Horizons is the third album by Northaunt, one of Norway's most prominent dark ambient artists. On the first two album, Hærleif Langås, the man behind the project, enriched the genre with an original blend of dark soundscapes, acoustic melodic elements, and spoken word. On this album, his first on the Canadian Cyclic Law label, he leaves much of this behind. No guitar melodies or lyrics can be found on this album, which seems to conform to the prolific minimalist style of many Cyclic Law ambient artists. So, in a way, this album is less original than Hærleif's first two. Nevertheless, he knows what he's doing, and is still able to craft interesting and atmospheric ambient albums.

"Until Dawn Do Us Part" is still in the style of Barren Land, the second album, with a piano melody over dark environmental drones, but "Night Came To Us" exemplifies the new minimalist style. What all tracks luckily still have in common, though, is that distinctly Nordic chill, almost tangibly put to tape in various locations in Norway. This combination of dark cloudscapes, icy winds, and rain-beaten shorelines is Northaunt's subject matter and paint brush at the same time. This is expressed vividly in the bonus video of an alternative version of "The Wilderness", and it proves that Northaunt is a force to be reckoned with both aurally and visually. I hope a DVD combining the two will some day be released.

From the relatively dense first two tracks, through the slightly lighter, lonely feeling of the triad in the middle, to the ethereal "With The Stars As Witness" and the serene snowy fields of "The Wilderness", Horizons is consistent in its vision. Perhaps this album is too cold, empty and bleak for some, but, listening to the breathtaking ending of "The Wilderness", I can't help but feel like coming home.

O.S.