The Flight of Sleipnir’s 2021 opus Eventide made ripples in the underground and grabbed my attention. The album blended stoner doom, acoustic folk, and post-metal, hardly groundbreaking elements. But Eventide distinguished itself by assembling them into a cohesive, beautiful whole, albeit one that hasn’t stuck with me. While we haven’t covered The Flight of Sleipnir since 2014’s V., I nabbed Nature’s Cadence as soon as I could, hoping it could catapult the band from goodness to greatness. Either way, I knew it’d be a breath of fresh air, and its gorgeous cover art was irresistible. Is Nature’s Cadence as memorable and moving as I hoped, or merely an interesting specimen?
While Nature’s Cadence doesn’t mimic any other band, it draws from a wide range of influences. The Flight of Sleipnir’s backbone consists of mid-paced stoner doom riffs wrought from simple melodies. These ideas branch in countless directions. At times, the guitarists Jeremy Winters and Clayton Cushman augment these stoner riffs with soaring melodies reminiscent of Elder. Other sections marry minimalist doom with a hypnotic post-rock aesthetic that resembles Amenra (“Vingthor”). Meanwhile, The Flight of Sleipnir infuses every track with folk elements that feel distinctively American. Placid acoustic guitar parts abound, while Cushman’s pedal steel adds subdued beauty. Accordingly, the vocals alternate between droning cleans and blackened screams. Even this laundry list doesn’t do justice to Nature’s Cadence’s diverse sound; the closer “Wanderer” alone deserves a treatise on its blend of foreboding spaghetti Western melodies, Maiden-esque guitar harmonies, and otherworldly Bergtatt escapades. Despite its variety, Nature’s Cadence never flaunts its uniqueness as a gimmick and never leaves any element underdeveloped.
Nature’s Cadence by THE FLIGHT OF SLEIPNIR
Nature’s Cadence excels in its folky beauty, with mixed success in its heavier moments. The acoustic track “The Woodsman” showcases this best, gripping me through its narrative flow and its somber melodies. Clean sections of other songs hit just as hard; the opener “North” marries sparse Agalloch strumming with guitar leads that evoke David Gilmour on downers. Conversely, the doomy segments sometimes lose me. Some of The Flight of Sleipnir’s stoner riffs are too simplistic to make a mark (“Madness”), while others start strong but outlast my attention (“Vingthor”). As a result, Nature’s Cadence’s climaxes feel less explosive than they should. Still, the album’s redeeming moments make it hard to complain. The Flight of Sleipnir isn’t the next Kyuss, but the creative riffs and soaring leads of “North” are a stark reminder of their potential.
Nature’s Cadence’s greatest strength is how neatly it welds its pieces together. The seam between the album’s metal bangers and its serene folk elements is invisible. This is partly a result of melodic continuity, such as when “North” follows up a sparse acoustic passage with a doom rendition of the same melodies. Winters and Cushman’s guitar harmonies allow them to both mirror each other and establish striking contrasts, most notably on the spectacular “Wanderer.” Meanwhile, Dave Borrusch’s confident bass performance elevates Nature’s Cadence throughout both its peaks and its valleys. By laying down lead melodies during calmer moments (“The Woodsman”), enriching songs through subtle variations (“North”), and adding depth even with simple backing (“Vingthor”), the bass helps maintain continuity through the album’s stylistic about-faces. While the record’s longer tracks would benefit from more cohesion between different sections, The Flight of Sleipnir’s songwriting is impressive. Armed with a wide range of ideas and a dogged insistence on combining them thoughtfully, Nature’s Cadence stands out without sticking out.
Nature’s Cadence is a meditative experience that lives up to its ambitious title. On paper, folky stoner post-doom sounds like a prospective disaster. But The Flight of Sleipnir shines by placing fluidity first, resulting in a tight 39-minute record that does justice to its influences without sounding like a split. Punchier riffs would help the album hit harder during its heftiest moments. As it stands, while Nature’s Cadence won’t top my 2024 list, it’s a unique and rewarding listen for music fans of every ilk.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Eisenwald
Websites: theflightofsleipnir.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/theflightofsleipnir
Releases Worldwide: September 27th, 2024
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