The atmosphere evokes a foreboding feeling from the slow opening notes in the intro “The Dream.” Gaahl’s vocals set the right mood for this album, bringing a transcendental experience and inviting the listener to enter the portal of the night. The vocal arrangements on “Braiding the Stories” are full of hooks and maintain the dark quality with haunting guitar melodies; at times, it feels like these amalgamations weave several themes from dark folk music with elements of modern heavy metal.

While the slow guitars prepare you to wander the woods, the ghostly and spellbinding passages are paired with haunting melody contrasts, perfect harmony with the rhythmic guitars of Lust Kilman. The atmosphere builds slowly, allowing you to venture deeper into the sonic realms. The atmospheric quality of the songs is masterfully guided by the vocals, which soar above the pounding drums of Spektre. It seems that Gaahl has assembled the right musicians to create sophisticated and coherent storytelling music, like in the album’s intro and the interval short cut “Voices in My Head”.

The song makes excellent use of piano, clean guitars and intricately woven guitar melodies, after building a lush musical tapestry to mythological and philosophical themes, the music takes a sudden shift towards heaviness on “Time and Timeless Timeline” when the haunting chants subdues the pounding aggression begins heavily, the dynamic drumming with the bass guitar riffs of Nekroman alternating between vocal passages and delivering an adrenaline shot.

“And the Now” continues to display another remarkable transformation from black metal to dark folk music, taking you on a profound and mystical experience as if Gaahl is reciting the sacred ancient runes. The wine-induced intoxication and the shamanic state of rituals, or the trance-like feeling atmosphere, occur when the slow pace of the instruments aligns with the vocals. It feels like I am listening to ambient folk music similar to Wardruna.

The black metal elements are scarcely present in the short interval cut “Through the Veil” but it’s a reminder that Gaahl hasn’t forgotten his roots of black metal, the guitars segue into mid-tempo heaviness, and the awakening chants delivering an unhinged and magical aura with Gaahl’s nocturnal poetry echoing through the veil.

The guitar notes feature multi-layered somber melodies and slow passages; there is not a single moment of filler to be found in nine tracks. The heavy riff approach is what makes the album so unique and atmospheric; there is a focus on creating sonic soundscapes and crushing heaviness in the right moments. The interplay of these elements captures some proper heaviness on “Root the Will”, which is one of the heaviest songs on the album.

The guitar riffs and pounding drums can deliver Norwegian folk anthems packed with aggression, and the song also features some explosive solos and a boisterous tempo. The music slowly weaves a frightening, dark aura, matching the folky and musical state of this album. “Braiding the Stories” experiment with many elements throughout forty-two minutes, Gaahls’ artistic and musical exploration opens new dimensions.

The album concludes with “Flowing Starlight”, which, in my opinion, showcases the elegance of the guitars and the drums, especially when the rhythm guitar takes center stage with the deep vocals. This upbeat folk rock song shows the unique stylization that perfectly blends elements of modern rock; the shimmering melodies give this track a likeness to Katatonia and Tiamat. The excellent guitar performance and the drumming have a sense of creativity to them; there is no doubt about the musical talent, but I would have preferred if the music maintained the dark orientation of the previous songs.

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