Helga - Wrapped in Mist

Angry Metal Guy

The term “shinrin-yoku,” or forest bathing, was coined in Japan in the early 1980s to describe a therapeutic practice both mental and physical. One can imagine this as a response to the relentless march of modern life that pulls our kind ever further from a connection to nature. Dissatisfied with this state of existence, Helga weaves forest-bathing deep into their debut album, Wrapped in Mist. Led by Helga Gabriel, this Swedish quintet looks to blend folk atmospheres, post-rock, and fleeting black metal into a potent and unique brand. Plunging headfirst into woodland depths, can Helga pull us out of modern-day monotony and entrance us with the beauty of the forest?

Based on that myriad of influences, Helga’s sound is predictably difficult to pin down. The most obvious comparison here would be Myrkur—both past and present—but there are moments when the full band evokes the mid-aughts stylings of Flyleaf (“Skogen mumlar,” “Burden”), or the stately, soaring post-metal of Explosions in the Sky (“If Death Comes Now”). Gabriel’s vocal performance is the glue holding the meandering styles together, and I’m happy to report she turns in a command performance on this debut. A musician clearly in control of her instrument, she effortlessly floats between Alanis voice-flipping on “If Death Comes Now,” Bjork idiosyncrasies on “Vast and Wild,” and evocative black metal rasps on “Farväl.” The full band appears less than you may think, splitting their time with an eclectic ensemble of auxiliary traditional instruments that keep the record grounded in its folky, mist-drenched atmosphere. When they do take the stage, the rhythm section excels at producing fleeting infectious grooves (“Burden,” “Alive Again”), and the guitars handle post and black metal effortlessly (“Vast and Wild,” “Farväl”). This is exciting and unpredictable new music, and when it comes to the sheer amount of instrumentation, a rare example of more is more. But it’s Gabriel’s persistent haunting presence that keeps me coming back to this album, the central figure around which Helga weave their ritual of sound.

Wrapped in Mist by HELGA

The contents of Wrapped in Mist tend to fall into two camps: one more experimental black/folk, the other more straightforward shoegaze/pop. This proves to be something of a double-edged sword for Helga, but when it works the band balance a bevy of timbres and textures with grace befitting a much more mature outfit. Gabriel pens her lyrics in both Swedish and English, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the tracks in Swedish skew more towards the metal-adjacent camp. Opener “Skogen mumlar” is the best of the bunch, easing in with a Morricone-inflected guitar pattern and careening through slick undulating rhythmic patterns, pizzicato strings, and djent-meets-handclaps until emerging into an exultant post-metal coda. More streamlined tracks such as “Burden,” “Water,” and “Vast and Wild” offer a more accessible version of Helga, featuring ear-worm choruses and richer vocal harmonies. These tracks act as a counterpoint to their more adventurous brethren, but their placement alongside each other illuminates Wrapped in Mist’s central obstacle.

Depending on how one looks at it, Wrapped in Mist has either a pacing issue, or an identity issue. “Skogen mumlar” sets a tone of hairpin genre switches and unexpected instrumentation, but the three-song run following it brings a more subdued, vocal-forward aesthetic. This lopsided alternation between Helga’s “camps” continues throughout the record and makes for something of a whiplash listening experience, which leads to the question of identity. In their effort to create a patchwork quilt of styles and influences, Helga sounds like two—and in the case of experimental closer “Wrapped in Mist,” three—different bands on this record. Make no mistake about it, Wrapped in Mist is full of well-executed compositions filled with aching melodies and detailed soundscapes, but it often feels that the band isn’t fully convinced of where their sound belongs, and this weakens the cohesion of the album overall.

I pick these nits because Wrapped in Mist is a very impressive debut, and frustratingly close to being an outstanding debut. If the strong tracks off of this record are any indication, Helga has a bright future ahead of them, and probably an electrifying live show à la Zeal and Ardor or Heilung. Fans of eclectic music that lurks around the edges of black and post-metal should take note of Helga. I, for one, will be watching their career with great interest.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: PCM

Label: Season of Mist | Bandcamp

Websites: facebook.com | Bandcamp

Releases Worldwide: November 24th, 2023

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