The first thing to say about Afsky's Ofte jeg drømmer mig død is that it's a monumental album. So beautiful that it is difficult to say something commensurable to its dimension.
First of all, Afsky is a Danish black metal one-man-band from Copenhagen and is the birthchild of Ole Pedersen Luk, a multi-instrumentalist active in other bands. Conceptually, Afsky reminds me a lot of Grift from Sweden: the culture of their countries inspires both projects, it is no coincidence that they both have lyrics in their native languages, but Afsky also deals with themes such as death, despair, anguish. Musically speaking, both Grift and Afsky are very emotional. Emotions are the core of this album, including the cover itself showing a painting by the Danish painter Hans Andersen Brendekilde (1857-1942) entitled Udslidt from 1889 portraying a scene of death and despair.
The album begins with a peaceful acoustic passage with a violin in the background, but it then evolves into a swirling blasting riff, but you can still hear the violin in the background. It is also this attention to detail that makes this album so beautiful. And the emotions underlying it are always different: there is not only the melancholy and the painful as in the opener “Altid veltilfreds”, but also the furious and the ferocious, as in “Tyende sang”. The album explores many sonic territories, but also dark territories of the human soul, as indicated by the title that translates for “Often I dream of me dead”; it is an introspective and personal album, in a word, a sublime masterpiece.
Notes:
Afsky's Ofte jeg drømmer mig død was released on May 12, 2020 as digital release, CD, and vinyl via Vendetta Records; a limited edition cassette was released on October 30, 2020 via Life after Death.
Personnel:
Ole Pedersen Luk: all instruments, vocals, songwriting.
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com
First of all, Afsky is a Danish black metal one-man-band from Copenhagen and is the birthchild of Ole Pedersen Luk, a multi-instrumentalist active in other bands. Conceptually, Afsky reminds me a lot of Grift from Sweden: the culture of their countries inspires both projects, it is no coincidence that they both have lyrics in their native languages, but Afsky also deals with themes such as death, despair, anguish. Musically speaking, both Grift and Afsky are very emotional. Emotions are the core of this album, including the cover itself showing a painting by the Danish painter Hans Andersen Brendekilde (1857-1942) entitled Udslidt from 1889 portraying a scene of death and despair.
The album begins with a peaceful acoustic passage with a violin in the background, but it then evolves into a swirling blasting riff, but you can still hear the violin in the background. It is also this attention to detail that makes this album so beautiful. And the emotions underlying it are always different: there is not only the melancholy and the painful as in the opener “Altid veltilfreds”, but also the furious and the ferocious, as in “Tyende sang”. The album explores many sonic territories, but also dark territories of the human soul, as indicated by the title that translates for “Often I dream of me dead”; it is an introspective and personal album, in a word, a sublime masterpiece.
Notes:
Afsky's Ofte jeg drømmer mig død was released on May 12, 2020 as digital release, CD, and vinyl via Vendetta Records; a limited edition cassette was released on October 30, 2020 via Life after Death.
Personnel:
Ole Pedersen Luk: all instruments, vocals, songwriting.
Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com
