UTMARKEN – Förfallstid, CD

With Förfallstid, Utmarken returns to the borderlands — not just geographically, but existentially. Named after the treacherous in-between season when the ice neither bears nor breaks, and life in the northern outlands once teetered on the edge of survival, the album captures a world suspended in tension, waiting for release.

What began as a farewell — recorded quickly, with no clear future for the band — became a rebirth. While the sound still echoes with the hard rock spirit and folk-tinged melodies of their self-titled debut, Förfallstid takes a step deeper into progressive terrain. Dialectal phrases color the lyrics, and a trace of operatic flair now haunts the vocals, adding a theatrical undercurrent to the rugged sincerity.

Tracks like “Kamplåt” and “Bröder i strid” pulse with defiance and unity, while “Ifrån byn” and “Mitt Norrland” reflect a growing intimacy with place and identity. The nyckelharpa remains central — its strings echoing the old voices of the land — but the album as a whole signals evolution, endurance, and a reaffirmation of purpose.

It was the call of a Norwegian festival that pulled Utmarken back from the brink. What followed was not a swan song, but a second beginning — and Förfallstid became the true foundation for the band as it stands today.