Askdrömmar by Frozen Ocean

For two decades now Vaarwel, the creative entity behind the name Frozen Ocean, has been bringing us music to feed our imagination and infuse our dreams with wonder, terror, awe and magic. Eleven full length albums, each with utterly individual character yet unmistakeably part of the same grand, visionary tapestry, an array of dazzling EPs, split releases, compilations…the Frozen Ocean back catalogue is a cornucopia of treasures. So, to speak of Vaarwel having created the most enthralling and accomplished work ever to bear the unmistakeable Frozen Ocean logo is not a statement to be made lightly…and yet here we are, with album number twelve – Askdrömmar.

Askdrömmar leads us down the empty, moonlit street of opening track ‘Mångata’ into the heart of a city; a city that the music builds around us with its haunting blend of atmospheric black metal, melancholic melodies and dark ambient textures. This city is no dormant collection of bricks and metal…it lives, feeding on human emotion, on our avarice and anger, on our desperation as we run like trapped rats through a maze, locked into the bizarre and broken lives we have constructed. The powerful, driving rhythms of ‘Gristimmar’ hound us through this thrilling, terrifying dream world of shadows and neon light, Vaarwel’s imperious voice, black as night, carried on dancing keys and elemental guitars. ‘I lyktornas sken’ (meaning ‘In The Light Of Street Lamps’) conjures the imagined sanctuary of those pools of illumination, yet also the way the darkness deepens at the limits of their radiance. The cold sadness, the absolute aloneness of ‘Köttkvarn’ bleeds through the skin, transporting the listener far from any lingering perception of the world outside Askdrömmar’s cityscape. This album is overflowing with wonderful songcraft, hypnotic melodies, and incredible, harsh vocals…but it’s the emotions they invoke, the visions they inspire, the tangible reality of the environment that they create that make Askdrömmar so special. This album offers an experience like no other.

This superlative offering from Frozen Ocean will be released by Apocalyptic Witchcraft on -Feb 13th and will be available on CD digipak, cassette and digital formats, as well as an exclusive, extremely limited boxed set – all adorned in the perfect accompanying artwork, created by Mosaeye Art (The Hearth Of Discordia, Shiningstar, Pyre etc). Be ready when your invitation to walk the streets of Askdrömmar arrives…this cannot be missed.

Atmospheric/ambient one man band run by Mikhail Savelev aka Vaarwel.

frozen-ocean.net
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