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Band: Seigmen
Album title: Resonans
Release date: 3 May 2024
Label: Indie Recordings
Genre: Alternative Rock, Atmospheric Rock
Tracklist:
01. Elskhat
02. Arkadia ego
03. Nĺr Alle Skjermer Gĺr I Svart
04. Berlin
05. Eksploderei Det Stille
06. Kollaps
07. Melanchton
08. Voltaire!
09. Blasfem
10. Třnsberg
Seigmen - my everlasting love and Norway's natural and cultural treasure has broken a 9-year silence and is back with a brand new album Resonans. Since the five-piece ensemble has remained the same since its inception 35 years ago, it can be more than proud to maintain such a stable line-up. I believe its consistency in the association is one of the main reasons for its sheer brilliance. As its core sound has remained the same throughout the decades, Seigmen continues to deliver breathtakingly profound soundscapes with each release, despite the time gaps between the albums and members' involvement in other music projects, such as Zeromancer and Ljungblut, which seem to play a crucial role in their creative process.
The 2015 Enola was just as brilliant as the 1995 Metropolis, perhaps the signature album by Seigmen, and the new album follows the same direction - respectively, with all the albums released before and between them. A fusion of alternative rock and soul-captivating atmospherics, Resonans presents ten songs filled with immense emotional charge and larger-than-life charisma. Each of the five members plays a crucial part and delivers flawlessly, and combined, they give a superior performance. As the band's principal composer, Kim Ljung contributes significantly to the creation of soundscapes through his bass lines. The alluring guitars, precise drumming, and Alex Moklebust's soul-piercing vocal work enhance every song to its full potential - both performatively and atmospherically.
As the album opens with the profound, pounding track "Elskhat", you are engulfed in its very essence from the first note, and its emotional and dramatic charge lasts until the very end when it meets its opponent, the track "Arkadia Ego", which is still quite darksome but more mellow. Further on, the whimsical play between light and darkness then follows through the entire album. A heavy bass line drives the dusky atmosphere in tracks like "Berlin", "Eksploderei Det Stille", and "Melanchton", while songs such as "Kollaps" and "Voltaire!" kind of drift away from the obscured and set an entirely different, much warmer and catchier mood. With all the variations of black and white, the final chapter of Resonans, "Třnsberg", is a universe on its own - a grandeur closing track, which turns the table around, as it differs from the ambient that has been connecting the dots throughout the album and shows, what Seigmen is capable of. It opens with tenderness, as the vocals are sung by Norwegian opera singer Roth Christensen, also a member of the Norwegian National Opera, and the music begins with a divine and fanciful element. Then, when the guitars and rhythm section take over, and Alex adds even more intensity with his singing, it seamlessly transitions into a full-on rock masterpiece.
I assure you, I am not fangirling. I am just overwhelmed by what an amazing band Seigmen is, it has been and hopefully will continue to be. Resonans is an album that leaves no room for fillers or empty emotions. This album's production and performance, coupled with the band members' friendship and their sheer talent, result in yet another work of art. As I said at the beginning - this is what makes Seigmen what it is - a natural and cultural treasure.
Review by Ines
Rating: 10/10
