DARKHER — Realms (review)

DARKHER — Realms album cover Album · 2016 · Metal Related Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
Nightfly
Darkher is the name used by Yorkshire based musician/songwriter Jayn H Wissenberg in partnership with her husband/guitarist Martin T Wissenberg. Whilst sounding totally unique if you were looking for a reference I guess you could include Darkher in that group of female songwiters/musicians like Chelsea Wolfe and Julie Christmas who whilst not metal per se manage to transcend boundaries and are sometimes of interest to metal audiences because of the heavier elements introduced.

I’ve lived with Realms, the debut album from Darkher for quite a while now, since last year in fact and been meaning to review it for some time. Even after repeated plays it still manages to surprise me with its captivating unearthly songs brimming with stark beauty. Musically it ranges from sparse minimalism like the ethereal drone on Spirit Waker and Burried Pt I to heavier doom laden guitars like on Hollow Veil and Burried Pt II. Drums are present, supplied by a number of drummers, but are kept simple and under strict control with no room or necessity for fancy fills. Guitars range from the afore-mentioned doomier riffs, cleaner sounding parts too, but also for effect with ambient textures, Foregone being a prime example. Acoustic guitars add a folk feel at times as well. The icing on the cake though is Jayn’s vocals. The evocative album sleeve shows Jayn stood ghost-like in the middle of the moors conjuring up images of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights – they’re both from the same part of the Country incidentally, giving an indication of what to expect. Her voice has a haunting melancholic beauty perfect for the stark autumnal atmosphere pervading the album. Lament, which closes things, is the perfect vehicle for this and a suitably memorable ending to a remarkable album.

Realms is a stunning piece of work. As already said this is not a metal album but if your musical taste’s stretch to include the likes of Myrkur then I strongly recommend checking out this incredible album and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
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