Published: May 28, 2012 

Delivering one of the weirdest, yet most exciting releases of 2012, today we have Netra and its (one man band) second full-length release “Sørbyen”. Mixing elements of Black Metal with some Trip-hop influences, we are immediately reminded of a mixture of older and newer Ulver, without totally breaking character and changing identity. Each track in this release sways you one way, but it suddenly changes direction into another one, very weird, but equally intriguing to listen to. 

Opening with “A Dance With the Asphalt”, Netra quickly delivers a very ‘normal’ section that is quickly over powered by furious Black Metal riffing and hellish harsh vocals. This is nicely offset by some spoken samples in French, reminding us of bands like Peste Noire. The whole hypnotic nature of this track is excellent since it manages to never really go all the way in either direction, and nicely shifts from the BM onslaught into different territories. 

After a few ‘trippy’ tracks, “A Kill For A Hug” returns with high intensity guitars and a mood similar to Amesoeurs but with an electronic edge. This song also ends in a very dramatic and mesmerizing fashion, truly one of the best tracks in this release. Netra does considerable experimentation with Post-Rock elements mixed with Electronic and Trip-hop influences in tracks like “Streetlamb Obsession”, “Emlazh” and “Wish She Could Vanish”, each song features its own unique set of enthralling sections that will make you want to keep listening to it, just to be able to fully understand it. 

Our favorite track of this release is the very engaging “Concrete Ocean”. In this song we can hear Netra’s influences a bit more integrated together since we have the nice beats on one side and the distorted guitars being integrated into the mix. Going out with a bang, “I Shall Slay the Monkeys” reminded us a bit of Arcturus in the past, this song is truly a weird rollercoaster ride that will either have you clamoring for the album or just wanting your money back, either way “Sørbyen” is totally worth your time, so go and buy it NOW.