REVIEWS OF DEMO 2004

Metallian.com - Link

Information on the band is scarce as a bio did not arrive with the demo. Regardless, and despite myself, this is an agreeable band. What started to turn me off was the appearance of female vocals. "Oh no more goth masquerading as metal," were my immediate thoughts. Then the music kicked in and it was forlorn. It was wretched. It was sad and it was doom. Then the vocals fit perfectly. In the end, Skumring (ha?) turned out to be a fantastic listening choice for fans of doom and while the band might not be as destructive as Esoteric for instance, it will appeal to that band's fans as well as lovers of Disembowelment and Winter. The three songs, Søvn, De Glemte Tider and Forførelse I Natten, span some 43 minutes. That might help you imagine the band's music better. It is good stuff. Write to cilly82@hotmail.com or visit www.skumring.no for more information. - Ali "The Metallian"

BC-KR Online Underground Fanzine - Link

This review is about the self-titled Demo CD of the Norwegian doom metal band skumring that was published on December 10th 2004 in an edition of 100 handnumbered copies. The CD is self-produced. Unfortunately, in some cases the quality of sound appears to be a bit airless. The demo contains three tracks, of which each exceeds ten minutes easily, and has a total playing time of over fourty minutes. The music of Skumring is geared to the early works of "The 3rd and the Mortal", Shape of Despair, and Funeral, but the sound of Skumring is unique. The music also resembles "November's Doom" to an extend. The name Skumring means "dusk" in Norwegian and describes the atmosphere the music conveys - to sit in a forest at dusk and watch the incoming darkness.

The music of Skumring combines soft acoustic guitars, Cecilie's elven-like vocals and heavy, melancholic guitarsounds creating sad serenades. Every song takes a long time to unfold its composition structure until it reaches the final climax - a quality that is hard to find among most current bands. For unpatient listeners, Skumring is not recommended. The band does not produce music that is easy to consume, but it takes time and the listener's attention to listen to the melancholic compositions. All pieces on this CD are kept in the Norwegian language.

The first two minutes of "Sövn" sound diffident and inert. Gentle vocals and soft acoustic guitars create an elusive harmony, until mighty, electric guitars turn the mood into something that sounds lonely and depressive. The skillful compositions make accomplished use of arrangements of voice and guitar riffs. "De Glemte Tider" is the most elaborate track of the CD and although its playtime is almost 19 minutes, for fans of doom metal it is very entertaining to listen to. A fade-in represents the beginning of the song. A slow guitar riff emerges and consequently increases in sound and volume. This part is replaced by an unusually fast part with fierce drums and murk guitars which are overlayed by beautiful female vocals. "Forförelse I Natten" begins in renowned manner with doomlike guitars, but is then followed by a romantic, acoustic interlude. At this point associations with Empyrium come up. But the interlude is interrupted by a sudden, somberly threatening riff that enters the song like clouds enter a sunny afternoon sky. Slowly the opressing guitars vanish and make room for the accentuation of Cecilies vocals. Unfortunately, because of the quality of sound, the acoustic guitars are not always to be heard clearly, although they create important accents in the songs. But this does not disturb the atmosphere of the CD.

During the recording, the band consisted of five members: Cecilie (Vocals), Ole (Rhythm Guitar), Vàli (Lead- und Akkustikgitarre), KK (Bass) and Knut (Drums, Percussions). The bandmembers have different musical background. Cecilie had classical training and is experienced in the field of singing performances, but Skumring is the first metal band she sings for. Vàli has already published a CD entitled "Forlatt" within his solo-project "Vàli" that was released on the Polish underground label "Forshadow Production". KK (Bass) has played in the Norwegian band Deject. Ole has no band experience so far. Their former drummer, Knut, has already played in numerous bands, but because he moved to another city, he cannot take part in Skumring anymore. The band is currently looking for a new drummer.

For fans of funeral doom music this CD is absolutely recommended. Listeners of The 3rd and the Mortal and November's Doom can buy this CD unconsidered.

8/10 points (fibo)

Tatarean Desire - Link

Skumring is a young Norwegian band that formed in the summer of 2004. They quickly began composing their own material and in the same year they recorded this three-track demo which led to a deal with Aftermath Music in January 2005. If I tell you that these three songs together last for about three quarters of an hour it will be rather obvious to you that they are dwelling in the doom metal genre. Something I found interesting about Skumring right from the start, except for the strange band name, is that they write all their lyrics in Norwegian which has mostly been a feature claimed by black metal bands in the past. Their brand of doom metal is very slow, gloomy and bleak but also melodic, and is accompanied by the drawling voice of the female vocalist Cecilie which is quite nice. She reminds me somewhat of Kari Rueslåtten. The songs are well composed but even though doom metal is not a very colorful genre in general I think Skumring are a little bit too colorless now and then. They are off to a very good start though with this demo. Fans of solemn and emotional doom metal in the vein of Shape Of Despair, Esoteric and The 3rd And The Mortal will appreciate Skumring. A little bit of early My Dying Bride can also be traced in their heavy riffing once in a while.

