Earth Electric - Vol.1: Solar album review

Mayhem’s former axeman shifts to a new, progressive path

By
( )
published
Cover art for Earth Electric - Vol.1: Solar album

You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.

This album was always going to be an interesting proposition. The brainchild of ex-Mayhem axe-slinger Rune ‘Blasphemer’ Eriksen – who also has Aura Noir, Twilight Of The Gods and Nader Sadek on his CV – it gathers a well-travelled group of musicians for a debut that is a world away from the black missives Eriksen is known for. Enlisting Messenger’s Daniel Knight on keyboards and Ava Inferni songstress Carmen Simões on vocals, Vol. 1: Solar is an enigmatic slice of progressive occult rock cast between the pillars of Ghost and Opeth. For those punters who appreciate the songcraft that goes into engineering such a feat, credit is due to Eriksen and co, with the aid of acclaimed producer Jaime Gomez Arellano, for pulling off a brilliant slab of complex, credible prog. The syncopated rhythms of The Endless Road underpin an eerie sense of nostalgia that’s captured with the ever-proggy Hammond and there’s room for uptempo malevolence on Mountains And Conquerors while the title track confirms Eriksen’s musical nous as a composer and a guitar wizard.

Holly Wright
Holly Wright

With over 10 years’ experience writing for Metal Hammer and Prog, Holly has reviewed and interviewed a wealth of progressively-inclined noise mongers from around the world. A fearless voyager to the far sides of metal Holly loves nothing more than to check out London’s gig scene, from power to folk and a lot in between. When she’s not rocking out Holly enjoys being a mum to her daughter Violet and working as a high-flying marketer in the Big Smoke.