ALBUM REVIEW: Norska - "Too Many Winters"

By: Charlie Butler


Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 26/05/2017
Label: Brutal Panda Records

“Too Many Winters” is a captivating collection of powerful doom steeped in Norska’s unorthodox and compelling personality.

“Too Many Winters” DD//LP track listing:

1). Samhain
2). Eostre
3). Too Many Winters
4). This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
5). Wave of Regrets
6). Fire Patience Backbone


The Review:

Portland continues to deliver the strange heavy goods with Norska’s new LP, “Too Many Winters”. The band boast YOB bassist Aaron Rieseberg within their ranks and take a similarly exploratory approach but with a style all of their own. Over the course of this fine record they take a range of familiar influences from across the sludge/doom spectrum and immerse them in a cauldron of hazy nocturnal weirdness.

“Samhain” acts as an appropriate welcome into Norska’sdark sonic world. Passages of rumbling Melvins-style riffage shift into spiky guitar lines reminiscent of early Mastodon that usher in a furious finale imbued with spirit of true heavy metal. The combination of these elements alone would make for a thrilling ride but the band inject their own distinct, murky atmosphere to create an air of compelling mystery. 

The central duo of the title track and “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” form the mind warping pinnacle of “Too Many Winters”. The former opens in familiar fashion with complex discordant melodies forming the basis of the band’s attack before the track takes a left turn into the unknown. The noise falls away to an eerily quiet nightmarish lullaby complete with heavily effected guitars that sound as if they are shivering. Jim Lowder’s vocals are excellent throughout the album, but when he moves from aggressive barks and screams to deliver the finale of this track in an otherworldly clean baritone it is truly odd and effective. The snail-paced doom of “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” provides more opportunities for Lowder to demonstrate his talent, ramping up the ominous tension in the spaces between the band unleashing slabs of crushing full-volume riffage.

“Too Many Winters” is a captivating collection of powerful doom steeped in Norska’sunorthodox and compelling personality.

“Too Many Winters” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook