Jonathan Hultén – Eyes Of The Living Night Review

What does Jonathan Hultén sound like?

If a wise Norse witch found a vocoder in the forest during a ritual.

The review of ‘Eyes Of The Living Night’ by Jonathan Hultén

It’s been many years since I discovered Jonathan Hultén’s unique style of vocal chants and mystical folk music and I still haven’t found anyone else creating music quite like him. His vocal arrangements are layered in a way that makes him sound like he’s using a vocoder. Whether he is or isn’t, Jonathan creates a hypnotic numbness with his music like a traditional Icelandic or Norse choir. This time around he is feeling rockier than ever before with the accompanying music.

The album opens with a cinematic opus. ‘The Saga And The Storm’ is huge in scope, with big electric guitar moments, crashing drums, powerful moments of vocal unity, and a cinematic arrangement. It marks the dawn of a more plugged, rockier and electronic tone with this album. It could score any number of fantasy movies in a battle or end credits placement and still have room to fill more boots. Jonathan Hultén switches geared to place his vocal arrangements front and centre in ‘Afterlife’. This mystical throbbing electronic rock piece straddles multiple genres. The verses are hushed Nordic folk drones with lots of electronic synths sparkling around them. The verses are a unification of electric guitar and voice as Hultén duets with the guitar, backed with misty organs and swooshing drums. It is epic but in a totally different way and the production places huge emphasis on the backing vocals and air density to give it a cavernous ambience.

After two giant killers, ‘Falling Mirages’ is a gentle and twee acoustic guitar, synth and vocal track. Jonathan’s voice sounds like he is being played through a tape in an echoing room and his voice bleeds like an old-found retro recording of long-lost folk songs. This track is all about the curious melody. There is a prancing tippy-toe to it that makes it endearing yet untrustworthy. Hultén then turns to the West with the dusty electric piano based ‘Riverflame’. Unlike everything up to this point, here the vocals are crystal clear. Instead, it is the music that’s rustic and tape hissed. You can cut through the atmosphere with a knife as the electric guitar quietly wanes and accents the passionate blues pouring out of the speakers. This is Jonathan’s Southern song. Keeping it Western, ‘The Dream Was The Cure’ smashes together prog-rock and plains folk to create an uplifting piece. Huge tom drums crash around the proud acoustic guitar strumming and fire-infused vocals. As we hit the big final choruses, I feel like I’m part of a caravan of Hultén’s marching towards my destiny. This album certainly knows how to end songs with a big cinematic note or bang.

The album pulls from all kinds of folk from across the globe. ‘Song Of Transience’ is a French Waltz filled with harpsichord, clockwork cogs, accordion and a sweet, romantic vocal delivery. It reminds me of a muddier-sounding ‘Army Dreamers’ by Kate Bush because of the mechanical percussion. Jonathan’s song is more like a droning disembodied spirit though. Piano takes centre stage for the gothic ballad ‘Through The Fog, Into The Sky’. This track wouldn’t sound out of place in the Deemo games as its thin in-room timbre makes it sound lonely. The instrumental reprieve is a beautiful one. Keeping the tone down low, ‘Dawn’ is a mystical and haunted track. There is a lot of subtle electronic elements shrouded in room ambience and I didn’t expect a harmonica solo either! There is a kitchen sink element to the album that I truly appreciate and admire. Nothing is small scale and listening with headphones brings out different instruments upon each listen.

As we enter the closing section of the album, I feel like we’ve crossed continents together. ‘Vast Tapestry’ is like a sister ditty to ‘Falling MIrages’ earlier. It is a simple acoustic folk track with some call-and-response verses between Jonathan and his guitar. It sounds like a tired campfire or post-war cool-down track. Solemn, wiser now and with a warm intent, it gears you up for the anti-shanty to come. ‘The Ocean’s Arms’ is a military drum march with chugging guitars and organs setting sail for the open water ahead. The Witcher would be proud. As if setting off on a journey again, the electric guitar and violin interlude ‘A Path Is Found’ cuts through like a commercial break. Almost cheesy, it riffs like a 60’s psychedelic rock track. This leads us to the closing track ‘Starbather’ which merges T-Rex, David Bowie and The Beatles into the only standard rock song on the album. Its an affirming track as Jonathan sings “Where the road leads, I don’t know. The imagination knows no bounds.” I feel like that’s the album’s overarching message. Jonathan led us around the globe in our minds and revved us up to take control of our own journey. With that, we have a big rock number to finish off the album and set us on our way full steam ahead. What a wild ride.

So much of this album can be rooted in traditional and prog rock as much as the various folk styles Hultén transmutes for us. His voice is captivating and the vocal arrangements are often hypnotic in a traditional Nordic way. It sounds like everywhere and nowhere I’ve ever been and the cinematic way the album is structured brings flair, buoyancy and surges of euphoria throughout. This is my first 10/10 album of 2025. Don’t sleep during the Living Night. You’ll regret it.

Recommended track: The Dream Was The Cure

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