“Once, the ground was opening up like a rift in the world.”
Tracing the evolution of Jonathan Hultén’s distinctive sound is no easy task. From Stench’s jagged brand of near-psychedelic blackened death metal to Tribulation’s steady embrace of fully-fledged goth rock in their old-school metal stylings, he has carved a place in the metal world with foreboding riffs and heady songwriting. 2020’s Chants from Another Place was Hultén’s debut album as a solo artist, driven by bold, densely layered harmonies and an acoustic guitar. Backed by sparse synthesizers, piano and percussion, it had a decidedly less ominous tone, imbued with a singer-songwriter feel. Drawing on this and injecting a dose of electronics, Eyes of the Living Night marks the next stage in the evolution of Hultén’s haunting choral folk.
Opener “The Saga And The Storm” sets the tone straight away, swelling from quiet whistling into retro synths and distorted guitar, supporting Hultén’s signature layered vocals. At times recalling Vangelis’ Blade Runner soundtrack with distinctly analogue-sounding pads and drum machines, a theme continued later on “Dawn” and “The Ocean’s Arms”, it transitions into the more grandly theatrical “Afterlife”. Dealing with themes of self-discovery and introspection, this hypnotic, cinematic track highlights Hultén’s vocal prowess and his characteristic use of intricately dense harmonies.
“Falling Mirages” brings back the whistling from the very beginning of the album and for the first time allows the gentle fingerpicking of Hultén’s acoustic guitar into the foreground, in a transition away from the highs of the previous track. Soft glockenspiel and a faint chapel organ underpin further subtle vocal arrangements in a track that feels more intimate and personal. “Riverflame” is more restrained with its lo-fi Massive Attack production and vocals noticeably stripped of layering, eventually building towards grinding organ and driving percussion of “The Dream Was The Cure“.
The middle section of the album showcases Hultén’s delicately personal and intimate songwriting. The subdued and melancholic “Song of Transience” imparts a gentle, waltz-like feel. With melodies recalling a nursery rhyme and use of instruments including harpsichord, accordion and marimba, it signals a clear turn away from the lofty electronics of the earlier tracks. “Through The Fog, Into The Sky”, an instrumental track evoking the lilting Galician folk of Sangre de Muerdago, strips the detailed production entirely away and is the most subdued and vulnerable point of the album.
After this acoustic detour, the record rises back toward the cinematic. “Dawn”, another gentle track opening with guitar and piano under soaring vocals, gradually swells through layers of synths and percussion to a crescendo, before quickly dropping back down to transition into “Vast Tapestry”. Entirely built around guitar and Hultén’s mesmerizing vocals, punctuated by a toy-like glockenspiel, it is soft and contemplative. “The Ocean’s Arms” brings back the synths, Hans Zimmer-esque percussion and electric guitar leads.
The last two songs shift the mood, rekindling the album’s opening grandeur. “A Path Is Found” transitions into “Starbather” with an almost baroque interplay between violin and guitar. Recalling the folk rock of Fairport Convention, “Starbather” acts as the end point of the album’s trajectory through turbulent passages of self-discovery. The baroque pop stylings of the dance-like bridge section with 60’s synths and jangly guitar lean into a much lighter mood, and round the album out with a more resolutely uplifting form of the delicate opening.
At times quiet and introverted, at others flowing into the soaringly cinematic with sweeping sound design and ethereal vocals, the album plays with dynamics to a greater extent than its predecessor, resulting in a more varied experience and greater immersion into the album’s kaleidoscopic feel. The post rock sensibilities in Hultén’s commanding use of layering to control intensity belie sharp songwriting chops and a keen eye for detail, something most evident in the album’s production. Wide, airy and clear, his trademark vocal layers are naturally brought to the foreground. Each track sounds fresh and distinct, with each of the many instruments and sounds, always deliberately neatly placed in the overall context, given room to breathe. Judicious use of subtle panning, filtering and copious amounts of reverb further enhance the cinematic atmosphere of the album. The overall effect is of an immersive, enveloping soundscape.
Eyes of the Living Night heralds the transformation of the intimacy and haunting fragility of Hultén’s debut album into an altogether more ambitious, expansive concept. The result is a dynamic, diverse record that is an engaging and highly compelling listen.
8.5/10
Eyes of the Living Night releases through Kscope on the 31st of January and can be pre-ordered here.