Of The Wand And The Moon — :Emptiness:Emptiness:Emptiness:

Of The Wand And The Moon’s performance at the Wave Gothic Treffen in Germany on the 2nd of June was something to look forward to. But one could never expect that it would be as good as it actually turned out to be. The highlight of the festival, and so is the newest release by this artist, the solo band of Kim Larsen.Followers of the (doom) metal genre might know him from Saturnus, of which he wrote most of the music in the past. He left the band with some other key members and formed a new metal band, but there’s no need to speak further about that, this review is about Of The Wand And The Moon...

...And Of The Wand And The Moon is certainly not a metal band. The music falls into the genre of dark folk, comparable to Death In June, Sol Invictus and that kind of artists. In other words, the songs are mostly acoustic, with some additional classical instruments like strings, flutes and percussion. A very minimal approach, but accomplishing a maximum atmosphere. It’s beautiful, calm and peaceful, but yet dark, sombre and misanthropic. Kim Larsen adds even more sadness with his whispering and speaking vocals, bringing forth the most fitting lyrics.

Although it’s true that Of The Wand And The Moon is comparable to Death In June and the likes, it doesn’t mean that Mr. Larsen has shamelessly copied the music. I think that he has created more or less an own style, and it is clear that he has put all his personal emotions into the music and lyrics. “:Emptiness:Emptiness:Emptiness:” is greatly inspired by Nordic mythology and runes and, according to the booklet, produced, composed and performed under influence of alcohol and misanthropy. It certainly didn’t have a bad effect on him...

The production is excellent, every instrument is well balanced which give the tracks a certain warmth and an amazing atmosphere. There are nine songs on the album, of which two are not acoustic, but more ambient like pieces. Both songs, “Algir Naudir Wunjo” and “Reciful”, are long (more than 12 and 17 minutes respectively) and keep repeating the same sound and text over and over again. This might seem a bit boring, but the inner beauty of these tracks will reveal itself to you after a few listens. Apart from that, they give the album a bit more variation.

Compared to the previous album “Nighttime Nightrhymes”, released back in 1999, Of The Wand And The Moon has for sure gone through a positive development. The music is more varied and has more atmosphere than before, probably because the other classical instruments than the guitar are more in front and used more frequent.

This release will appeal not only the followers of the dark folk genre, but I’m pretty sure to other people as well. As long as you like dark, calm and melancholic music, Of The Wand And The Moon is sure worth checking out. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland the album is licensed to Prophecy Productions, which also has a mp3 file present on their webpage.