Hamferd – Evst

Releasedate: 2013; Label: TUTL Records
By: Basak Günel

Hamferd is a death/doom band from the Faroe Islands. Formed in 2008, the band recorded their first demos in 2009. By joining contests like “Global Battle of the Bands”, the band has proven that they are successful and unique in their own genre. This led them to play with bands like Tyr and Moonsorrow in 2011 and Amorphis in 2014.

The band has released 1 EP and 1 debut album so far. The debut album “Evst” was released in 2013 and it was a pleasure for me to listen to the songs from the album live on March 2014, as the band played in Düsseldorf as the support act for Amorphis. I also had the honor to interview them and learned a lot about “Evst”. Since the album is in the Faroese language, one wonders what story it tells. According to the vocalist Jón Aldará : “ The album is tied to the first EP and it’s a concept album; it’s about a man who goes through various stages of his life. The EP was dealing with the man’s different stages of death that he went through and this one is more like the pre stages of that; it goes one stage back. He goes up on a mountain with his son and he loses his son so the album is about his search of his son. He meets the people of the mountains, which can be found in the Faroese folklore as well, and falls in love with this woman but he has no idea of what he is doing there, he doesn’t belong in this mountain; the mountain is not for humans and he goes crazy and kills the woman and he desperately goes in search of his son and throws himself off the cliff in hopes of being with him”.

After interviewing them and seeing them live, I wondered how the album sounds like. The dynamic beginning with the song “Evst” might make you think that this is a ‘fast’ death/doom metal album but it’s not. Right after this dynamic death-metal approach, we face with the real character of Hamferd, which is just straight-on doom metal that the band creates within the album. This is not just another doom metal album though; while listening to the songs, you will be captivated by the atmospheric ‘ice-cold Scandinavian’ approach through the e-guitars played by John Egholm, Theodor Kapnas and keyboards played by Esmar Joensen. . Let’s not forget that this is a concept album so even if you don’t know the Faroese language, you will feel that there’s a story told song-by-song; the songs are all connected to each other in that sense. The theme of death can also be felt throughout the dark atmosphere within the album.

Musically, I like the fact that this album is not just another doom metal album; there is the death metal approach that I mentioned but there are also clean vocals (male and even female) that make this album even more melancholic and atmospheric. Moreover, the production of each song is quite successful; the harsh doom vocals are in perfect harmony with the melodies; as a matter of fact, every element –from the e-guitars to the melancholic clean vocals- are in perfect balance and this makes this album and this band quite unique. The highlight of the album for me is definitely the slowest and the most atmospheric song “At Jarda Tey Elskadu”; this is where the album has a twist and goes even more melancholic and doom-y.

It might have been a long time after this album’s release but if you are craving for the melancholic doom stuff, then “Evst” is your answer.

Line-up:
Jón Aldará – vocals
John Egholm – guitar
Theodor Kapnas – guitar
Remi Johannesen – drums
Esmar Joensen – keys
Jenus í Trøðini – bass

Tracklist: 01. Evst 02. Deydir Vardar 03. Vid Teimmum Kvirru Grau 04. At Jarda Tey Elskadu 05. Sinnisloysi 06. Ytst

Links:
Hamferd Facebook