To dive into the world of atmospheric black metal is to prepare yourself to inevitably find a lot of material that sounds the same simply because the style has become so oversaturated. Now, that can be just as much a bad thing as a good thing because while there are so many cookie-cutter acts out there that create stiffer competition in other areas to stand out and actually create something at least a little different for many other acts. Without straying too far from the normal formula, it’s here that Vaar tackles the style with just three tracks that do a solid job at bringing the tropes to the table while being able to have their own sound and feel simultaneously.

When you look at this EP as a whole, there really isn’t much that Vaar does throughout this piece that really sets them apart from the legions of other acts out there that do essentially the same exact thing because of the nature of the atmospheric black metal scene at the moment. But, it’s when you start to pick apart the tracks of “As Dusk Fell” that you can see what Vaar has going on here. None of these tracks sound the same by any means whatsoever, and Vaar really uses that as a vehicle to bring forth many different flavors with completely different notes that strike in completely different areas that in turn make for an intriguing listen to say the very least. Going from a slightly by the numbers piece for the style to a striking acoustic bit to something that instantly takes on its own life with somber notes and energized rhythms, so much goes on throughout these three tracks that makes “As Dusk Fell” feel separate from plenty of what the rest of the scene is doing and Vaar pulled it off quite well. There’s plenty of expertise shown all throughout this little effort, and I’ve no doubt that this is just the tip of what this band is capable of simply because you can only do so much with just three tracks, but, even then, Vaar does it surprisingly well to make it work as well as they did.

This is far from an effort that’s a trailblazer for anything that could lead to shaking up atmospheric black metal as a whole, but it definitely shows us the potential that Vaar can easily tap into if they’re just given the chance and time. “As Dusk Fell” accomplishes the feat of feeling different from the mass crowd of the style, and even if it’s by just a little that’s enough to make an impact and show that Vaar isn’t satisfied with just going by the books. Instead, they want to make their own sound with their own rules.

LISTEN to “As Dusk Fell” on Bandcamp here.