CD, Type Records, 2006
www.myspace.com/svartegreiner
When do you stop using superlatives when you are reviewing an album which is really good? Or which is so completely not what you expected it to be and still amazes you after several times listening? Or which is so dynamically produced that with each listening you hear more or different structures, even if you thought you heard it all? Well, the page of “Knive” by Svarte Greiner – the album I am talking about – on the website of Type Records sums up quite a few of these superlatives and I honestly doubt if can find the words to top these earlier words.
Svarte Greiner is Erik Skodvin, member of Deaf Center and the man behind the Miasmah label. The music can best be described as a heavily experimental influenced guitar-drone album. The label description ‘acoustic doom’ sums it up and is actually very well found. There are some synthetic sounds on the album but even they have a very organic feel to them, as can be heard with the organ in “The Black Dress”.
The way the CD is structured reminds a little bit of the recently released works of Tor Lundvall. If you look at the tracklist, it looks like there is no coherence. A few long tracks and a few very short ones; And the short ones always tend to be “out of it”. But, just as with Tor Lundvall, the shorter tracks aren’t disturbing at all. On “Knive” they fit perfectly in the whole concept and form a welcome interlude to the album.
“Knive” is a journey through a withered landscape. The torn off branches lay scattered over the by birds deserted swamp, resulting in an almost guilty feeling concerning one’s presence. The beauty of this is described by the harmony in the album, while the rough landscape is covered by the experiment.
Svarte Greiner gained a fan with this release, which is an absolute must for fans of acoustic doom, and a definite option for people who are willing to investigate something new.
[8.5/10]
— Bauke van der Wal