Weh - Origins (2010)

I first became aware of Weh, the solo project of Norwegian musician Erik E. back in 2004 when his acoustic cover version of, 'Likbør' appeared on the Windir compilation, 'Valfar, ein Windir.' I remember being completely blown away by the fact that someone could take a Norwegian black metal song and transform it into something of neo/dark folk song and actually make it work, but Erik didn't just make it work he made it absolutely beautiful.

It was sometime later on that I discovered his website and found that he had all five of his demo recordings available for free download, and within a few hours I was absolutely obsessed with this musicians work. Not to long after that I began to review Erik's work on the old Lunar Hypnosis website and eventually we did an interview (most likely his first) and finally his song, 'And the Bells are Ringing Doom' appeared on the third Lunar Hypnosis mp3 compilation, 'Autumn Calls - Winter Awaits.' My hope is that this little bit of exposure brought Erik's music to a few more peoples ears.

In late 2010 Soulseller Records released a 2CD digipak compilation, which includes all of Erik's early EPs/Demos, 'The Death' from 2002, 'All the Sinners are Sleeping Now' in 2003, 'The Coffee's Cold in the Morning, The Beer's Warm at Night' came next in 2004, 'Hoof & Horn' followed in 2005 and lastly 'North' in 2006. This compilation also has the cover of, 'Likbør' and unreleased track from 2009 called, 'The Seaward Song' and finally a brand new five song EP called, 'Origins.'

Erik’s music while consisting of just one twelve string acoustic guitar, his voice, and light backing synthesizers is beyond gorgeous in its deliver. His music is soft, delicate, emotional acoustic ballads, with excellent vocals, thoughtful lyrics, and stunning guitar work. The music generally carries a dark melancholic feeling, which you can sense so strongly through Erik’s voice and his lyrics. When I listen to this music it makes me remember the first time I heard Current 93 or Sol Invictus, and the emotions I felt, and the compulsive feeling to continually play the songs over and over again even though they made me feel sad.

The first EP, 'The Death' however is a bit somewhat straightforward fast paced singer/songwriter material with fast acoustic guitars, typical songwriter semi-poetic lyrics, cleanly sung vocals and the odd inclusion of some death growls, which indicate his past interest in the metal genre. None of the songs go past the three minute mark and although they are nothing special they do have their own unique charm, which instantly increased my interest in Weh when I first heard them.

'All the Sinners are Sleeping Now' shows a refinement in Erik's style as around this EP the songs began to show their first inclusion of darker themes and feelings as well the songs were played slower, the guitar work is more elaborate (in places) and the death growls are completely gone, though in the grand picture this EP doesn't differ that much from the first one. The following recording, 'The Coffee's Cold in the Morning, The Beer's Warm at Night' finally starts to show where I think Erik began to make major steps towards his current style and although elements from the past remain he managed to write two of my favorite Weh songs, 'When the Raven Spoke my Name' & 'Summer Went South' on this EP.

'Hoof & Horn' was at the time the darkest creation of Erik's and through his own words these three songs were the closest sounding to what he originally set out to do with Weh. Each of these three songs have their own unique qualities, but I really feel the ending song, ‘Ruin’ was one of Erik’s best songs at the time, but man, oh man, it was only a glimpse of what was to come.

‘North’ continues on in the same vein as, ‘Hoof & Horn’ although I feel with North Erik made me a fan for life with these four compositions. Things kick off with, ‘And the Bells are Ringing Doom,’ which I feel is not only Erik’s best song to date, but also his most sorrowful, and I wouldn’t hesitate to say this is one of the best dark folk songs ever composed. Basically everything about this song is perfect; the guitar work is stunning, the keyboards are dark and atmospheric, the singing is beyond excellent and the lyrics are fantastic and catchy as well. ‘North’ and ‘Darkness Part Two’ are up next; North is a rather straightforward slow acoustic ballad, while Darkness Part Two is a bit more upbeat and for some reason or another it reminds me of the German dark folk band Werkraum. This release closes out however with another stunning song called, ‘The Men Of Gallow Proud,’ which has a very nice riff in the song that runs throughout most of the song and a light synth melody in the background. In any case another one of Erik’s finest.

Both the unreleased song, 'The Seaward Song' and the new EP, 'Origins' basically continue where North left off. Once again the songs are slow, dark and beautiful pieces of melancholic acoustic music, which in my opinion make for an unique listening experience. The highlights include, 'The Road and the Forest,' which is utterly astounding in its epic sorrowful delivery and 'Nihil Interit,' wow, it's like hearing, 'And the Bells are Ringing Doom' for the first time with its heartbreaking melodies and singing. Just stunning! Also I must mention, 'En Bekk Av Blod,' which is the first Weh song with Norwegian lyrics, although somehow Erik's voice doesn't seem quite as confident while singing in his native tongue, though it's definitely a pleasing song.

In the end I'm happy to see Weh finally getting some attention as well its a grand thing that these old songs were re-released too. This compilation offers up absolutely everything Weh has released during the past eight years and hopefully with this compilation the full-length debut album is on the horizon. If you downloaded these early EPs in the past couple of years then here's you chance to finally own them in a physical format as well you'll get to hear six new stunning songs as well.