Yesterday marked the June Solstice: a time for reflection, renewal, and committing to new habits that better serve us. It’s a time for celebrating the darkness that has forced us to grow while inviting the beauty of a brighter future.
If this sacred time of year had a soundtrack, it would be Communion, the new album from blackened folk artist Mondernte. Raw, mystical, and steeped in tradition, the album invokes the rituals of Heilung with a cloak of melodic black metal. Strident incantations echo across the tense rumble of fuzzy, discordant guitars, creating an aura of stately intensity. S.W.R., the creative force behind Mondernte, deliberately describes her work as blackened folk – not folk black metal – keeping her Icelandic roots front-and-center. The raw fury of black metal is honed and refined to match the purposeful stride of folk songs.
Communion draws from two expressions of primal energy to share a new ritual, one that balances a cathartic rush of fury with inherited rhythms that deliver comforting familiarity. The seemingly opposite influences only strengthen their emotional impact, creating an album that’s a necessary ritual of memory and rebirth.
Stream Communion in full below and order cassettes from Fiadh Productions. Follow Mondernte on Bandcamp to discover her full discography.