Band:	Katla.
Album:	Móðurástin
Style:	Post-metal
Release date:	October 27, 2017
A review by:	RaduP

Disc I
01. Aska
02. Hyldýpi
03. Nátthagi
04. Hvíla
05. Hreggur
06. Móðurástin
07. Kul
08. Dulsmál

Disc II [Luxus bonus]
01. Aska [Analog Ashes Remix by NightStalker]
02. Hyldýpi [Epic Abyss Remix by Carsten Altena]
03. Nátthagi [Andvökunætur Remix by Legend]
04. Hvíla [Final Rest Remix by Germ]
05. Hreggur [Drowning Remix by Heljarmadr]
06. Móðurástin [Mother's Milk Remix by Eddie Risdal]
07. Kul [Nóttin er svo löng Remix by Tor R. Stavenes]
08. Dulsmál [Nighttime Remix by Ben Pakarinen]

If you want to read this just to see if this is better than the new Sólstafir, you're in luck! It is.

With a band named after one of the greatest active volcanoes and an album named after one of the strongest feelings in the world (Móðurástin apparently means "mother's love"), one must expect a wild ride, no? The language barrier didn't stop us with Sólstafir or Kontinuum, and it won't stop us now.

A lot of the songs, at least on the first half of the album aren't that much a far shot from what Gummi was already doing in Sólstafir (this is the last time I mention them, don't worry), although more on the succinct kind, but I'd have to admit that at least as much as catchiness is involved, Katla. had that figured out. Great songwriting, and layering, and choruses that made me wish I knew Icelandic, all that. However, Móðurástin is an album that starts revealing itself slowly especially since the longer songs only come in the second half, and there is black metal involved. The album might take some time to pick up some pace (I especially think the placement of "Hyldýpi" was a bit faulty, it being the album's opener after the intro), but the full listen is definitely rewarding.

Móðurástin manages to strike a balance of both the catchy and the interesting. As far as the latter is concerned, the soundscapes on this album are amazing on most tracks, but best heard on the album's closing track. Besides the obvious the band makes very good use of synths, strings, backing vocals, and plunderphonics. Sure, the post-rock tag is not exactly fitting, but the music world has yet to come up with a proper term for this regional sound that Iceland has been developing for about ten years. Certain post-rock elements are certainly to be found throughout, more obviously on "Dulsmál". As far as the former is concerned, one listen to "Nátthagi" should leave you with an earworm.

This isn't the first time these two musicians here have worked together. In fact, the first time they worked together was almost 20 years ago, way back on Potentiam's Bálsýn. And while that wasn't the one and only time, both have had varying amount of success with other bands, and it is just amazing to see how far they've come musically over the years. Einar's melodramatic baritone is probably his best vocal performance I've heard (see/hear "Kul"), topping even his black metal-eque shrieks on certain songs. Gummi's drumming is also noticeably good, whether the blasts on the title track or the pounding drums on "Nátthagi"'s or "Dulsmál"'s beginnings.

Before you accuse me of being a paid shill, the album is not without flaws. One thing I found strange is that the production on the debut EP, Ferðalok, was somehow better than it is here. This does have the downside of limiting the potential that the sounds on this album could've had to seamlessly blend together, thus holding the album back a little.

To conclude, it may be a bit (ok, a lot more than that) cliché to call an album a journey, but with an album that is slowly picking up pace and not revealing itself all at once so that just when you thought you had it all figured out, it finds ways to turn and reveal a new face, I guess I just can't find a better comparison. Ok, whatever, I'll call it a person or something.

Take a peek.