6.5/10

Obskure - Link

Le doom metal spleenesque de Skumring ne restera pas dans l’anonymat, ce serait une offense à ceux qui recherchent une vision douce de leur désespoir.

Lent et lourd, le temps s’égrène à un rythme nouveau, porté par les guitares plombées, les sentiments à épancher sont trop complexes pour rentrer dans les cadres stricts et se diluent le long de titre très longs. L’acoustique vient donner de l’air sans pour autant soigner la tristesse et les plaintes splendides de Cecilie laissent à penser que cet état est celui qui peut être convient le mieux.

A la limite de l’heavenly voices, le chant aérien et mélancolique porte une douceur sombre et se marie à merveille avec les traits My Dying Bridien du début de Skumring. Certes Skumring n’est pas porteur de révélation dans le paysage brumeux du doom metal, mais la beauté triste qui émane de cette démo laisse envisager de superbes élégies à venir.

A suivre de près.
77/100

Doom-metal.com - Link

It surprises me that I have yet to hear of any band which follows in the footsteps of The 3rd And The Mortal. So when I heard samples of Skumring's music and recognized everything that I loved about early The 3rd And The Mortal, I jumped at the opportunity and got hold of one of these demos, which are sadly limited to just 100 copies. As a very welcome bonus the music has the heaviness that I always found lacking in The 3rd And The Mortal's music.

The name Skumring is Norwegian for Dusk. And just like The 3rd And The Mortal, the band is indeed Norwegian too. All the lyrics are in Norwegian, and for those of us which understands them, it's safe to say that they fit the music far better this way. The female vocalist named Cecilie, has the same serene voice that the more famous Kari Rueslåtten has (The 3rd And The Mortal's vocalist during the doom releases). In fact, they're so similar I don't think I'd be able to tell the two apart based on the voice alone.

But the music itself proves that Skumring is not completely The 3rd And The Mortal influenced. Although Skumring undeniably follows in their footsteps, they bring in some other influences as well, like the heavy riffage and rawer sound of another Norwegian band, Funeral. This and a little of their own creativity creates an utterly depressing mixture. In fact even during the one and only fast paced section on the demo, on the second track, 'De Glemte Tider' (translated as The Forgotten Ages), the music still feels very sorrowful.

The lyrics on the album contain the wish of ending ones life, portrayed through emotions, metaphors and images of nature. 'Søvn' (translated as Sleep) in particular contains a lot of expressions of a nocturnal winter setting. Probably the most depressing track is the third one, 'Forførelse I Natten' (translation: Seduction in the Night). Its emotions of silent despair are numbing, until the final point at which the words tell how agony can be left behind. The wait is over. It's time to be happy in a better place, somewhere outside this life...

This is probably one of the most touching and impressive releases that I ever have heard. It also seems to me that they are more than capable of creating more good music like this. So all fans of beautiful melodic doom with female vocals, and more specifically fans of The 3rd And The Mortal, pray that this promising young band stay doom and create more of this.

Metal-Norge.com - Link

Lille Norge, som har vært u-land innen doom ganske lenge har i det siste tatt seg kraftig opp. For rett etter at Fallens debutplate havnet meg i hende, ramlet debutdemoen til Skumring ned i postkassa.

Melodisk, atmosfærisk, blytungt og akustisk. Nøkkelord for Skumring. Det akustiske preget over musikken gir meg sterke assosiasjoner mot Morgion, mens det mer tunge høres ut som en seig utgave av My Dying Bride med en Mourning Beloveth-vri. Vokalmessig er det kun damevokal på hele demoen. Vanligvis er jeg ikke fan av bare damevokal, spesielt ikke i doom-metal, men her fungerer det utmerket, og hjelper til å gi det nødvendige atmosfæriske, drømmende og Morgion-aktige utrykket. Vokalist Cecilie har en nydelig og ren stemme, og hun synger akkurat perfekt.

Demoen består kun av tre låter, men med låtlengder på 12, 18 og 13 minutter blir det faktisk endel musikk utav det. Bandet viser bredde i musikken, både utrykksmessig og stilmessig. Fra koslige, rolige atmosfærer til dundrende melankolske stemninger. Tempomessig vet de å variere fra det helt funeral-aktige, opp til et ganske høyt tempo. Trommisen er imponerende stødig, og har skjønt at å spille doom er ikke bare om å spille sakte! Et siste og ganske sikkert pluss er å kjøre norske tekster. Akustisk preg, styggtreg doom og norske tekster – får det bedre? Bandet gjennomfører også med glans. Det er ikke mange demoband som på sin første demo greier å kjøre igjennom ei hel låt på over 18 minutter uten noen dødpunkter. Bra!

Hva mer er det å si? Jeg er dypt imponert. Demoen gikk 4 runder på rappen her i sted, og bare det sier sitt. Herlig, trist, massiv og atmosfærisk doom, og i tillegg med upåklagelig lyd! Stå på, Skumring. www.skumring.no