Dynfari - Myrkurs er þörf (2020)

Finally seeing the light of day after a COVID related delay, today we have our favorite album of 2020 so far: Dynfari’s “Myrkurs er þörf”. Slowly improving over each of their previous albums, this Icelandic outfit has managed to achieve near perfection with the eight tracks and 46 minutes of music in this release. Perfectly combining Post-Black Metal and Atmospheric Black Metal, the album is full of melancholy and lush atmospheres.

Opening with the mood setting bleakness of “Dauðans dimmu dagar”, the song slowly builds up with a majestic Lantlôs-esque opening as it transitions with magical distorted guitars and perfect pacing. On “Langar nætur (í botnlausum spíralstiga)” the mood takes a turn with more sweeping guitar melodies, intricate guitar solos, and a combination of dreamy clean vocals and harsh screams. This track creates a very dynamic and yet enveloping atmosphere that will hypnotize you as tracks like the album title track continue to build up on it.

Playing around with different elements, “Ég fálma gegnum tómið” starts in an enigmatic tone and slowly transitions into lush vocal arrangements and extreme catchiness. Serving as a nice transitioning piece, “Svefnlag” delivers dreamy Post-Rock-ish soundscapes. Our favorite track has to be the majestic “Ég tortímdi sjálfum mér”, which has a dramatic Doomy/Post-Black Metal vibe that is completely elevated with the soaring melancholic clean vocals and intense drumming.

Up until now, the songs have all been in Icelandic, but this changes with the cathartic 10-minute epic “Peripheral Dreams” and the lush “Of Suicice and Redemption”, another epic tale of melancholy that closes this release with great style. We are beyond blown away by the quality of this release and the very dynamic and engaging nature of it. Dynfari have managed to unleash a masterpiece that is our front runner to album of the year. If you haven’t heard of this great band, this release will set an extremely high bar.

Label: Code666 Records

Release: August 18th, 2020

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal

Country: Iceland