Like most music reviewers, I regularly visit other websites, more than anything else to see if there is something new out there that I might have missed, but also, of course, to read reviews by people I respect. There are a few of them still on Prog Archives, I enjoy Progressive Aspect (my good friend Nick straddles both with some aplomb), DPRP, and a relatively recent discovery for me, but a fine site, manofmuchmetal.com.

It was on the latter that I saw a review of the latest release by Norwegian alternative rock outfit, Delvoid. The review was a mixed one, but I can certainly state that I really enjoy this hour in the company of a fine band who can combine some mighty riffs with some more art rock eclectic and melodic tendencies.

Four of the six tracks are more than ten minutes long, with the shortest weighing in at 7:40, so there really is plenty to sink your teeth into here.

The band have been active for a while now, their debut album, Delve, being released in 2011. Swarmlife is their third effort. Norwegian, and Scandinavian music in general, is in a hugely strong space at the moment, and this band add a richness to that wonderful culture. They describe themselves as “chasing the same white whale as Tool & Sigur Ros”, and there are certainly echoes of both herein, but all of it is unique. There are elements of a commercial sensibility amongst the riffs, especially on personal favourite, Third Body, which demands radio airplay with its deep bassline by Magnus Anderson, airy guitar chords by Erik J. Halbekken, clever pounding drums by Espen Th Granseth , and an at times delicate vocal performance by Alex M. Delver.

As an example of those interesting contrasts, the longest track, and album closer, The Master’s House, exemplifies this. Its opening passage with a fragile vocal set against a gentle guitar is quite lovely, and it is interspersed with some vocal effects. The track explodes into life at three and a half minutes in. The riffs are thunderous and damned good, and then we get a mix of moods, with the opening revisited amongst the heavier passages. At turns light, emotional, and then dark and menacing, this is a very good piece of music, with the extended denouement particularly evocative and beautiful.

From the website, I note that they play small hidden concerts in the forest, and I would love to see one of these, because the atmosphere that is created could, I feel, be perfect for such events at varying times of the year.

Having gone out of order in the track listing and discussion and singling out for treatment the two tracks above, you might think that what else is here is a disappointment, but not a bit of it. Techtree gives us a ten-minute introduction to proceedings with a lightly industrial feel then morphing into a huge riff before settling into the main track, which is quite melodic at its heart. The rhythm section work is deeply impressive, and when the track bursts into noisy life just over three minutes from the end, it provides for a natural and satisfying energy from the build-up which preceded it.

Urras is the shortest track at a mere 7:40. The word itself is Gaelic meaning surety or security, and my take on the deeply angry tones and lyrics of Delver strike me as this being about such bonds being broken, perhaps in the modern political sense (and there is much to be angry about, let’s be honest). This is a very heavy, dark, and angry piece of music, and it is very good.

Out of Labour follows, and contains more of those explicit lyrics, so please do treat that as my official website warning to those of you with a sensitive disposition. The lyrics strike me as being pretty personal talking as they do about masculinity, sexual expectations, and working-class repression (hence the title) and when the track bleeds its anger, it works well, but could, perhaps, have been truncated. I do enjoy thoroughly, though, the mid-section guitar solo, which oozes blues tempered darkness and the thunder which explodes after this is as intensive as post rock gets.

Collapsist (what a title!) takes forward the melodic theme of Out of Labour at the beginning. After a minute, we get a dreamy psych segment, and you must look at the player to make sure you are still listening to the same band. You are, and this is where the contrasts in this album are so surprising and very welcome. What follows is a nice mix of heavy, psych, and melodic. I especially love the closing passage, talking as it does about the higher the pedestal, the greater the collapse – how true.

Swarmlife is a very good album. Delvoid are a band who I was not familiar with before reading the review I refer to above, but they are most certainly an act I will be following closely in the future. Recommended and highly enjoyable.