There is a real risk that this extraordinary debut album from Icelandic heavy music’s freshest creative force will vanish in the inevitable pre-Christmas frenzy. On the other hand, Múr is utterly magnificent, and denying the world a chance to hear it for another month or two would be a disgusting abuse of power. Anyone who loves epic, powerful and fervent, ingenious metal needs this in their ears immediately.
Like many of the intriguing bands that have emerged from Iceland over the last 20 years, Múr sound monstrous, windswept and fiendishly hard to define. Broadly speaking, these songs occupy a sweet spot between cinematic post-metal and a refined strain of progressive death, and there are certainly moments that take a more direct approach, with giant riffs redolent of Gojira’s fluid brutality.
