Beckahesten – Tydor (Album – Cyclic Law)
Genre/Influences: Dark-Ambient, Ritual, Experimental.
Format: Digital, CD, Vinyl.
Background/Info: Swedish Beckahesten trio already strikes back. One year after their impressive debut album “Vattenhålens Dräpare” and the single “Midvinter” released earlier this year they now unleash their second opus. The album has been recorded in different natural places of Norway and Sweden while they invited Kai Uwe Faust (Heilung), Lars-Magnar Enoksen and Anders Hovland to contribute to this work.
Content: Beckahesten remains an enigmatic formation creating dark music. The sound is for sure impacted by Dark-Ambient, but there are still many Ritual elements running through the work. Viktoria Rolandsdotter’s way of singing accentuates the Ritual sensation of the music.
+ + + : “Tydor” is a diversified opus, which has something intimate and ominous. There’s a judicious mix between different influences, but I especially like the Ritual & Mystic flavor emerging at the surface. It has a strong visual appeal, which evokes to me the fascinating universe of the Vikings. The vocals are pretty essential to this work, but Beckahesten still has a natural talent to create overwhelming atmospheres while the slow percussion patterns only accentuate the effect. There are several great songs featured on this work, but “Uven” sounds to me as the absolute masterpiece. I like the subtlety of the sound treatments and the way the song –and the other, has been accomplished.
– – – : I noticed a few Experimental passages, which are less convincing.
Conclusion: “Tydor” confirms the talent of this formation, which in my opinion definitely sounds as one of the hottest newcomers in their genre.
Best songs: “Uven”, “Bruddansen”, “Skogen”, “Maran”.
Rate: 8½.
Artist: www.beckahesten.se / www.facebook.com/beckahesten
Label: www.cycliclaw.com / www.facebook.com/cycliclaw
About Beckahesten
Beckahesten is a Swedish trio of Peo Bengtsson, Per Åhlund and vocalist Viktoria Rolandsdotter. Åhlund was previously involved with Sophia and has been active with Skare and Diskrepant, next to appearing as a live member of Karjalan Sissit. The band name refers to a creature from Nordic folklore, a water spirit that tricks people into riding on its back before pulling them into the water.
The debut album “Vattenhålens Dräpare” came out on Cyclic Law in 2020 and was reviewed on Side-Line in March 2021; the single “Midvinter” followed in early 2021. “Tydor” was released on 30 April 2021 as a CD in a six-panel digisleeve limited to 500 copies, as an LP of 200 copies on black vinyl, as a special edition of 100 copies on red and black marble vinyl and as a download, running 48:46. The nine tracks are “Bruddansen”, “Skogen”, “Bergatagen”, “Dimman”, “Uven”, “Hednaväsen”, “Maran”, “Dunkel” and “Siaren”; Kai Uwe Faust of Heilung sings on “Hednaväsen”. Johannes Ahlberg mastered the album.
In January 2022 Per Åhlund discussed the band’s working method in the ‘Click Interview’ with Beckahesten. The trio appears on the Cyclic Law’s 20th Anniversary Label Sampler (2022) and released its third album Svältens Tid in 2024 on Cyclic Law, with a vinyl edition through Cloister Recordings. “Tydor” is the second Beckahesten album.
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