Bjarm-Imminence

Fono Ltd.
2014

Strangely it has been more than a bit of a struggle getting this review transferred from my thoughts and onto the written page. That's by no means a fault of this Russian band or their music. No, it actually has more to do with trying to get all of the proper notes about this band typed out in a somewhat reasonably fashion. As we're talking about a band that are named after a territory mentioned in Norse sagas up to the Viking Age and one that has the tempting selling point of "The perfect combination between Beauty and Violence" it is a tad hard building up the right kind of introduction for this band that was formed in 2009 and is based in the city of Severodvinsk, in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast. Regardless, Bjarm first hit the scene in 2010 thanks to the a ten-track demo entitled "Defect". Lead by vocalist/lyricist Andrey (Garmskrik, ex-Fenrir, Splendor Solis, Vedun) and rounded out by Mikhail Shatnyi (Bass), Alexey (Guitars), Egor (Guitars) Vitaliy (Drums) and Anastasia (Keyboards and Vocals) the basic "structure" of this band is something like this-male (harsh) vocals and female (smooth) vocals are effectively employed over-top of strong (METALLIC) twin-guitar parts, symphonic (occasional black mostly death) metal orchestration and (in general) extreme metal in order to provide as physically an intimidating presence as humanly possible. Oh, and let's not forget that ambient nature of Bjarm's debut album either! Besides being well-constructed in it's execution and well-rounded musically "Imminence" is (no pun intended!) an immense emotional journey! One listen and I was hooked! I wanted to hear more and to feel more of what this Russian act had to offer and for someone who usually doesn't care for such a term as symphonic metal  this album pulled me in directly and made me open my eyes to new discoveries. Bjarm is another one of those (newish) acts trying their hands at something a bit different and off the beaten track. The thing is they are doing that while still holding firm to some of the industry's already establish hallmarks and by the Norse gods it's working for them!  Need some links? Well, here you go!

 http://vk.com/bjarm
 https://itunes.apple.com/ru/album/imminence/id889323814
 https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Bjarm_Imminence?id=Bwddmmiuarhnt7p4nz3b6v4z5va
 http://www.facebook.com/bjarmofficial