It is not quite clear where Norna fits in metal’s labyrinth of sub-genres. They are probably too noisy and brittle to be post metal but there is a whiff of both intelligence and experimentation that differentiate them from more standard offerings. Whatever it actually is, this is a dense record full of sludgy riffs and circular refrains. That aforementioned streak of intelligence means that it doesn’t get bogged down in its thickness and instead there are obvious flares of real creativeness that keep it interesting.

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