Iotunn manage to transcend time on Kinship, a progressive melodic death metal album exploring the idea of connectedness in our world.
Iotunn formed in 2015 with members from Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Vocalist Jón Aldará is also in Barren Earth and the Faroese band Hamferð, where I first heard him. In 2020 Iotunn signed with Metal Blade Records and released their debut album Access All Worlds in 2021 to much acclaim. Since their beginning the band has been known for their blend of progressive and death metal and have played at Prog Power and Brainstorm Fest in the Netherlands among other festivals and even were on the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise. Kinship was mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios, for those unfamiliar with Jacob, he’s also worked with Arch Enemy, Katatonia, The Black Dahlia Murder, and Volbeat.
I had no idea what I was getting into when I started reviewing Kinship. I remember on first listen looking up after 8-10 minutes or so and realizing I was still in the middle of track 1, “Kinship Elegiac”, which clocks in at nearly 14 minutes. The sheer grandeur of the song with all its twists and turns and the incredible soaring and baritone vocals from Jón Aldará give a sense of emotion and a lightness to the song that transports the listener to another realm where time is irrelevant. From it’s quiet beginnings and soft, near goth-like vocals, it seems as if the song will be going in one direction but then the rest of the band comes in and musically it seems much like an instrumental atmospheric black metal track. Aldará’s vocals come back with a rich, soaring baritone to break up the instrumental portion as the song picks up pace. Behind the vocals, the rhythm section pushes the song along and Bjørn Andersen’s varied drum fills and rhythms provide the variety one would expect in a progressive metal track. Just when you think you may have the song figured out, Jón Aldará goes from a scream into some growled blackened vocals as the music shifts yet again. Given everything that is going on in the song, Jacob Hansen has done a great job on the production keeping every instrument contribution heard in the mix.
Once you get through “Kinship Elegiac” the songs actually get shorter until the final track on the album. From a stylistic standpoint, I hear everything from Evergrey to Queensryche to Insomnium and Opeth as there is so much to hear. “Mistland” is only 9 minutes long and after that the songs are all under 8 minutes until the 11 minute “The Anguished Ethereal” at the end of the album. During that time, the compositions vary widely with everything from the atmospheric black metal like opening of “Mistland” to the haunting acoustic “Iridescent Way”, which despite being very different sonically fits perfectly in the album. Throughout the album, the band makes great use of Aldará’s vocals, be it soaring or soft near spoken or black/death metal growls. The guitar work from Jens and Jasper Gräs is simply outstanding from the harmonies in “Mistland” to the amazing solos that fit perfectly within the songs on the album.
“Twilight” has an almost bouncy rhythm with growled vocals over the layered guitars mixed in such a way that they again remind me of some atmospheric black metal. Later, Aldará brings in some clean, soaring vocals for the bridge/chorus in contrast to the verse growls. Here again there is another great guitar solo that blends so well with the rest of the track that the listener can easily miss it.
Outside of the length, it is difficult to find fault with this album and as long as this album is, you owe it to yourself to give it a listen. This is easily one of the best metal albums from 2024. Every song at once feels like it could be a full album itself and yet the songs all move with a purpose making them seem timeless. The idea behind the album is that of a journey to find oneself and how one relates to the world and the listening experience is just like that, a journey worth taking.
Rating: 10/10
Written by John Jackson
Tracklist
- Kinship Elegiac
- Mistland
- Twilight
- I Feel the Night
- The Coming End
- Iridescent Way
- Earth to Sky
- The Anguished Ethereal
Release Date: October 25, 2024
Record Label: Metal Blade Records
Band Members
Jón Aldará – vocals
Jens Nicolai Gräs – guitar
Jesper Gräs – guitar
Eskil Rask – bass
Bjørn Wind Andersen – drums
Video for “I Feel the Night”
Video for “Iridescent Way”
Video for “Twilight”
Video for “Mistland”
Video for “Earth to Sky”
Bandcamp: https://iotunn.bandcamp.com/album/kinship
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iotunn
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iotunn
X: https://x.com/IOTUNNband
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iotunn
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy8LfIp6j3aLY7ixLFixHXnS_wIJ1bp8X