Band:	Vattnet Viskar
Album:	Settler
Style:	Atmospheric black metal, Doom metal
Release date:	June 16, 2015
A review by:	Auntie Sahar

01. Dawnlands
02. Colony
03. Yearn
04. Impact
05. Glory
06. Heirs
07. Settler
08. Coldwar

If there was an award this year for "most ambiguous album cover," it would probably have to go to Vattnet Viskar's Settler. Although the image itself reveals almost nothing about the music within, the image that it recreates has powerful implications of blissful unawareness of a fast approaching doom, somber themes that Vattnet Viskar seem to capture with their heavy and airy sound.

Musically speaking, Settler is not really too far off base from the sound that Vattnet Viskar established on their Sky Swallower debut. Midpaced and bright black metal riffs, almost of a WITTR variety, combine with an underlying sense of melody, along with some doom textures that seem to borrow influence from post metal in terms of the atmosphere that they bring. The music can be pounding ("Yeam"), aggressive ("Impact"), and beautiful as well ("Coldwar") into all the bases that it covers with this blend of various influences. Stylistically, however, Settler overall appears to be tilted much more to the black metal side of things than its predecessor was, and if you want to get really nitpicky about labels, it would probably be better to call this album "doomy black metal" than "blackened doom metal."

The fact that Settler is more BM than doom generated mixed emotions in me, to say the least. With blackened doom, I tend to be the type who prefers bands that go for more of a 50/50 approach between the two, and blend them rather seamlessly. This album isn't really like that, and its tracks have a way of sitting more in one territory than the other (compare "Glory" to "Heirs," for example). It's really only "Dawnlands" and "Coldwar," I would say, that feel like they struck a balance straight down the middle between the black and the doom. However, lack of balance isn't always necessarily a bad thing. While I may have preferred all of Settler to be like those before-mentioned tracks, if it had, there wouldn't have been the sense of variety that there is across it. So a big part of what makes this album great is the variation in the black to doom ratio all across it, because it keeps every track from sounding exactly the same. Like I said, mixed emotions.

Thus, even if Settler left some things to be desired, it was still an interesting listening experience, and one that somewhat changed my perception of the blackened doom style in a way. Because while I do prefer the 50/50 approach, this album has somewhat taught me how just how well bands can make alternatives to that work, and if you prefer that balance too, it could end up changing your perception as well. More "blackened" than before perhaps, but there's definitely no "sophomore slump" here, folks. Just more of a good band doing what they do, albeit slightly differently.

Go and get it.