Sylvaine - Nova (2022)

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Being huge fans of multi-instrumentalist Sylvaine and her enchanting music, we completely cleared our review queue and went deep into the intricacies and layers of “Nova”. Perfectly balancing the fragility of genres like Shoegaze and Atmospheric Metal with the aggression of Black Metal and Post-Metal influences, this release marks Sylvaine’s best effort to date with around 45 minutes of complex enchanting music.

Setting a very ethereal vibe with the album title track, things quickly escalate with the piercing guitars of “Mono No Aware”. This track perfectly blends onslaughts of harsh screams alongside dreamy vocal melodies, creating a very intense and yet melancholic atmosphere. We are always quite impressed with the build-up of songs like “Nowhere, Still Somewhere”, which slowly hypnotize the listener with siren-like vocal arrangements and shoegazey guitars.

The album’s centerpiece has to be the lush “Fortapt” and its mood transitions between clean guitars waved between ethereal vocal lines and a hefty dose of harsh screams. Showcasing a more playful and different side, “I Close My Eyes So I Can See” keeps things fresh and interesting while “Everything Must Come To An End” introduces a darker and more solemn tone.

As a whole, “Nova” further refines Sylvaine’s sound into a blanket of dreamy and ethereal atmospheres baked in with melancholic heaviness. Getting better with each release, we again find ourselves quite impressed and intoxicated with the tracks presented here as they are each magical in their own way. Luckily for North American audiences, Sylvaine will be touring in the next couple of months with Amorphis and Uada, so be sure to check her out live and get a copy of this excellent release.

Bands: Sylvaine Album: Nova

Label: Season of Mist Records

Release: March 4th, 2022

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Genre: Post Metal/Shoegaze

Country: Norway

Rating: 98/100
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