Seldom but then importantly are our pre-established notions of what “Heavy” or what a certain genre is really challenged as we most often seek out a sound or a feeling that confirms our stereotypes. With their new record Breathless Spirit Toronto-based trio Völur do just that alongside with Cares, the experimental project of sound engineer James Beardmore. All four participants created a record that really shows that “Doom” does not necessarily rely on amped-up guitars. Or guitars at all.

Does Doom need guitars? Is “heavy” necessarily defined by the riffs? Is the distorted sound of the six-string combined with a slow tempo the definition of Doom? Do the heaviest riffs result in the heaviest possible music? Listen to Breathless Spirit and you will see that the answer to all these questions is NO. There was no involvement of any six-string guitar, but with the help of James’ soundscapes and some sounds resembling a middle-ground between a shruti box and an accordion the low-rumbling sounds of a guitar are easily replaced and through the on-point delivery of drummer Justin Ruppel the whole thing easily passes as Doom. Some of you will now remind us that the Proggish elements of classic Doom Metal can not be replaced in the lower frequencies but also require some higher notes – and Völur also have an easy answer for that: The second pillar of their sound are the strings as delivered by Laura C. Bates on the (electric) violin and the viola. That way they can also incorporate some high-pitched solos. The third member of Völur is Lucas Gadke who brings not only the bass but also some other elements to the table that show a lot of connections to the origins of the genre – the harmonium (see above), a tanbur, the (bass) clarinet and the keyboards. With the help of all three members the band is able to combine some 60s Folk-inspired acoustic Doom (imagine Fairport Convention jamming with early St. Vitus) with several Gothic elements and a near-ritualistic part in the vein of Myrkur or Wardruna. However, please do not think, that this band is just setting out to emulate a certain genre and its sound on the premise of not using its primary instrument. There are many more things to the sound of Breathless Spirit, one can hear traces of early Post-Punk, some World Music elements (nowadays one would call that ritualistic, I guess) – for example on ”Windbourne Sorcery I” when they use a classic Middle eastern rhythm with its slow dragging and slightly shifting twist plus the same percussive elements as Wyatt E. sometimes do, for example. Or when a track like ”Windbourne Sorcery II” goes into a new part after roughly a minute, one can even hear some Doomjazz shadows hushing along the open plains of Iceland before the magical female vocals begin their enchantment (under the sea). And do not even try to question the impact of James on the music the trio came up with – his additions and editions surely helped to turn this record into a perfect mediator between the classic and the new, the modern world and the old times. Do you know many other records that are using ideas from aforementioned Persian culture and Gustav Mahler?

However, this is a good moment to also talk about the idea behind the record: Originally it had been planned as an installment in the band’s Die Sprachen der Vögel series for which they always collaborate with a different artist each time, the releases in this series were: Psychopomp which featured Ivy Mairi, then their work with Michael Eckert called Veiled City and last was installment no. 3 called Zwischen den Wäldern that saw Arif Mirbaghi join the trio. But somehow this music called for a different for of collaboration and hence we get Völur & Cares! The thematic basis for these tracks is the Icelandic saga of Grettir the Strong from the 13th century. A story about a cursed outlaw pushed to the very edges of society. But, Völur do not use the material as the basis of their vocals but rather as a magnifying lens for ideas of loneliness and isolation and, its result, inner darkness. They use an old text to talk about everlasting ideas and problems – once again, a bridge between ages and ideas.

One can hear and discover so many things on this record, that is adorned with a native Inuit painting on its cover. It’s little details like this that make Breathless Spirit so time-consuming, because one doesn’t notice time fly by when listening to and engaging with great music such as Breathless Spirit and I haven’t even spoken about the amazing vocal performances!