Not only have the Norwegians managed to invent a genre, they have also been able to tear it all apart again and push it way beyond its limits. Norwegian black metal pure is in my view ghastly and hardly worth listening to. But those who have ventured beyond, Emperor, Arcturus, Dimmu Borgir and by now many others have done wonders without quite losing the black metal foundation.
Formloff are also black metal with a twist. What I like about 'Spyhorelandet' (the Vomit whore country? What kind of a title is that?!) is the fact that Bernt Karsten Sannerud and Marius Blekspetl Sjøli are able to put as much venom and brooding evil into songs which aren't 90 mph tracks and that there are plenty of surprises along the way in the shape of entirely expected breaks, Hammond organs (Skævven, Mig og drit and Den Gamla Jorda) and even a jazzy saxophone piece in Drokkne i ei flo ta åske (which doesn't score Formloff points; I really don't like saxophones!).
What I'm not at all a big fan of is the widespread use of traditional black metal speed parts which for the most part just sound really untight. Also, I could use more diverse vocal performances from Bernt and Marius. I prefer the growl-like vocal in Kon-tiki museet brenner (the Kon-tiki museum is burning - another hilarious song title on this album) and the brief instance of clean vocal.
Conclusion: An interesting album which offers another take on the aventgarde black metal genre. It's not a timeless classic, but definitely worth giving a listen for fans of the genre.
