Send "Borknagar " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 If Borknagar aren’t already known as “the thinking man’s black metal band”, then they should be, because there is no other black metal band out today with their level of progression and creativity. In fact, Borknagar truly fit better with the progressive metal scene, often rivaling Opeth and Dream Theater with their forward-thinking arrangements and daring sound. Their aggressive tone and black metal roots separate them from their more mainstream counterparts, but fans of either band will enjoy most of Borknagar’s work. Since bringing in vocalist Vintersorg on 2001’s Empiricism, Borknagar have gotten bigger and more ambitious with their sound. The effort has paid off, helping Borknagar separate themselves from the rest of the black metal scene and establish an identity set completely apart from their peers. Universal, the Norwegian sextet’s latest albumt, is a grand epic that pushes Borknagar even higher above other bands in their scene.The sound on Universal centers on the keyboards, which are the most noticeable instrument on most of the album’s songs. Lars Nedland does an extremely good job providing a solid base for the other instruments to follow, while simultaneously creating a huge, atmospheric soundscape that rivals most power metal albums. The use of a traditional grand piano and a Hammond organ only add to the band’s unique sound, creating a sound reminiscent of Pink Floyd and Rush in certain songs. The keyboards also help to join the songs together and create an overarching feel to the whole album, eliminating any possible sense of disjointedness. Any keyboard enthusiast will love Universal, because every memorable moment on the album, be it aggressive or ambient, is made more memorable by the keyboards....full text |
| Heavymetal |
| While Borknagar has long abandoned their gritty black metal roots, hints of the past lie within the seams of Universal. In-between the organ flourishes and acoustic bliss of "Havoc" and "Worldwide" are sections of pure venom bent on visceral mayhem. These instances of aggression mark a stark contrast to the lush soundscapes that make up a good portion of the album. It is a constant struggle between these two polarizing sides, which works wonders in delivering an energetic and gripping album. Many of the melodic high points on the album can be attributed to Lars Nedland's stylistic keyboard work. He employs everything from wild Hammond organ solos to vivid orchestrations to the soft beauty of a lonely piano in the background, giving off a distinct '70s progressive rock vibe. He even gets a chance to flex his writing chops on the bouncy "Fleshflower," an infectious tune that it utterly out of place on Universal....full text |
| Sputnikmusic |
| Borknagar started life as a standard black metal band with an above-average vocalist, but they almost immediately started pushing for something more. The band’s early evolution seemed to suggest that they were looking for a bigger, more progressive sound and that it was only a matter of finding the perfect formula. Their fourth album, Quintessence, seemed to solidify the musical part of that equation, but something was still missing. The missing piece of the puzzle turned out to be vocalist Andreas "Vintersorg" Hedlund. With him as their singer they released their most progressive album yet, Empiricism. While that album did start to hint at a more sterile and restrained sound, it made up for it with its great songwriting and the novelty of a new vocalist. Unfortunately, Universal doesn’t have any of that going for it and it shows. The first thing that most people will notice is that the sound established on Empiricism is still firmly in tact, but with a few adjustments. The main modification being that the progressive tendencies now firmly dominate the songs at nearly all times. The instant result is songs that lack a lot of the energy and aggression of their predecessors. The secondary result is melodies that aren’t as instant and memorable. These two changes mean that two prominent reasons that a lot of people listened to this band have now been relegated to supporting rolls. Despite this, the album could still have worked if the band were capable of stepping up the elements that they chose to showcase, but they aren’t....full text |
Borknagar lyrics
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