I am not very aware of the current doom metal scene, and I am not a fan of the genre, which I find difficult to approach. As such, I was a little afraid to listen to MÜL, a solo project by Norseman Knut Farstad. The project's leader evokes numerous influences, of which I can only cite a few, as I am not sufficiently versed in the style, such as EARTH, SKEPTICISM, WINTER, SEVENCHURCH, CATHEDRAL, MY DYING BRIDE, CORRUPTED, GRIEF or ESOTERIC. I clung to Cathedral, one of my favorite bands, and their groovy album The Carnival Bizarre, to entertain the hope of a past happiness as I investigated the inside of Legia I Rebirth.

That hope was thwarted and soon forgotten, as "Born" caught my attention from the very beginning with its intriguing piano discourse, far removed from what you hear from Lee Dorian and his acolytes.

But heavy guitars soon set a somber mood. The atmosphere becomes oppressive, the air becomes depleted and two voices [make themselves heard]: one deep and stifling, the other distant and ghostly, and as adept at perturbing the soul as the former was. As the air becomes even more rarefied, my consciousness loses its breath and I feel dizzy under the influence of this dangerous disc.

The infinitely soft classical guitar in Lights On should reassure me and give me back my bearings. Oddly, I feel the worst is yet to come - this cloudy melody is but a pause, a truce, a respite that betrays its author's vileness: his only wish is to make my suffering last even longer.

That suffering morphs into a deep pain with the Grow - Submerged - Lights Off triptych, a crushing, unbearable burden that adds forty five nightmarish minutes to my suffering. My consciousness abandons me, and the handful of neurotic interludes during which the guitars, piano or synths weave abstruse and spellbinding monologues seem to aim at pushing my whole being into the darkest abyss.

Listening anaerobically to a record steeped in a hypnosis-inducing atmosphere may not be the best way to fashion an objective assessment of this record. But who could claim to be objective when faced with artistic creation, which by its very nature defies the edicts of reason and eyeing the listener with its come-hither gaze? Legia I Rebirth captivated me, put me to sleep, and tired me. I admit that it vanquished me and I lay down my arms at its author's feet.

Review by Possopo Translation by rogthefrog