“The Freak Is Alive”

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Dark Essence Records To Re-Release MOMENTUM’s Debut Full-Length Album

Posted by tarjavirmakari on November 16, 2015
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Momentum-2

Dark Essence Records will follow up their release of MOMENTUM‘s sophomore full-length album “The Freak Is Alive”, with a trip into the band’s past and the digital release of their debut album “Fixation, at Rest” on the 15th January.

“Fixation, at Rest” was originally released in 2010, with the band’s then-lineup of Hörður Ólafsson on  Vocals & Bass, Ingvar Sæmundsson on Guitar & Backing Vocals, Kristján Einar Guðmundsson on Drums and Erling Orri Baldursson on Guitar.  The ten-track album was recorded at Island Studios by Axel Árnason and Studio Njallinn by Momentum in 2009 and mixed and mastered by Axel Árnason at Studio ReFlex in 2010

Artwork for “Fixation, at Rest” is by Hörður Ólafsson . Track listing as follows:

01 – Intro
02 – Metamorphose
03 – Holding Back
04 – Red Silence
05 – The Conduits Lead
06 – As The Skies Break
07 – Prosthetic Sea
08 – The Eye That Leads the Way
09 – Inspiration
10 – Fixation, at Rest

Momentum-rerelease-cover

Formed in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 2003, originally as a Black/Death metal project, MOMENTUM’s first  releases included “The Requiem” EP appearing in 2006,  and the “Your Side of the Triangle” in 2008.  The release of “Fixation, at Rest”, saw the band leave their roots behind them and develop their own sound and identity.   By the  time “The Freak Is Alive” was released on Dark Essence in 2015, frontman Hörður Ólafsson was ready to take the listeners on a surreal journey through the subconscious with his use of artwork, lyrics and concepts.

Now a trio, MOMENTUM’s lineup comprises Kristján on Drums,  Holaf on  Vocal sand Bass , and Ingvar on Guitar and Vocals.   It is a band whose sound is best described as the merging of atmospheric post-rock, reminiscent of ISIS and CULT OF LUNA, together with a level of bone-crushing heaviness broken up by soft singing and relaxed clean passages, intense vocals layered over discordant, staccato bursts, and mingling with eerie sound textures that explode into high-impact power chords, which bring to mind the work of NEUROSIS.

More information about MOMENTUM can be found on the band’s website at www.momentumiceland.com or on Facebook at  http://www.facebook.com/momentumiceland

A video of MOMENTUM playing the title track from their debut album “Fixation, at Rest” live at the Airwaves festival can be seen below:

MOMENTUM: New Album Out, Animated Video “Between Two Worlds” Released

Posted by tarjavirmakari on February 10, 2015
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Momentum-2

Iceland’s MOMENTUM, whose sophomore full-length album “The Freak is Alive” was released yesterday, 9th February on Dark Essence Records, have released a video for a track from the album.  Made by the band’s frontman Holaf, who is responsible for MOMENTUM’s lyrical, musical and artistic concepts, the video for “Between Two Worlds” is an animated adaptation of the song’s artwork and can be seen below:

Holaf explained that as a visual artist, as well as a musician, he very much prefers graphics to come alive whenever he has that option, so the video “Between Two Worlds” is a simple animated adaptation of the artwork for that particular track. In fact, each of the songs on the nine-track album take the listener on a journey, and the artwork illustrates the different stages of that journey.  The track “Between Two Worlds” leads you to a portal that marks the border between the surface reality and the underlying world.  At the portal the traveller meets the Gatekeeper, Mr Blue, who, together with his band of freaks, surveys everything that happens on both sides.

MOMENTUM have recently been showcasing the artwork of each of the tracks from “The Freak is Alive” on the band’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/momentumiceland, where each drawing is accompanied by a brief explanation and lyrics.

“The Freak is Alive” is an album in which the lineup of Holaf on Vocals, Bass and Sitar, Ingvar Sæmundsson on Guitar and Vocals, Kristján Einar Guðmundsson on Drums, and Sigurður Árni Jónsson on Guitar and Vocals, combines atmospheric post-rock with bone-crushing heaviness,  and features soft vocals and clean passages. Recorded at Studio ReFlex with Axel “Flex” Árnason,  the track listing is as follows:

1. Bury the Eyes Once Gold
2. Between Two Worlds
3. Familiar Unknown
4. Gauntlet
5. The Freak is Alive
6. A Beast is Near
7. Creator of Malignant Metaphors
8. Undercover Imagination
9. Depth of the Whole

Momentum-cover

MOMENTUM’s next live appearance will be on the 1st of April at the Inferno Festival in Oslo, when they join fellow Dark Essence Records bands TAAKE, KRAKOW and GALAR for the label’s club night at Blå.

More information about MOMENTUM can be found on the band’s website at www.momentumiceland.com or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/momentumiceland

MOMENTUM: Second Track Debuts From Upcoming Album

Posted by tarjavirmakari on February 6, 2015
Posted in: News. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

Momentum

With the “The Freak is Alive”, the sophomore full-length album from Icelandic Progressive Doomsters MOMENTUM, set to hit the streets on the 9th February, Dark Essence Records have debuted a second track from the album. The track, “Between Two Worlds”, together with the recently debuted “Gauntlet”, can be heard below:

Recorded at Studio ReFlex with Axel “Flex” Árnason, “The Freak is Alive” is very much the concept of MOMENTUM’s frontman Holaf, who combines his lyrics and his artwork with the music, to lead the listeners on a surreal journey through the subconscious mind to a destination that only the travellers themselves can recognise.

