In the fall of 2020, Swedish multi-instrumentalist Jörgen “Jurg” Ström (ex-SKINEATER, ex-OMNICIDAL, ex-RIMFROST) envisioned a music project, entitled JORD (Swedish for “earth”), that would capture the beauty of the northern nature by way of crafting haunting melodies and blending all sorts of different nuances from atmospheric black metal to distortion-drenched post-rock to Gothic-tinged, scenic soundscapes. The initial goal was to release three albums as a solo endeavor, as Ström‘s nomadic lifestyle left little time to assemble a full lineup. This template worked fine for the first two albums – “Sol” (2021) and “Måne” (2022). By the third album, “Tundra” (2023), the solo approach had reached its limits, and JORD fledged out into a trio with Sebastian “Hravn” Svedlund (RIMFROST, OMNICIDAL, SISTER SIN) on guitar and Stefan “Jansson” Jansson (OMNICIDAL, ex-DEVILICIOUS) on drums. Now, it is time for the sophomore full-band effort, the fourth JORD endeavor overall, under the Swedish title, “Emellan Träden,” which translates as “Between the Trees.” Set for release on September 5th, 2025, via Hammerheart Records, the new album continues to pay homage to the beauty of Scandinavian nature with the immersive, vast soundscapes of atmospheric black metal, or even blackgaze, tinged with subtle notes of ALCEST, KATATONIA, and RUSSIAN CIRCLES. With the focus zoomed in quite heavily on atmosphere and textures, it doesn’t really matter if you don’t understand the Swedish lyrics – only three of the songs are sung in English. The music will embrace you like a cool wind on a summer night by the lake.
The game is set afoot with the single, “Stay”, the intro of which almost got me wondering for a second, whether I put on some vintage PLACEBO by accident. The clean guitar chords resonate with a nice twang, and the melancholy piano motif is drenched in delicious post-rock reverb – these could have fooled anyone. The blackgaze plot thickens soon enough with a double-kick drum beat and beefier guitar chops. When the harsh black-metal vocals enter, you can’t mistake the music for anything else. Halfway through the song, things become more ethereal, adopting a slightly mellow approach, marked by layers of clean vocals that sing “Ooh” and “Aah.” Guess I didn’t see this coming on, despite having been warned by the press release about ALCEST being one of the band’s inspirations. The song alternates between atmospheric black metal and Gothic rock quite magnificently – and if you’re not careful, the simple piano motif may stick to your head for days. I’d say this song opens the album like a true ace in tennis: through a combination of raw power and precise placement, the receiver will be caught totally off-guard.
After a few spins with the album, it is hard not to draw parallels from the marriage of post-rock and black metal toward SÓLSTAFIR, although there are some major differences as well. For instance, despite being driven by frantic blast beats, “Hon Kallar” flirts rather openly with Nordic folk, what with all the Scandinavian violin ornamentations and female vocals. The guest vocalist remains shrouded in mystery, though. Then, “King of the Night” resonates with the air of vintage PARADISE LOST quite prominently. Later on, “Prinsessan och Hästen” is another banger that casts wistful glances to the sound of 1990s Gothic metal. In the latter, the interplay between the atmospheric verses and punchy choruses works particularly nicely. On the same note, “Vid Muren” evolves from acoustic campfire folk into an almost death/doom riffage, and “Den Brandgula Salen” throws in a guitar solo that has vintage SCORPIONS written all over it. Still, it all works wonders, and while you can spot traces of this and that in the music, it resonates with a unique air of its own – everything is filtered through the prism of blackgaze, atmospheric black metal, or whatever you want to call it.
That said, one of the two absolute standout tracks in this selection is the song entitled “Dimma,” simply because it plays with the contrast between the ethereal post-rock ostinatos and brutal black-metal blasting so magnificently; the atmospheric, instrumental passages are almost reminiscent of GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT, here and there, while, at its heaviest, the song takes on a CULT OF LUNA level, slow-crushing brutality. The other is “Bortom Tundran,” closing the album (if you purchased the digipak edition, I believe). The title translates as “Beyond the Tundra,” referring rather explicitly to the band’s previous album, which was met with rave reviews. I must admit to not having checked it out yet, so I cannot tell to what extent exactly this haunting closer goes one louder, but I reckon it does. Ström‘s clean-vocal passages in the verses truly churn the heart even though I haven’t got the faintest idea what he is singing about (my Swedish is by far not that good). What a way to bring closure to this banging selection! The song’s atmospheric coda puts the final icing on the cake. Before I was offered the chance to review this album, I wasn’t aware of this band, but now, I most certainly am. JORD‘s new full-length endeavor turned out to be nothing short of an impressive journey into Scandinavian nature. Just like Mother Nature, the album is by turns beautiful and brutal to the point of rendering you speechless.
Written by Jani Lehtinen
Tracklist
- Stay
- Hon Kallar
- King of the Night
- Dimma
- Vid Muren
- Prinsessan och Hästen
- Den Brandgula Salen
- The Grave and Chain
- Bortom Tundran (bonustrack)
Lineup
Jörgen “Jurg” Ström – vocals, bass, clean guitars, keyboards
Sebastian “Hravn” Svedlund – guitars
Stefan “Jansson” Jansson – drums
Label
Hammerheart Records
