Starting off this split, I was somewhat surprised by Ulvhedner's epic
black metal approach, with more guitar melody and clearer bass lines
than expected and a relatively clean production as well. Throughout
their half, Ulvhedner deliver well composed and played material, with
varying pace and aggression mixed with those melodic leads and a very
audible bass to keep some welcome variety. The songs are punchy and
enjoyable, with a sufficiently distinctive sound to make them stand
out a bit more than usual from the masses. Mindblowing stuff it may
not be -- and never mind the closing atmospheric track --, but
Ulvhedner seem firmly on their way to an interesting album of their
own.As for Galdrer, what we get after a nice acoustic intro is a somewhat
different proposition from their split mates. Despite enjoying a
similar production in terms of clarity, their approach is less
energetic; instead, they remain strictly mid-paced, with a certain
melancholy to their guitar leads. Galdrer also employ more keyboards,
though these are kept in a distant background. There could have been
more variation as far as pace, as the songs tend to become somewhat
flat after a while, but it doesn't become a major problem. Like
Ulvhedner, Galdrer also show enough quality to make me expect to hear
from them again in the future.
Rather than teaming up two disparate bands, either stylistically or as
far as their quality, Northern Silence have put together a split that
makes sense: it is unlikely you will be very disappointed by one of
the bands if you like the other, and the production values remain
consistent throughout. The result is a worthwhile split showcasing two
bands that may well have an interesting path ahead of them.