UMUR "Access All Worlds" is the debut full-length studio album by Danish metal act Iotunn. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in February 2021. Iotunn formed in 2015 and released the "The Wizard Falls" EP in 2016. Since then lead vocalist/bassist Benjamin Jensen has left and has been replaced by Faroe Islands native Jón Aldará (lead vocals) and Eskil Rask (bass). The former is also known for his work with Barren Earth and Hamferð, while the latter is know for his work with Sunless Dawn.

Honestly the departure of Jensen got me a bit worried, as he was such a big part of the sound of Iotunn on the "The Wizard Falls" EP, but Aldará proves to be a strong replacement. He performs both snarling blackened growling and epic semi-operatic clean vocals. Stylistically the material on "Access All Worlds" is an interesting combination of black, death, doom, power/progressive metal, ethnic Scandinavian folk, and traditional heavy metal elements. Keyboards are often used and there is an epic atmosphere to the whole album (I´m often reminded of Barren Earth, although Iotunn are generally a more eclectic act). The huge ofte clean sung choruses of the songs are on such an epic scale that they often threaten to leave earth. The guitar riffs are both heavy and melodic, and the lead guitar work is intriguing and memorable (delivered by the two brothers Jens Nicolai Gräs and Jesper Gräs). Underneath is a heavy and reliable rhythm section.

"Access All Worlds" features a powerful, epic scale, and detailed sound production, which suits the material well. Upon cocnclusion "Access All Worlds" is a high quality release from Iotunn, which is well composed, well produced, and well performed. The combination of the many different elements is what makes this album stand out, but other than that you´ll recognise all elements used here. So calling this unique or particularly original is a bit far fetched. It´s certainly is a high quality product though and a 3.5 (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "The Wizard Falls" is an EP release by Danish metal act Iotunn. The EP was independently released in February 2016. Iotunn formed in 2015 and "The Wizard Falls" is their first release. The EP features 5 tracks and a total playing time of 25:49 minutes, which gives the listener plenty of time to get acquainted with the band´s music.

Stylistically the material on the EP is a heavy, dark, and relatively hard-edged type of power/progressive metal (listen to the thrashy/melodeath oriented riffs on "Given to Explore"). It´s both melodic and epic, but the heavy riffs and powerful driving drumming keep the music firmly rooted in darker and heavier realms of power/progressive metal. Lead vocalist/bassist Benjamin Jensen has a relatively distinct sounding voice and a powerful delivery (strong clean vocals as well as high pitched screaming vocals). There are loads of passion and bite in his vocal performance. It´s a little surprising that he occasionally (actually very rarely) also sings snarling raw black/death metal type vocals, but the more extreme metal oriented vocals suit the gloomy nature of the music pretty well. The instrumental work is on a high level throughout the album. The drums were mentioned above, but the intricate and skillfully played guitar riffs, harmonies, and leads deserve a mention too. Iotunn may be a relatively new act on the scene, but these guys can play.

The tracks feature recognisable and catchy vers/chorus structures, but also more adventurous excursions and twists, which help "The Wizard Falls" to be an interesting listen from start to finish. "The Wizard Falls" also features a well sounding production, which suits the material perfectly, so upon conclusion this is not just a promising debut release by Iotunn, it´s an incredibly strong high quality release in its own right. It´s an adventurous and genre defying take on power/progressive metal which works really well. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

lukretion My 2021 in prog metal has been quite satisfactory for now, with plenty of strong albums already (Soen, Transatlantic, Therion) and only very few disappointments (Steven Wilson). What the year has been lacking so far, though, is the surprise factor – a new band that comes out of nowhere and manages to blow me away. Enter Iotunn, a Danish quintet hailing from Copenhagen who have just released their debut album, Access All Worlds, via Metal Blade Records. It is a striking debut, with plenty of highlights, that just keeps drawing the listener back for more and that, come December, I am sure will pop up in many metalfans’ end-of-year lists.

Iotunn play a special brand of melodic death metal, very epic in an unmistakably Nordic way, and with distinctive progressive undercurrents. The guitar work of brothers Jens and Jesper Gräs is impeccable and give us a massive dose of highly headbangable riffs, epic classic heavy metal leads, and shimmering solos, in the best tradition of the Scandinavian melodic death scene. The furious but extremely varied and dynamic drumming of Bjørn Wind Andersen and the subtle melodic interjections of bassist Eskil Rask add to the mix to create a mighty texture of sound that envelopes the listener from the very first notes of the album and transports her to a different world. This impressive musical background is topped off by the vocal histrionics of singer Jón Aldará. I am not hugely familiar with Aldará’s performance in his other bands (Barren Earth, Hamferð), but his vocal work on Access All Worlds simply floored me. He is an incredible talent. His growls are fierce, dark and deep but without sacrificing clarity of enunciation, which is a quality that reminds me of the great Mikael Stanne (Dark Tranquillity). Aldará’s cleans are equally amazing. So full of epicness and pathos, they inject a marked Nordic vibe into the music, bringing to mind even bands like Borknagar and Enslaved. Aldará also uses a third vocal style, a sort of shouted clean singing that falls halfway between his growling and his cleans. His all-encompassing and passionate performance elevates the albums to a whole new level and is certainly one of the main highlights of the record.

The eclectic influences that the five musicians bring to the table (from melodic death, to black metal, to standard heavy metal, to space metal) are expertly mixed to ensure that Access All Worlds stays fresh and retains the listener’s attention throughout its nearly 62 minutes of duration. It is a remarkable feat because Access All Worlds is not a lightweight album and requires a fair amount of time investment on the part of the listener, as one can infer from the fact six of its seven tracks clock above 6 minutes. The band’s progressive streak means that a lot of things happen in those 6+ minutes. These are songs that do not like to rest for too long on the same theme or melody, but keep evolving into new parts, with several tempo changes and a good dose of instrumental passages. The song fluidity and complexity is never overburdening, although there are a few times where I did wish that the band indulged in slightly more streamlined structures, allowing the melodies to sink in more easily.

Another aspect of the album that I also regret somewhat is its slightly unbalanced tracklist: although the quality of the music is high throughout the record, there is a sensible step-up in the second half of the album. From “Waves Below” onwards, the record keeps getting better and better, reaching an intense climax on album closer “Safe Across the Endless Night”. This track is incredible: it twists and turns across nearly 14 minutes and keeps surprising the listener with new ideas that one did not necessarily see coming. This unpredictability is something that makes this song stand out (together with “Waves Below” and the more compact “The Weaver System”) relative to other tracks, which are sometimes a tad too formulaic.

Ultimately, though, these are only minor quibbles. Access All Worlds is a truly impressive debut album that should appeal to anyone with a liking for extreme progressive metal. Although the roots of the album lie in the Scandinavian melodic death tradition, by mixing in a lot of different influences Iotunn manage to forge a distinct individual sound, which is rather impressive for a debut album. If the band will dare to push the boundaries of their music just a little bit further, giving the listener fewer reference points and throwing more curveballs at them, I cannot imagine how Iotunn will fail to become a leading force in the extreme prog metal universe. Highly recommended!

[Originally written for The Metal Observer]