vægtløs - aftryk 12" promo page
Listen to the full album here:
videos
info about the album
Title: Aftryk
Country: Denmark
City: Aalborg
Genre: Post-metal post-hardcore blackgaze
For fans of:
Birds in Row, Lightbearer, Deafheaven, Oathbreaker, Le Pré où je suis mort, Lack, Numenorean, Omega Massif, Pianos Become the Teeth, Svalbard, Touchè Amorè, Vi som älskade varandra så mycket, Mihai Edrisch and others
Members: Jeppe: bass, Frederik: guitar, Tobias: drums, Troels: vocals
motivation
What do you do when one of your best friends gets diagnosed with cancer? How do you handle losing someone close to you?
Vægtløs are trying to wade into questions like these on their upcoming album, which solely includes songs about people close to the band who died or suffered deadly diseases.
Vægtløs focuses on a vulnerability and openness that are lacking in the music scene, but also in society, in general. Life is fleeting and fragile, and Vægtløs is a bridge to gap between the monumental emotional dread underlying the fact that all beauty will eventually die and the cathartic strength found in music.
Vægtløs are scene veterans coming together for their love of everything emotionally heavy, passionate, honest and sincere. The band is not afraid to wear their heart on their sleeves and paint a scenery of the remote and primitive Nordic landscape that is both silent and loud.
In these immensely bleak times, the need for melancholic and desolate music has never been greater. Vægtløs pours every last bit of passion into their aggressive yet emotional music which can be described as intense and atmospheric post-metal with hints of black metal, post-rock, post-hardcore, and emo, eventhough it is not a distinct variation of neither of those, but a mutated multifaceted modificaton of the sum. Musically the band never took any notice of trends and genres, as the band draws inspiration equally from life as from art and music.
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about the album
The album is a culmination of several years of work that was hindered in growing by a pandemic and the constant setbacks of life. The record is a melodic and vast sound that is forged to enclose the personal Danish lyrics about people close to the band who died or suffered deadly diseases. The inspiration to do so has been found in watching and expericering the unadulterated beauty of life and death.
Originally each song was named after the person that band sang about, but that was changed to more fitting titles, as the protagonist of the song (singer Troels’ sister in law) suddenly died. The song was intended to be a "let's beat this cancer together" rally call, but ended in a more tragic manner.
The record was written and recorded in their own studio, and mixed and mastered by producer Jacob Bredahl, who understood the direction the band wanted to go.
lyrics
The lyrics can be found here: LINK
The lyrics are in the band's mother tongue, Danish, but the song titles are translated to English in the document. The rest of the lyrics can also be translated, if you want to.
info
Running Time: 38:03
Street date: 02-02-2024
Repress released 20-04-2024
Formats: 12"/Tape/CD/Digital
Labels: 46. See list HERE
| Track listing | ||
|---|---|---|
| Side A: | ||
| Ingenting kan forhindre, at små struber skælver en forårsnat | 9:44 | |
| Først da vi bar din kiste gik det op for mig, hvor meget tungt du skulle igennem, før du blev så let | 8:56 | |
| Side B: | ||
| Her i vores hjerter bærer vi en ny verden | 10:15 | |
| Tag dit knuste hjerte og lav det til kunst | 09:08 |
credits
All songs by Vægtløs
Artwork by Jon Gotlev (No Heroes)
Recorded by Vægtløs and Rasmus Glassau Clausen
Mixed and mastered by Jacob Bredahl
Backing vocals on track 3 by Christian Bonnesen and Victor Kaas
Poem on track 1 read by Thomas Burø
Poem on track 2 read by Tanja Gade Hammerholt
Backing vocals by Jan Fenger, Niels Højgaard Sørensen, Christian Holmsberg, Lasse Olsen.
Reviews
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bio
After playing their first show in June 2022 things started to take off for Vægtløs. Under a month after their first show they were asked to support shoegaze legends Nothing. This resulted in international interviews, more shows and anticipation for the release of their first single. Which resulted in more than 2000 streams in one month on YouTube, when the single dropped. This was followed by the band's first 7” Kakofoni (Released on 18 different record labels) to positive reviews (and it is already in its third pressing).
This resulted in shows ranging from a showcase at Loppen, one of the most legendary venues in the country, Loppen, to supporting Møl, one of the biggest metal bands in Denmark, on their DK tour. And festivals like A Colossal Weekend (a show that was coined the top five shows ever at the festival in mayor Danish zine Devilution), Aalborg Metal Festival, Lasher Fest, and Copenhagen Metal Festival. In mid November they played a sold out show in their home town at their much beloved venue 1000Fryd, which was the third to last show at Fryd for more than a year. The venue is the origin place for the band, and the place is close to the band's heart and the band thrived for its survival.
