Sølvkre - Drap

It’s October and spooky season is upon us; tricks and treats are bound to be plentiful as TV networks host horror movie marathons, siblings play pranks on one another, and animatronic displays make children and adults alike jump back in terror. However, despite all the tales of ghosts and ghouls it is important to understand that the most horrific entity out there is humanity itself. Dark ambient, gothic, and industrial project Sølvkre understands this all too well. When he was just fourteen years of age, a friend of his parents committed murder. This friend was a farmer and had a tenant who lived on the farm. This tenant and the friend wound up getting into a drunken brawl. Thus, at the suggestion of his wife, the friend shot the tenant twice in the back with a shotgun. They then cut and dismembered the corpse and placed the parts in three burlap sacks, dumping them in the ocean. Only one sack was ever recovered. 

 

Sølvkre has thus gone over these events multiple times in his head throughout his life; he could neve quite grasp how this gentle and quiet person could commit such an act. He often wondered what it took place in someone’s mind in order to murder. In fashion, Sølvkre’s latest album “ Drap” is influenced by this moment in time. It fits within Sølvkre’s themes as well, as his music has always been about exploring both death and rituals related to it. For the most part, Sølvkre’s “Drap” succeeds in creating atmospheric tension with real-life terrors in mind, though it does falter here and there.

‘Tre Striesekker’ starts off the track. Drums beat methodically as twangy synths eject in the background. Filmic static noise breaks the background and the sliding of knives across each other’s surface echoes. It’s a tense and fun atmospheric track that would do wonders in a haunted house. ‘Larver’ is a gritty and dim industrial track featuring heavy pads and whispered, slightly digital vocals that come in and out constantly. Ominous synths, like warning sirens, play out as well and only add to the tension. I would have liked to see more variation within the bassline itself, however, as it is a constant and hardly changes. 

A noise-industrial, beat-based track comes in next as ‘Skyggene Puster’. Some of the more experimental sounds on the track were too abrasive for my ears and made me wince such as around the one-minute and twenty-second mark. But they never lasted long and were gone as soon as they came. Nonetheless, this did not make me wish to revisit the track all that much on replays. The knife sound effect that played out earlier begins ‘Del Fra Del (Albumversjon)’. I would have preferred to hear something different instead of using the same sample again, but it was not a deal breaker. This seven-minute and six-second track dives into further darkened industrial dance beats, and even has a bit of an italo-disco influence on it. I do think the track should have been trimmed down as there’s not enough meat in this sandwich to keep it fresh for that long. 

Oddly enough, a song title ‘Finale’ kicks in at track number-five, just about the mid-point of the album. Sølvkre goes back to doing what he does best; creating an eerie and tense atmosphere suited for a haunted house. Inside you’ll find some rumblings, soft piano keys, creepy laughter, the vicious barks coming from hellhounds, and more. ‘Partering’ starts off with drones creeping in but thankfully Sølvkre understand that having one-pitched drones stretched out over four-and-a-half minutes is not enough to make a complete song. Instead, he adds in slow-crawling drums and additional synths to give it substance. ‘Blodstenket’ is a very experimental song, playing with wobbly synths and somewhat sci-fi-ish sound effects. But, its oddity is its beauty and entertained me till the last second. 

The title track of the album, ‘Drap’, kind of put me in early electro-industrial territory thanks to some old-school sounding synths, radio transmissions, and the overall experimental dance beat that took it over. After another atmospheric horror track with sharp edged titled ‘Uthuset’, the final song ‘Tilværelsens Ende’ came out to play. While there are some values of entertainment on this eight-minute and twenty-two second track, committed a sin toward the end of its run. There are too many breaks of silence in between sound effects which does not make it fun, spooky, or creepy. It makes it boring and has me wishing it was over sooner. 

I would not say that Sølvkre’s “Drap” is a mixed-bag; sure enough, I do have my complaints about the spooky and seasonally-fitting album, but I have a lot of praise for it as well. The rough bumps that I came across can easily be ironed out in a following release, but they are still valid critiques that I’ll stand by. If you’re gearing up for a spooky evening, or if you’re in the mood for tense, atmospheric industrial and noise, then this one’s for you. Six-and-a-half out of ten!