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About three weeks ago, I wrote about Vallendusk’s Homeward Path and I mentioned that the band has a comforting, atmospheric black metal appeal and a tendency for cohesiveness and musical experimentation. For their third album, Fortress of Primal Grace, it seemed they decided to amp their other metal influences and fully let that meld with the atmospheric black metal to create something greater and majestic.
True to their brand of experimentation, Vallendusk still makes me want to get up and dance, as their ever-present folk tones continue in effect. What’s even better is that they took their melodic metal influences and they ran with it, creating an album that continues in that warm vein of atmospheric black metal. However, instead of their focus being in the music, a lot of attention has been paid to their atmosphere. With the usage of clean vocals and what sounds like a reel, the atmosphere feels like a warm blanket, letting the listener become acquainted with the comforting sounds of the backing melody. This album isn’t meant to scare you or make you go into a certain headspace to enjoy it; rather, it uses tones that have already worked in the past and they incorporated new sounds to keep things fresh and vibrant. Vallendusk even makes the atmosphere even warmer by adding acoustic touches to the music, amplifying the overall mood of the record. Vallendusk has definitely expanded their musical range by adding to their vast catalogue of musical elements that they can get away with.
What also caught my attention regarding Fortress of Primal Grace was the overall high production value the album has. I have mentioned that they have a tendency for cohesiveness, but everything about Fortress is clean – the mixing is excellent, the instrumentation doesn’t overpower the vocals, and the sound is crisp and clear. You can hear every single aspect of the tones used on the album and how they are all woven together throughout the album. You can’t help but marvel at Vallendusk’s cohesiveness. Granted, pulling this off on the first two albums is unheard of, but actually continuing their streak of excellence shows off Vallendusk’s incredible musicianship. This is a band that knows what works sonically and have decided to stick with it.
All in all, Fortress of Primal Grace is an excellent testament of Vallendusk’s brand of atmospheric black metal. Fortress is the most accessible and approachable of the three albums so far, but it also shows just how keen their musical evolution is. From emphasizing atmospheric black metal on Black Clouds Gathering to the clean instrumentation of Fortress, Vallendusk is a case study of a band that truly knows their stuff.