Label: Adversum
Review by Luisa Mercier
Alexander Nordgaren, already member of the Norwegian black-avant-garde metal band Fleurety, is the mind behind the project I Left the Planet. He has been joined by other Fleurety collaborator : Ayna Beate Johansen on vocals, Per Amund Solberg on bass and Mari Solberg on saxophone. The present release is a 3-track EP which might be compared to the main project Fleurety because the members are always the same, but has its own features of course. There are no black metal hints, nor the electronic which can be found in Fleurety. The avantgarde of I Left the Planet is more leaning on the jazzy/prog side. You can hear it starting from the opener “Diamond. Hazard”, a short track with chubby riffs and a long instrumental break enriched by the saxophone played by Mari. It is a nice mix of metal and jazz made even more effective by the weird, but versatile vocals of Ayna.
She is perfect for the role of avantgarde singer. The following “Dark.Blue” is more jazz than metal and it has a long spoken part courtesy of Bjorn Esben Almaas. The last track “Soft. Mad” is the longest on the record and it is opened by a long spoken narration continued by Ayna‘s vocals that sings in a quite evil way on a background of a soft music, slow and paces with the saxophone appearing here and there. Definitely a good release, lovers of avantgarde metal will appreciate it for sure.
Rating – 70/100
Tracklist
- Diamond. Hazard
- Dark. Blue
- Soft. Mad
Line Up
- Ayna Beate Johansen – Vocals
- Bjorn Esben Almaas – Vocals & radio
- Alexander Nordgaren – Guitars
- Mari Solberg – Saxophone
- Per Amund Solberg – Bass
- Czral – Drums
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