ICELAND

"Cold" is an adjective which could often be ascribed to Richard Pinhas' music, whether you're talking about his solo electronic works or his band work with the likes of Heldon. A master of creating alienating, chilling atmospheres already, on Iceland he really takes that to the next level, producing a frosty masterpiece which will convince listeners that the dread fimbulwinter that precedes Ragnarok is upon them. CD rereleases tack on the 25 minute bonus track "Wintermusic", a rather dispensable Fripp & Eno-esque drone piece which fails to capture the raw intensity of the original album and can safely be skipped; it's the core Arctic blast of the original tracks which really stands out.