On the 2nd of Febuary 2024 their debut record Aftryk was finally released, to rave reviews, from all over the world. With top ratings and all positive words in zines as Devilution, Metalized, Heavymetal.dk, Gaffa, Metal Revolution, Selvtægt, Everything is Noise, Dying Scene, Echoes and Dust, Cult of Metal, Idioteq, and more. Some of the mentioned zines called it album of the year.
The album is a culmination of several years of work that was hindered by the pandemic and the constant setbacks of life. The record is melodic and its vast sound encloses the personal Danish lyrics about people close to the band who died or suffered deadly diseases. The inspiration to do so has been found in watching and expericering the unadulterated beauty of life and death.
Originally each song was named after the person that band sang about, but that was changed to more fitting titles, as the protagonist of one song (singer Troels’ sister in law) suddenly died. The song was intended to be a "let's beat this cancer together" rally call, but ended in a more tragic manner.
After the release of the record and a few release shows around Denmark the band also made their first visit to a foreign country playing Norway with their friends Omsorg in April. In Fall 2024 the band played one of the best festivals in Denmark, Ilter Festival, along with a mini tour with one of Vægtløs' favorite bands in Vi som älskade varandra så mycket.
Previous release: Kakofoni
Snippets from kakofoni reviews
Source: Spil Dansk
"Livet er smukt, det her er vigtigt, så #spildansk med Vægtløs først og fremmest fordi det er så ekstremt stærkt, altså på den måde det sætter sig og unægtelig vil give lyst til og behov for eftertænksomhed og fordybelse i eget liv og oplevelser samt døden i og omkring det, og så selvfølgelig fordi selve budskabet med højere grad af åbenhed og rummelighed bør være en selvfølge. "
Source: Devilution
4/5
"Det er svært at lytte uden at blive berørt. Både for os, som publikum, og for Vægtløs som band."
Source: Domareviews
9,5/10
"This EP was awesome. If you're a fan of post-hardcore, post-metal, or heavy emotional music in general, you'll dig this."
Source: Mangowave
9/10
"Hope and desolation, the will to fight and the feeling of being overwhelmed, paralyzing frost and gentle warmth clash in this sonic display. Vægtløs find the sound that shows that pain and confidence can exist simultaneously. Therfore, „Kakofoni“ is a deeply impressing release that can spend hope and understanding to everyone who is going through rough times."
Source: Everything is Noise
9/10
"The only problem with that: this is way too short."
Source: Slavestate
4/5
"'Livet har så många färger - låt oss se dem alla', är titeln på plattans andra spår (översatt till svenska) samt en väl så tydlig beskrivning av den insikt temat på 'Kakafoni' ger uttryck för – att se och uppleva livets och dödens oförfalskade skönhet."
Source: GFR
"Den stilistiske og stemningsmæssige vekselvirkning smitter også af på deres behandling af det umiddelbart tunge emne. Døden er omdrejningspunkt hos mange kunstnere, ikke mindst i metalgenren, men modsat mange andre, så munder det ikke ud i håbløshed hos Vægtløs. Eller formørket sortsyn, hvor der er ikke er plads til lyset. Eller i dette tilfælde livet. Døden er endestationen, det kommer vi ikke udenom, men vejen derhen skal give mening – det forsøger Vægtløs, at sætte musik og ord på."
Source: Musikreviews.de
13/15
"Persönlichen Schmerz zu bewältigen erfordert immer Mut und Kraft. Das kann in Größenwahn ausarten, es kann aber auch eine Reinigung des eigenen, inneren Gefühlsmisthaufens sein. Allein den Schritt zu wagen, aus der eigenen Dunkelheit herauszutreten, ist ein Kraftakt, der aber in diesem Fall auch dazu führt, dass am Ende ein Denkprozess stattfindet. Dadurch kann sich die Sicht auf das Leben verändern, auch wenn, oder gerade weil, der Abgrund der Vergangenheit seine Schatten immer noch auswirft."
Source: Cardamonchai
"So, if you like heavy, thoughtful, emotion-driven post-whatever, this is for you! Pretty hardcore, but length-wise, more like proggy post-metal. Wah, I don't like boxes. Maybe I should just leave them behind. Vægtløs blew them up anyway."
Source: METAL REVOLUTION
80/100
"If you like your music honest, thoughtful and emotionally charged – then you should definitely check this wonderful debut out!"
Source: METAL TRENCHES
"I can see why so much sad, depressing and miserable sounding music comes out of Scandinavia. Don’t get me wrong, it is beautiful. I love that vibe! I love the atmosphere, the mood, these melodies, they are very stirring."
images
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Album cover
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