Release Date August 14th, 2026
Format CD/Vinyl
Genre Dark Electronic
Origin Norway
Holissstik is the experimental project of Norwegian musician Tor-Helge Skei, best known as the driving creative force behind Manes. Since the 1990s, Skei has explored black metal, electronic music and more unconventional forms through Manes and several other projects, including Lethe, Manii, Syning and Kkoagulaa. For “Chapter 1: This Endless Solitude”, he brings together around twenty collaborators, including Anna Murphy, Martyna Halas, Marita Hellem, Nik Košar and Christophe Denhez. Their contributions include vocals, guitars, drums, synthesizers and Buddhist chanting, with lyrics in several languages. Skei wrote and arranged the music, then handled the recording, production and mixing, while Knut V. Prytz mastered the album.
“Chapter 1: This Endless Solitude” combines dark electronic music, trip hop, ambient textures, industrial elements and traces of black metal across eight tracks lasting 46 minutes. The shifting vocal styles and multilingual lyrics add variety, while the electronic arrangements create a cold atmosphere shaped by themes of isolation, anxiety, death and spiritual reflection. “The Rhythm Of Silence” blends electronic beats with layered vocals, establishing the album’s introspective direction, while “Obsession Six” brings Anna Murphy and Gabriel Trentini into the mix.
On “Would You Take This Heart”, Buddhist chanting adds another dimension to the arrangement, and the title-track brings together several of the album’s vocal and electronic elements. The production gives the different contributions a shared sound, although the recurring atmospheric approach and restrained pace can make some sections blur together. The range of collaborators adds variety to the arrangements, though the songwriting occasionally prioritizes texture over memorable melodic movement. The result is an experimental album with a coherent sonic direction, suited to listeners who prefer introspective electronic music with links to the darker corners of metal.
|7.5
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