Kristoffer Gildenlöw 🇬🇧 Humanised

‘Humanised’ is the new album by singer and multi-instrumentalist Kristoffer Gildenlöw. After a few ‛quieter’ albums, he returns to his (prog) metal roots. The album features, amongst other things, heavy seven-string guitar parts, driving riffs and shifting time signatures. What’s more, there’s a mix of nuances and styles, including sleaze rock, art rock and doom. The lyrics deal with topics such as overproduction, overconsumption, superficiality and greed.
The quiet intro to ‘Rendering’ really gets under my skin. The music remains pleasantly slow, and becomes almost imperceptibly more intense. It seems to be ending, but a short, minimalist section follows. The shift towards symphonic and metal elements is unexpected; rhythm and melody go hand in hand here. At one point, the symphonic elements recede into the background and electronic sounds come to the fore. This opening track is instrumental.
The ‘first part’ of ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’ features several twists and turns. Kristoffer’s recognisable vocals feature in a calmer section. Later on, the (layered) vocals also feature in the more forcefully played sections. The vocals sometimes sound slightly distorted, but that fits within the overall sound. Due to the layered structure, the lyrics aren’t always easy to make out, but that isn’t distracting. Vocals and music form a unique blend. The excellent percussion includes, amongst other things, detailed, light sounds from the cymbals. The rather sudden ending is beautiful.

There are sound effects during the intro to ‘Landfill’, followed by low-pitched, tightly played sections. The music is well balanced across the headset and the sound quality is excellent. However, in this fast-paced track, the drums sound rather cold for a brief moment. At times, the music becomes somewhat hectic. This might be a little less accessible, but it is certainly captivating. The varied vocals are partly spoken and sometimes have a grim tone. At other moments, the vocals sound slightly distorted, yet the vocals and music remain a unified blend.

Everything has been composed and performed with care, as is the case in ‘The Almosts’, where the contrasts and alternation between lighter and heavier music stand out in a positive way. The short, instrumental ‘Intermezzo’ has a pleasant, mellow atmosphere.
At the start of ‘Nothing Stays The Same’, soft, “distorted” music moves back and forth in the headphones. The transition to a higher volume flows into a calmer section in which Kristoffer sings in a subdued manner. The tempo and volume slowly increase slightly at first. The instrumental section seems set to become very subdued, but this is misleading. The sung lyrics become more intense, building up to the end.

‘The Fields’ features some surprising musical rests during the intro. The interplay between the metal-related and calmer sections works well. What’s more, you can hear emotion in both the vocals and the music.
‘Before I Fail Asleep’ is also a well-structured track.‘ ‘Binary’ has a gentle start. Little by little, the number of layers increases; the whole track is mixed in a particular way. The vocals and music remain fairly gentle, even when the music becomes slightly heavier. The difference in volume between the heavier sections and the lighter passages with piano sounds could have been larger. As it is, the emotion doesn’t come across quite as well. This final track fades out slowly.

As I mentioned earlier, everything has been composed, played and mixed with care. The guitar playing is often captivating, and the bass is (as expected) prominent at times. As we’ve come to expect from Kristoffer, ‘Humanised’ is another album to be enjoyed in peace and quiet. You can hear the emotion and passion in the vocals and music. Of course, fans have long known just how versatile this multi-instrumentalist is, and he has demonstrated that once again here.

(81/100) (New Joke Music)

Social media:
Facebook: Kristoffer Gildenlöw
Website: Kristoffer Gildenlöw