Vægtløs‘ debut record, Aftryk, gorgeously mirrors the stages of grief with its hauntingly bleak skramz/post metal concoction.
Release date: February 2, 2024 | Silent Pendulum Records | Facebook | Bandcamp | Purchase/Stream
Skramz-tinged post-metal and exquisite listening experiences are two things that very often go hand in hand. I’d be hard-pressed to think of any record of the like that hasn’t captivated me, because this is such a particular sub-subgenre that is only inhabited by those who fully intend to make emotionally vivid albums with no restraint. It isn’t a style of music one accidentally creates, but rather one that is heavily precalculated to sound exactly as it does, regardless of how niche it may be. It is one of few musical vehicles that are capable of portraying such a complex psychological state that I am so drawn to. One such band I stumbled upon recently, and coincidentally premiered their lead single here on Everything Is Noise, is Vægtløs.
This Danish four-piece are set to release their debut record Aftryk into the world, and it is a record that is ripe with so much grief and emotional anguish. Regarding the source of this lyrical/musical inspiration, I’ll briefly reiterate some of what I had talked about in doing that premiere, as it is even more relevant now that we’re finally discussing this album in full. This first glimpse comes in the form of a quote from Vægtløs’ vocalist, Troels Sørensen, regarding the opening track, “Ingenting kan forhindre, at små struber skælver en forårsnat”.
‘My sister in law was diagnosed with cancer for the second time in 2019 and this song was originally intended to be a get-better rally call, but as her life was tragically taken away the song took a new direction: this song is for her young daughter. Life is beautiful, and that is why it hurts, and we need to take that into account when life shows its darkest face. Let every memory of the people we love remain forever.‘
As you can likely glean from the quote, each song on Aftryk is dedicated to loved ones close to the band members who have either tragically succumbed to a fatal condition or are actively fighting for their lives against such a disease. Aftryk is a mourning song (album) as much as it is a preemptive eulogy. It represents the constant internal struggle between life and death we have as a species. Life wouldn’t be beautiful if it didn’t hurt from time to time. As the oh so wise Bob Ross once said, ‘Gotta have opposites, light and dark and dark and light, in painting. It’s like in life. Gotta have a little sadness once in a while so you know when the good times come. I’m waiting on the good times now.’
The loss of a loved one is something that no one is and ever will be spared from. The cycle of life and death is what gives our lives and relationships with others the meaning and purpose that they have. If we all existed indefinitely, nothing would matter, and neither would the people in our lives. We’d only take everything for granted; hell, we already do that. As harrowing as it is that everyone will experience this indescribable pain and suffering at some point in their lives, if not multiple times, grief is a weirdly beautiful thing as it shows that we are capable of love and I think that is immensely powerful. There is no love without loss. Who wants to live in a world without love?
Grief is love with nowhere to go, so Vægtløs channeled that endlessly vagrant love into the form of music, something that will live forever and spread like a wildfire to those whose ears happen to be graced by these specific soundwaves. With Sørensen’s description of specific songs being born in grief, yet defiantly changing towards a positive light in the face of extreme adversity, the end result is Aftryk, which comes off as hopelessly bleak with a thin veil of optimism. Musically, you’ll find yourself immersed between crushing soundscapes that sits somewhere in the middle of a hypothetical Deafheaven–Amenra spectrum that I just made up. Vægtløs’ placement on this scale is more towards the Amenra side of things mood-wise whereas compositionally, there is a lot of inspiration from Deafheaven to appreciate.
There is something to be said about harsh vocals in Scandinavian languages, as there is an extra thick layer of torment and desperation provided that no other language is able to replicate. Considering the emotions that Vægtløs are trying to convey, they most certainly have that to their advantage. The opening track is easily the most dynamic of the bunch, with the other three-quarters of the album leaning more towards unrelenting icy black metal tremolos and broodier walls of sound. While these other songs are great for what they are, I had the tiniest ounce of disappointment that these other tracks weren’t as expansive as the first. The more I think about it, these other songs aren’t as static as I am making them out to be; rather, they don’t contain that miniscule thread of hope and light that is gorgeously captured in the opener. These other songs are just pure doom and gloom.
With the first track changing inspirational direction towards being about the surviving daughter of Sørensen’s sister-in-law rather than her loss, I can see how only this song would have that hopefulness while the others have yet to reach that stage in the process of grief. Regardless I can’t wait until this record officially releases and I am able to get my hands on the lyrics, as that always elevates the experience tenfold at the very, very least. Once I know exactly what is being desperately screamed out into the void, only then can I fully immerse myself.
I felt it was more valuable to focus on the less tangible aspects of the music, that being the intense, universal emotions that are being portrayed at any given moment, than to have dissected the specifics on the musical component itself. The music Vægtløs passionately crafts is the type that sucks you in with how emotionally radiant it is and not how flashy it can be, as is essentially the entire purpose of this niche style of music. Much like grief, Aftryk is something that you need to experience and learn how to navigate for yourself in order to see the true beauty in it. I’ll say it one more time, there is no love without loss.
