Review by Adam M on April 1, 2012.

Borknagar have returned for another Progressive and Folk laced release and a good one it is. There are numerous mood shifts that make this album constantly interesting at every corner. The combination of clean, melodic vocals with the occasional Black Metal rasp makes for an interesting concoction. At times, the band sounds like a pure Black Metal band and at others a more ballad driven atmospheric act. Regardless, the band sounds like they’re laying the foundation for ancient structures at almost every corner of this very strong effort.

The early portions of the release aren’t amazing, but a very strong start for the release in general. 'Frostrite' has more clean vocals than almost any song to be found and is one of the most memorable tracks as well. The release is littered with strong tracks though including a Metallica cover that is probably even superior to the original. In terms of innovation and depth, some of both can be found here. The band expands on the sound of their previous albums slightly, but really maintains what albums like personal favourite "Quintessence" great. The band is generally quite reliable and proves to be easily stronger than the related outfit Vintersorg on "Urd". In terms of musical performances, there is little to be faulted, but epic nature that they form together that is the most noteworthy aspect of this album.

Progressive, yet melodic, the album still doesn’t have quite as many stellar moments as something like "Axioma Ethica Odini" by Enslaved, but it’s only a small step below that. This album is very worthy to anyone that likes inventive and thoughtful music that is wrapped within a very structured framework. There anything overly complex on "Urd", but it is interesting enough to keep you constantly coming back for more.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Innovation: 8
Overall: 8.5

Rating: 8.7 out of 10

Review by Adam M on April 1, 2012.

Borknagar have returned for another Progressive and Folk laced release and a good one it is. There are numerous mood shifts that make this album constantly interesting at every corner. The combination of clean, melodic vocals with the occasional Black Metal rasp makes for an interesting concoction. At times, the band sounds like a pure Black Metal band and at others a more ballad driven atmospheric act. Regardless, the band sounds like they’re laying the foundation for ancient structures at almost every corner of this very strong effort.

The early portions of the release aren’t amazing, but a very strong start for the release in general. 'Frostrite' has more clean vocals than almost any song to be found and is one of the most memorable tracks as well. The release is littered with strong tracks though including a Metallica cover that is probably even superior to the original. In terms of innovation and depth, some of both can be found here. The band expands on the sound of their previous albums slightly, but really maintains what albums like personal favourite "Quintessence" great. The band is generally quite reliable and proves to be easily stronger than the related outfit Vintersorg on "Urd". In terms of musical performances, there is little to be faulted, but epic nature that they form together that is the most noteworthy aspect of this album.

Progressive, yet melodic, the album still doesn’t have quite as many stellar moments as something like "Axioma Ethica Odini" by Enslaved, but it’s only a small step below that. This album is very worthy to anyone that likes inventive and thoughtful music that is wrapped within a very structured framework. There anything overly complex on "Urd", but it is interesting enough to keep you constantly coming back for more.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Innovation: 8
Overall: 8.5

Rating: 8.7 out of 10

Review by Alex on May 17, 2020.

Had to take a long close look at where this was coming from cause had I left it up to my instincts, either Finland or The United States would be chosen. Well, it turns out this bag of debris is being fetched on the back of a Polish band going under the name, Clairvoyance. Their debut demo scheduled to be released through Caligari Records (whom just love excavating all kinds of crude underground specimens) takes a page out of Cenotaph (Mexico) and Convulse's early work and applies a slightly Finnish bruise to the Polish marsh just under the surface of the putrefying meat. 3 well-seasoned tracks of death metal extremities, just around 10 minutes of power-slamming blast-beats, riffs and cacophonous vocals, plow right through you like a sharpened dagger to warm butter.

Just a load of contaminated grime is offered for you to roll around in on this demo. From the thrashing beat-down of 'Pointless Rebirth' to the mid-tempo doomy overcast of 'Broken Shackles' followed by the 'Hammer Smashed Face' attributes of 'Abyss', Clairvoyance makes it a personal obligation to squash and burn to a cinder any worth existing in the shell of your body. This is some surprise coming from Poland mostly known for its black metal wickedness. They've got quite a few good death metal bands, but I'll take this old school (92) wrecking ball to the speakers 10/10 times. If you have any love at all for death metal or are a fan of Tomb Mold or any of the bands mentioned, then there's no reason not to have this when it comes out on cassette 28th June 2020.

The underground death metal groins are about to get hit pretty hard.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Alex on May 17, 2020.

Had to take a long close look at where this was coming from cause had I left it up to my instincts, either Finland or The United States would be chosen. Well, it turns out this bag of debris is being fetched on the back of a Polish band going under the name, Clairvoyance. Their debut demo scheduled to be released through Caligari Records (whom just love excavating all kinds of crude underground specimens) takes a page out of Cenotaph (Mexico) and Convulse's early work and applies a slightly Finnish bruise to the Polish marsh just under the surface of the putrefying meat. 3 well-seasoned tracks of death metal extremities, just around 10 minutes of power-slamming blast-beats, riffs and cacophonous vocals, plow right through you like a sharpened dagger to warm butter.

Just a load of contaminated grime is offered for you to roll around in on this demo. From the thrashing beat-down of 'Pointless Rebirth' to the mid-tempo doomy overcast of 'Broken Shackles' followed by the 'Hammer Smashed Face' attributes of 'Abyss', Clairvoyance makes it a personal obligation to squash and burn to a cinder any worth existing in the shell of your body. This is some surprise coming from Poland mostly known for its black metal wickedness. They've got quite a few good death metal bands, but I'll take this old school (92) wrecking ball to the speakers 10/10 times. If you have any love at all for death metal or are a fan of Tomb Mold or any of the bands mentioned, then there's no reason not to have this when it comes out on cassette 28th June 2020.

The underground death metal groins are about to get hit pretty hard.

Rating: 8 out of 10