Aside from Holaf on Vocals, Bass and Sitar, the lineup on “The Freak is Alive” includes, Ingvar Sæmundsson on Guitar and Vocals, Kristján Einar Guðmundsson on Drums, and Sigurður Árni Jónsson on Guitar and Vocals.

Track listing on the 9 track album, which seamlessly blends atmospheric post-rock with bone-crushing heaviness,  and features soft vocals and clean passages, is as follows:

1. Bury the Eyes Once Gold
2. Between Two Worlds
3. Familiar Unknown
4. Gauntlet
5. The Freak is Alive
6. A Beast is Near
7. Creator of Malignant Metaphors
8. Undercover Imagination
9. Depth of the Whole

Momentum-cover

“The Freak is Alive” is available to pre-order from Dark Essence Records at http://karismarecords.bigcartel.com/

More information about MOMENTUM can be found on the band’s website at www.momentumiceland.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/momentumiceland

A video of MOMENTUM playing the title track from their debut album “Fixation, at Rest” live at the Airwaves festival can be seen here:

Progressive Doom Metallers MOMENTUM Reveal Album Details And Debut New Track

Posted by tarjavirmakari on December 9, 2014
Posted in: News. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Momentum

Having connected with the band during 2014’s Roadburn Festival, Dark Essence Records were quick to snap up the Icelandic Progressive Doomsters MOMENTUM, and on the 9th February 2015 the label is set to release MOMENTUM’s sophomore full length album “The Freak is Alive”. As a taster of what to expect Dark Essence Records have debuted “Gauntlet” , a track from the album and it can be heard below:

“The Freak is Alive”, which was Recorded at Studio ReFlex with Axel “Flex” Árnason, with a lineup that includes Holaf on Vocals, Bass and Sitar, Ingvar Sæmundsson on Guitar and Vocals, Kristján Einar Guðmundsson on Drums, and Sigurður Árni Jónsson on Guitar and Vocals, features nine tracks that blend atmospheric Post-Rock, reminiscent of Isis and Cult of Luna, with a Neurosis-esque level of bone-crushing heaviness, interspersed with soft vocals and relaxed clean passages. The album is very much the concept of frontman Holaf, whose lyrics and artwork combine with the music to carry the listeners on a surreal journey through the subconscious mind, guiding them, but at the same time allowing them the freedom to interpret what they find at their journey’s end.

Momentum-cover

Track listing for “The Freak is Alive” as follows:
1. Bury the Eyes Once Gold
2. Between Two Worlds
3. Familiar Unknown
4. Gauntlet
5. The Freak is Alive
6. A Beast is Near
7. Creator of Malignant Metaphors
8. Undercover Imagination
9. Depth of the Whole

More information about MOMENTUM can be found on the band’s website at www.momentumiceland.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/momentumiceland

A video of MOMENTUM playing the title track from their debut album “Fixation, at Rest” live at the Airwaves festival can be seen here:

Momentum-2

Dark Essence Records Inks Deal With Iceland’s MOMENTUM

Posted by tarjavirmakari on August 22, 2014
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Momentum

Dark Essence Records have inked a deal with Iceland’s MOMENTUM and are preparing to release the band’s sophomore full-length album, “The Freak Is Alive”, on a date as yet to be announced. Formed in 2003, MOMENTUM started life as a Black/Death metal project, with their first release, “The Requiem” EP appearing in 2006, followed two years later by another EP – “Your Side of the Triangle”.

By the time MOMENTUM’s debut full-length album “Fixation, at Rest” appeared in 2010, the band had left its roots behind and developed an identity all of its own, which, with the upcoming “The Freak Is Alive” album,  frontman Holaf has taken even further, using his artwork, lyrics and concept to carry listeners on a surreal journey through the subconscious mind, leading them along paths that allow them to interpret for themselves what they are seeing and hearing.

With a lineup that includes Holaf on Vocals, Bass and Sitar, Ingvar Sæmundsson on Guitar and  Vocals, Kristján Einar Guðmundsson on Drums, and Sigurður Árni Jónsson on Guitar and Vocals, MOMENTUM is a band that excels at merging atmospheric post-rock, reminiscent of ISIS and CULT OF LUNA, together with a level of bone-crushing heaviness broken up by soft singing and relaxed clean passages, intense vocals layered over discordant, staccato bursts, and mingling with eerie sound textures that explode into high-impact power chords, which bring to mind the work of NEUROSIS.

More information about MOMENTUM can be found on the band’s website at www.momentumiceland.com

Momentum-2014

Six track from MOMENTUM can be heard on the band’s SoundCloud page below:

A video of MOMENTUM playing the title track from their debut album “Fixation, at Rest” live at the Airwaves festival can be seen here:

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Website: www.momentumiceland.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/momentumiceland
Twitter: https://twitter.com/momentumiceland
BandCamp: http://momentum.bandcamp.com/
ReverbNation: www.reverbnation.com/momentumiceland
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/momentumiceland