Formed by Jan Even Åsli (vocalist, guitarist, and synthesizers), E. Kalstad (bass and synthesizers), and, E. Blix (drums, percussion, and vocals). Even when emphasizing their dark echoey music Vemod never abandon their atmospheric grief. Although the songs are bitterly sad, the opening instrumental cut “Mot oss, en ild” acts as a perfect intro for the album before the avalanche of torrential blast beats explodes into motion as an intense cacophony is overwhelmed by organic drums, the grim vocals are mysterious and brooding as the tremolo picked riffs flowing through the melodic undercurrent in the following song “Der guder dør”.

However, it occurred to me that the follow-up album “The Deepening” isn’t cut from the same cloth as the first album “Venter på stormene”. The beautiful shimmering melodies and the glistening guitar tones create an everlasting gloomy mood throughout the album’s 48 minutes. The drums maintain a dynamic pace. Despite the occasional slow tempos, the blast beats erupt with a majestic gait, and the grim vocals act as a menacing element to the music. The frigid atmosphere of Nordic black metal is omnipresent in every sense, and more often the lead guitar appears to interact inseparably with the graceful melodies.

While the song “True North Beckons” has an almost hypnotic effect Vemod once again reminds us of the state of deep melancholy, the bass guitar also integrates with the flurry of the guitar melodies. The mournful solemnity is rather palpable when the guitars tackle some dramatic post-metal elements, especially when the pace of drums becomes slow the instruments complement different tones and then drift into the cold breeze of the frigid airy synth. There are also some sad chorale passages in the song “Fra drømmenes bok I” but what we get in the next song “Inn i lysende natt” is an experimental mixture of different styles that feels almost like a progressive rock band.

The guitars imbue the sonic landscapes with inventive and fanciful tunes, the use of clean vocals adds to the atmosphere and there are times when the drum’s pace is mid-tempo. The post-metal elements are not only subtle but are overly dramatic and focused in direct contrast to the drums, however, the trio keep their focus as they mix complex compositional sounds where each band member gets to show off their instrumental prowess. The second full-length album strays from the style of the first album, where they played more black metal music.

The longest cut in the album is the 16th-minute epic track “The Deepening” which is somewhat reminiscent of Ulver, the majestic chorale along with the steaming tremolos emerges inextricably with the grim vocals. Sadly, the album does not present the same expression as the first album. Still, the good thing is that Vemod progressed its moving dramatic quality by adding delicacy guitar lines and took a shoegazing style of bands such as Alcest.

The splendid performance of the drums and the vocals achieved great standards by providing a different feeling to the atmosphere whether it’s the grim vocals or the echoey chorale that makes you drift in a reflective mood, at the same time the bass guitar presence is significant in creating a hypnotic feeling.

The sonic backbone combines minimalistic instruments as a showpiece to add beauty to the song structure, “The Deepening” lures fans of black metal into a shifting mood unfortunately the music itself keeps on progressing and this somehow lessens the dark grim mood but the soaring clean vocals and the guitars imparts a certain aesthetic to Vemod’s sound. Despite the album’s long length, the songs feel short, and the beauty slowly vanishes into the atmosphere, leaving its energetic tone intact as a vibrant painting.

The sudden transition and sonic shift in the album are aplenty as I found myself compelled to listen to the bellowing streams of melodies but once the melancholic streams are shuttered the fading splendor brings dark hues of winter and welcomes a new horizon and redefines a new era for the band.

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