Vetrar Draugurinn - The Night Sky (2021)

With the amount of releases we get at Infernal Masquerade, sometimes killer albums fall through the cracks and we end up reviewing them later than anticipated. In this category, today we have Dutch outfit Vetrar Draugurinn and their sophomore full-length release “The Night Sky”. Featuring one of our favorite singers, Marjan Welman of Autumn fame, and ex-Stream of Passion guitarist Eric Hazebroek, this band creates a very unique and dense sounding Gothic/Doom Metal.

Opening with the heavy riffs of “The Observer”, this track nicely combines melancholic passages with some proggy influences, creating a very unique and powerful style that nicely bleeds into “The Night Sky”. For fans of more melancholic and Autumn-like songs, “Lansdown Hill” perfectly uses Marjan’s vocals alongside clean male vocals to create a dark and somber piece.

Far from linear or predictable, songs like “The Fear of Letting Go” nicely shake things up and change the flow of the album, only to allow pieces like “The Lonely” to continue the Doomy and moody onslaught of catchiness. Aside from the crafty drums and guitars, the music has a very emotional atmospheric component, with pieces like “Our Lady Of Perpetual Emptiness” slowly building up creating a very dreamy sidereal experience.

Saving the best and most atmospheric for last, “As I Drift On An Ocean Towards A Distant Shore” and its piercing guitar work make way for the tour-de-force provided by “Reynisfjara”. Overall, “The Night Sky” is one of those very well crafted releases that have high replay value as there are always little details and intricacies to discover. We particularly think it is a plus that a release in this vein stays away from the typical growls or clean Doom vocals, and rather incorporates deep and penetrating female vocals into the mix.

Label: Dark Skies Coming Recordings

Release: October 1st, 2021

Genre: Gothic/Doom Metal

Country: Netherlands