White Willow – Terminal Twilight (2011)

As one of the most beautifully composed and yet perplexingly complex albums of 2011, today we have White Willow’s release “Terminal Twilight”. In this release, the band takes us on a journey lasting nine tracks of trippy synths, enchanting vocals, and a King Crimson-like atmosphere unlike anything we have heard before. After the excellent release by Leprous this year, we can’t help but wonder what is in the Norwegian water that drives musician’s creativity to this level of awesomeness.

Opening with “Hawks Circle”, this album starts in a very trippy and ethereal way. The vocals in this song sound like a mixture of Agnete M. Kirkevaag of Madder Mortem and Ann-Mari Edvardsen (ex The 3rd and the Mortal). The flutes nicely creep into the music making this song very dynamic and engaging. In an even more hypnotic way, “Snowswept” delivers a haunting atmosphere that will suck you right into the band’s own musical universe.

Moving into even more subtle and enchanting territories, “Kansas Regrets” delivers a very emotional track that nicely shines thanks to the excellent flutes on it and the overall atmosphere created. Transferring a very warm feeling, “Red Leaves” returns to the progressive side of things and delivers one of the best songs of this release. Our favorite tracks are the monumental and emotional rollercoaster rides crafted by both “Floor 67” and “Searise”. In “Floor 67”, for over 10 minutes the band pulls all the stops to deliver a very well crafted track that mixes almost everything presented in this release. “Searise” features some more string instruments and a very somber atmosphere that fits our mood on a cloudy and raining day.

Closing the release we have “The Howling Wind”, a track that feels like a part of a theater play. By closing the album as weirdly as it started, the band comes full circle with a very engaging and unparalleled release. The band’s musical capabilities are just impressive and the instrumentation presented in this release is very nicely put together to create a very hypnotic and yet chaotic atmosphere. If you are looking for something on the progressive side, but with much more creativity and freshness, look no further and get “Terminal Twilight”.

Release: October 11th, 2011

Country: Norway