Dimhav - The Boreal Flame

Genre: Power Metal, Progressive Metal; -

Formed by brothers two, Staffan and Olle Lindroth (both of Shadows Past), Dimhav and their debut album The Boreal Flame might mostly attract listeners thanks to the vocalist. This is perhaps a bit unfair as both Lindroths give performances of a lifetime on the album; Staffan handling guitars, bass and keyboards while Olle deals massive drums to the album. On display is a very passionate project; it’s taken time to conceive and master. The result is a not immediately mind blowing experience, which proves once it has been fully immersed in to feel an entirely essential addition to the progpower genre and the Swedish metal scene, as well as one of the finest progressive power metal albums in years. Recruited for vocals is semi legendary Swedish vocalist Daniel Heiman (Harmony, ex- Lost Horizon), and while it might be a hard truth to swallow for any nostalgic, Lost Horizon weren’t actually that good, even with their potential and great members.

Dimhav - The Boreal Flame

The Boreal Flame is, to date, the best album Mr. Heiman has lent his talent to, and that is likely in great deal due to the fact that it’s not centered around him. Heiman is exactly as good on the album as can be expected; channeling his Lost Horizon self he delivers and aerial performance with full control of his performance, peaking into his higher register when needed for emphasis, and staying quiet when needed to let the instrumentals do all the talking. Epic and big sounding, the soundscape paints with vivid strokes the aurora on a cold Nordic night. The guitars are frenzied at times, with purpose and accuracy hitting the atmospheric feel alongside the keyboards. Trading leads throughout, they present a formidable force as mighty melodics keep flowing through the faster moments and menacing pieces haunt over the mid paced moments. A point of likeness could be Polish project Chaos Over Cosmos’s debut album, but instead of neon lights and space battles, Dimhav conjures an atmosphere that evokes the aurora over the Nordic tundra on a cold, starlit winter night.

The album is almost an hour long, but thanks to the perpetual movement presented by the instrumentals and the always interesting and changing songwriting it feels much shorter. As a result it keeps leaving a deep, scorching want for more after each listen. Folky elements come to play at times, never taking the upper hand, but adding a more grounded feel to the Nordic thematic presented, perhaps most prominently in the intro on From Southern Shores and helped in a couple of tracks by guest Pär Lindqvist’s (Therion) viola adding further depth. Massive guitars are beset with flaming bass work, crushing with dark intent in the heaviest parts of the album. Towering riff work is given further dimension with the addition of the floating keyboards glowing like the dancing aurora over the entire production. Multifaceted and layered, the album offers a diverse range to showcase the strengths of the members. Lofty, aerial Realms of a Vagrant King with its brimming lead sections and lengthy solos changes for heavier and grittier areas in Cthtonic Elegy, always with the atmospheric guitars lighting the flame. At no point does any element feel out of place, or any filler emerge at all. It’s all part of the transcendental journey Dimhav unleashes with their masterful debut, awakening a primal wanderlust.

 

Standout tracks: The Flame Transcendent, Star and Crescent

 

    

 
Lyrikvideo: Dimhav - The Flame Transcendent
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