a typical Nightwish song or something. It's so typical that it is almost cliche'
Skogens Lengsil: the best song on the album in my opinion. Very Nordic sounding. I feel like I'm on a viking ship when I listen to this.
Northern Light: Has a Leaves Eyes feel to it. A good song but the singing is filled with so many effects and it lacks rythem making it feel weird.
Konkylie: a dark almost Gothic sounding ballad but with a unique lighter Midnattsol feel to it. At first I didn't think much of it, but it grows on you. The guitar riffs sound very good but I'm left thinking "where did I hear that before?"

Anyway that's all the songs I'm going to review. Overall I would recommend this album, but I wouldn't get as exited about it as a new release from one of the larger players in the industry.

5 out of 5 stars

Midnattsol is the future May 21, 2008
Midnattsol is the best of the newer bands along with Krypteria. Midnattsol has a unique sound that sets them apart. Carmen Espenaes is one of the best female vocalist around. I highly recomend their Nordlys CD. Midnattsol has an innate prestidigitation for high caliber folk metal.

3 out of 5 stars

FOLK METAL LITE June 27, 2008
MIDNATTSOL showed in their last album that they could occasionally crank out a really good song, so now with their follow-up album we'll see if they got better, worse, or stayed put.

Sadly, the album gets off on the wrong foot. The first song to grab my attention was "Konkylie", which is track 4. And even that song gets off to a slow start. The vocals are not very impressive, either, but there are a few simple but notable guitar sections.

You could call this Folk Metal but you'd have to keep the emphasis on Folk, as the songs are rather tame. Even their last album wasn't all that heavy.

"New Horizon" and "En Natt I Nord" are two other tracks to check out. The first is wonderfully peaceful and the second is closer to something you would have heard on their first album.

But to me, the biggest shocker is this: The best track on the whole album is the BONUS TRACK, "Octobre". Usually the Bonus Track is a mere after-thought, something the band whipped up at the last minute. Even more shocking are the male vocals (clear and almost Gregorian). That's right, Carmen does not sing on this one! It's even more heavy, putting the emphasis back on Metal.

When the best track is the last one AND a bonus track, you know there are problems. So while I rate this the same as their previous album, in reality it's closer to a 2.5. I wouldn't bother buying the whole album, but feel free to check out the previously mentioned tracks and get them as MP3s here on Amazon.

5 out of 5 stars

An excellent and haunting album October 5, 2008
Recently having been introduced to "symphonic metal" through Nightwish, I have been looking for other such bands. Midnattsol was a name I found (classified as "symphonic/nordic folk metal"), and I am very happy I did! All of the songs have (in my opinion) a "haunting" and "enchanting" feel. Carmen Elise Espenaes, the female lead singer, has a clear and beautiful voice that complements the music, adding to the feel. Also, on the "Limited Edition" version of the album is the (one) bonus track "Octobre", a song written especially for Daniel Droste (previous guitarist of the "funeral doom metal" band AHAB), one of the guitarists. This is the only song on this album on which he sings, but it is well worth buying the "Limited Edition" version for this song as he also has a clear and complimentary voice that is more operatic, setting him apart from most other male vocalists in this genre.

So if you are looking for something "different" with beautiful vocals and an enchanting (but metal) feel, try out this album - you just might be happy you did!

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