ALBUM REVIEW: Eventide – The Flight of Sleipnir

Formed in Colorado in 2007, THE FLIGHT OF SLEIPNIR have been plugging away with their blend of doom, folk and stoner metal ever since. Named after the eight-legged horse of Odin, they have a penchant for Norse imagery and mythology in their lyrics and seventh record Eventide is no different, released May 28th via Eisenwald.

THE FLIGHT OF SLEIPNIR are not a band to take their primary sounds and run with them – they’re at ease with mixing in other genres and seeing what happens. Opening track Voland begins in the 90s, with a passage and tone that wouldn’t look out of place on anything released in that decade that would be classed at alt-rock. Towards the end though there’s also an element of sludge in the guitars for example – not a lot, but it’s a nice swerve from how things began.

Following song January begins in a much harsher way; vocalist David Csicsely provides echoed screaming throughout, but this time the riffs are more blackened and the drums match. Like its predecessor though the song soon turns doomy and SABBATH-like before one final burst of extreme energy gives way to cleaner guitars and the sound of birdsong; no, really.

Thaw, track number three, begins more in a classic metal style, although that gives way to more tremolo picking and, in the middle the first signs of a more folk-orientated sound to Eventide. Whilst this may sound like an album that’s all over the place and struggling to find its identity, every song transitions smoothly between styles and no section feels out of place. Even Bathe The Stone In Blood, which opens with acoustic guitar and little in the way of distortion, has enough elements of PINK FLOYD involved to fit perfectly within the context of the album – special mention to both Dave Borrusch and Justin Siegler whose guitar work here is exemplary. It doesn’t stay that way of course, it gets heavier again, but continues to switch between the two across its eight-minute length.

The penultimate track is Harvest, which also opens acoustically, and with added piano. It’s Csicsely’s first moment of proper clean vocals on the album and he does so in a manner that floats along with the music underneath, adding an extra layer to the soundscape as opposed to piercing through; again, though, it resumes a heaviness halfway through. The final track, Servitude, begins heavy once more and finds time to incorporate prog, death metal and even a slice of post-metal for good measure. By now however the constant variety in the tracks is becoming a bit tiresome; it’s certainly getting to the point where SLEIPNIR appear to have written each song three times and mashed the best bits together, regardless of the impressive depth to their talents on show.

Eventide feels like the metal equivalent of a sample platter – plenty of elements to get your teeth into, and from there you can decide what you like and proceed to find similar bands who play that style of music. However, whilst the constant chopping and changing throughout songs is executed well, those who may just want one particular style are going to be left feeling a little short-changed by THE FLIGHT OF SLEIPNIR.

Rating: 6/10

Eventide is out now via Eisenwald.

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