Review: Stortregn – Impermanence

Style: Melodic Black Metal, Technical Death Metal (harsh vocals)
Pick by: Zach
Country: Switzerland
Release date: 12 March, 2021

NOTE: The album was originally included in the “Albums We Missed in 2021” Issue of The Progressive Subway

Oh, the days when you just start diving right into subgenres. You shop around for a month or so, figure out what you do and don’t like, and discard the rest because your subgenre is superior to everyone else’s. What did I like, you may ask? Well, I like it when the guitar do the weedly weedly and the drum do the RATATATATA and the bass can be heard. But in all seriousness, I love a bit of unconventional instrumentation. If that wasn’t obvious enough from my love of UneXpect, that is. Sure, I love it when it’s a complete gimmick and I know it adds nothing to the song. But when it’s really there to stay on the whole album, adding flavor and character to each song, well, that’s fucking great. 

Sure, I like being dropped headfirst straight into a pummeling riff to start an album off. Who doesn’t? But you know what I love even more? Being eased into an album. A song that builds upon something simple and releases into a fist bumping moment of pure sonic bliss. Unconventional instrumentation in the mix doesn’t hurt either. Yeah, I’m talking about the opener to Stortregn’s Impermanence. 

What an opener! “Ghosts of the Past” kicks this album off in style with an incredible lead motif and enough blast beats to please my ear canals. The way this song seamlessly shifts between sections tells you everything you need to know about Stortregn right off the bat. They mean business, they’re ridiculously talented, and their music will be stuck in your head for weeks. I caught myself whisper-screaming “ASHES TO ASHES, DUST TO DUST” more than I care to admit after a mere two listens. 

Speaking of seamless, the transitions on this album are downright incredible. “Moon, Sun, Stars” starts in a fairly similar fashion to the previous track, but everything sounds…wrong. More sinister. The fingerstyle acoustics are minor-keyed and the leads sound far gloomier this time around. A much faster track with a less epic feeling that gives those longer tracks so much more substance, it does its job astoundingly well. 

Stortregn know how to start a song with momentum and keep it going. Everything on this album is Inferi-speed with plenty of acoustic interludes to shake things up. But what I find so interesting about Impermeance’s acoustic sections versus any other bands is that they’re so well interspersed with the Dissection-tremolo riffs and tech-death chugs that it doesn’t even feel like the song is calming down. It feels like a natural buildup to whatever godly riff comes next. 

“Grand Nexion Abyss” is the standout of this album to me. Combining everything I loved from the first section of the album, it’s the perfect way to drop the listener back in after the instrumental breather track, ‘Impermanence’. Some might say that the structure feels a bit samey by now. Chuggy riff switching into acoustic section into a very long scream over tremolo over blast beats. But god damn if it doesn’t work so well. And Stortregn has enough riffs and tappy goodness that keep everything from sounding the same on each song. 

But as amazing as every track on this album is, Impermanence is the greater sum of its parts. Yes, the songs are still amazing on their own, but they flow so immaculately well together and each song has such a strong opener that you are almost forced to listen to it as a whole. Everything building up to the opening scream on “Neine” and the breakneck finish that song has makes it so much sweeter. Of course, what would this album be without ending on a classical guitar interlude? Because we gotta go out with that same unconventional instrumentation that brought us in. 

Recommended tracks: Ghost of the Past, Cosmos Eater, Multilayered Chaos. The entire album flows like one long song, so I’d suggest just listening all the way through. 
Recommended for fans of: Interi, Obscura, Dissection, Mors Principium Est 
You may also like: Singularity, Proliferation
Final Verdict: 8.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Metal-Archives page

Label: The Artisan Era – Bandcamp | YouTube | Facebook

Stortregn is:
– Romain (vocals, guitar)
– Johan (guitar)
– Garry (drums)
– Alexandre (bass)