Fleurety - Min Tid Skal Komme

Fleurety - Min Tid Skal Komme – 5/5
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If I was told about this artist in passing I probably would have ignored it, so perhaps I’m making a late discovery and this album is praised as the ‘masterpiece’ title it deserves, or perhaps it was shelved for fifteen years and forgotten. Either way, with the sudden interest of late in combining post-rock with black metal, this release from a duo of most likely mentally unstable Norwegians feels due for a comeback. It may not have the same rooted sensibilities of the “Amesoeurs,” or the unbridled atmospheric intention of “Fen,” but what it does have under its belt is a phenomenal dynamic range of styles that borders close to the absurd end of Avant-Garde.

The raw production lends itself strongly to the end result, at times giving the strong blackened tone with the high pitched growls icily shrieking over the cacophony produced by the treble-laden guitars, but what makes this artists work so beautiful to listen to is the fact that all that will change in a moment. Even progressive music tends to have one strict compositional formula to adhere to, particular styles of riffs to go back and forth from, but here it is this post-rock tendency to meander that is at work here; a constantly shifting dynamic that is constantly introducing new elements and styles that allows their avant-garde nature to flourish.

Despite there being only two musicians at work here there is an unquenchable hunger for more, providing a combination of the various tones of the electric guitar from the blackened to the jazz fusion and a deep bass work as integral as any other component, the drumming fluidly transitioning between jazz and rock styles as though never separated, synth-laden electronic passages give way to acoustic folk guitars and gothic doom like passages, and then clean female vocals will appear out of the blue to belt out a couple of red hot scorching notes to the now oriental electric riff, only to disappear so they can ride the rollercoaster again. There is a genuine reason most of the tracks loiter around the ten minute mark, and that’s simply because any shorter and you’d be cutting out an entire genres influence from the end result.

This isn’t simply a combination of black metal and post-rock, they haven’t just decided to merge the two styles and then meander for a bit; it feels it’s stripped all but a few pointers from the former and physically assaulted the latter into working its way to divulging everything they have on offer, and for all the styles presented, its always melodic and never feels like an odd combination presented. The entire piece will dynamically shift towards one particular style only to suddenly sway back at a moments notice; the very first track opening with rock/neo-folk intro, yielding to the black only to fall back onto a jazz solo and this is just how it all begins.

Can it really be summed up as “Black Metal/Post-Rock?” Whilst there may be a strong reliance on both genres to demonstrate their eccentricity, there’s too much on display to rely on this description. This is what ‘Unexpect’ wish they could be; what ‘Disillusion’ should have returned with after “Back to Times…;” what David Sylvian would do playing for the LLN; or the result of an ultra-violent jam between John McLaughlin and Fen. I wouldn’t dare insult it by calling it anything as demeaning and derogatorily simple as that, Fleurety have produced something so much more.