Huldra
Signals From the Void EP
Self-Released
Street: 11.11.11
Huldra = ISIS + Cult of Luna + Rosetta
Clocking in at nearly 45 minutes, this might be the longest EP I’ve ever heard—but I’m totally okay with that. Huldra’s sound is firmly cemented in the spacey, weighty grounds of post-metal where ISIS and Neurosis trod before them, their songs building and crashing over striking keyboard passages, and punctuated by bellowing howls. Thirteen-minute opener “A Signal Permeates the Sky” sets the mood for the EP perfectly, building upon a slow rhythm and relaxed (yet dark) vocals before exploding into an amped-out monster around the four-minute mark. After a flurry of guitars and synths, the tempo is brought down, only to be brought up again as furiously as ever with fierce, tremolo riffing, more howling, and, most badass of all (seriously), more piano. The EP also features a pair of shorter ambient tracks, providing a respite from the longer, more intense tracks, but it’s in the 10-minute plus epics that Huldra truly shines. These guys are quickly becoming one of my favorite metal bands in Utah. Keep an eye out for their split with Dustbloom being released this month.