Stilla - Till stilla falla

STILLA - Till stilla falla (NORDVIS Productions LP 2012)

When "Till stilla falla" came out, I made a purchase of this album without knowing anything about Stilla's music. But I felt that a project made of people who're in such bands as Armagedda, Bergraven or Sorgeldom cannot be bad. And I am certainly glad now that I did buy this vinyl and did not hesitate. First of all, this LP is now sold out and rather expensive and secondly, Stilla turned out to be a brilliant band and "Till stilla falla" is one of my favourite black metal releases of recent years. 

What I love the most about "Till stilla falla" is that screams SCADINAVIAN BLACK METAL loud! And to be even more precise, this album is deeply, deeply influenced by the 90's Norwegian atmospheric black metal bands. When I listen to "Till stilla falla" I have such "For all tid" in my mind. I have "Bergtatt" in my mind". I have "Svartalvheim" in my mind. Also albums from Kampfar, Kvist, Satyrion... Some of the best stuff Norwegian black metal had to offer in the 90's. And that is Stilla, a project which in 2011 recorded an album, which recreates that feeling and atmosphere perfectly and can stand proud aside to the old classics. Basically, everything that "Till stilla falla" presents is ticking the boxes of what such musical style needs. And this music has been written and performed just perfectly. The most important in my opinion is the atmosphere - how the band can create that cold, grim, slightly nostalgic, but also monumental and hateful aura. They obtained the essence of this music and what it should awake. Riffs are splendid and easily manage to balance the harshness and viciousness of black metal (there are even some killer blasting parts like in “Aldrig döden minnas“) with more melodic and melancholic parts, giving us a diverse and interesting record all the way through. Additional instrumentation in this style is also very important, whether they are acoustic guitars or keyboards... Stilla doesn't exaggerate with them, but they do include them when it’s needed to rise the epic, monumental feeling. And vocals - well, Andreas Petterson is a great vocalist, I like his work in other bands he’s involved in, and in Stilla he also did a perfect job. It's great to hear some clean vocals along the raspy black metal shrieks, also. 

All in all, I can only write positive words about Stilla's debut. It is a great album and I am very glad that nowadays there are bands, which can deliver this sort of black metal in such a perfect style. This album can rival many classics, in my opinion, and this is why I immediately became Stilla's fan ever since "Till stilla falla" came out. 

Standout tracks: "Tidlösa vindar", “Aldrig döden minnas..”, “Hinsides dagen” 

Verdict: 85/100