Dynfari – The Four Doors of the Mind (2017)

Unleashing their most mature work to date, today we have Iceland’s Dynfari and their fourth full-length release “The Four Doors of the Mind”. Delivering over 48 minutes of majestic music, the band finds itself transitioning into more atmospheric and dreamy music than before while retraining some of their aggressive roots.

Opening with the dreamy album title track, the mood is set with a very martial pace and very interesting spoken vocals. The album continues its build-up as “1st Door: Sleep” slowly picks up the pace and the clean guitars give way for heavier distorted riffs, harsh vocals and pummeling drums. Keeping up the intensity, “Sorgarefni segi eg þér” delivers seven-minutes of killer tempo changes and lush melodic passages.

We particularly enjoy how the band takes its time in developing a song and slowly starts incorporating elements into the mix to create a truly immersive experience, a fine example of this is the masterful “2nd Door: Forgetting”. Using their interludes to advance their lyrical story and to immerse the listener into the band’s complex atmosphere, “Sorg” is a very mellow piece that perfectly fits into the album’s musical progression and masterfully leads into “3rd Door: Madness” (one of the dreamiest and most dramatic songs in this release).

As the album closes with the delicate “4th Door: Death”, we are left to ponder such a powerful musical exploration with this last majestic 13-minute piece. Jóhann Örn does a brilliant job in crafting intricate guitar melodies that perfectly layer together and create a very immersive and unique experience. The whole release comes together very cohesively thanks to the band’s masterful ability to craft free flowing music that is both captivating and melancholic.

After generating very high expectations with their previous release, Dynfari manages to surpass that magical album and presents us with one of the first candidates for best album of 2017. If you like atmospheric and dreamy music with a good measure of heaviness and uniqueness, look no further and pick up a copy of “The Four Doors of the Mind”.

Label: Code666 Records

Release: April 14th, 2017

Genre: Atmospheric Post-Metal / Post-Black Metal

Country: Iceland