Thyrfing - Hels Vite

Thyrfing - Hels Vite

In true Viking fashion, Sweden's Thyrfing have soldiered on despite massive lineup changes and uncertainty over the band's future. Latest effort Hels Vite reflects this, cloaking the band's epic and militant sound in the shadows of night. Like a longboat braving treacherous waters, Hels Vite is powerful and brawny, an exemplar of Viking metal's stark majesty.

For starters, metalheads seeking more boisterous fare a la Turisas will quickly realize Vite navigates choppier seas. Clocking in at a hefty 51 minutes, it is also an arduous journey. Avoiding the borderline self-parody of other Viking metal bands, Thyrfing instead cuts a path through the competition with an effort sounding graceful yet violently confident.

Opening cut "En Sista Litania," for example, offers ample proof Vite is wrought in the spirit of hardship and challenge. A melancholy guitar chord runs like a cold water current through the ocean, the pounding riffs flowing again and again like waves. Leading a war chant, the band next launches into stomping metal, rife with blistering riffing and elegantly fingerpicked notes. By song's end, the whole concoction erupts into battle, emerging as a gripping piece of prime Viking metal.

"Frân Stormens Öga," meanwhile, further bear hugs the genre with muscular riffs stretched into a gloomy march of sound. Like a handcrafted battle axe, its simplistic violence works wonders. From soaring choruses sang by the entirety of the band to keyboard washes which chill the pounding metal, "Frân" is one mighty anthem.

Up next is "Isolation," a rousing number which immediately charges through passages of epic metal. Ghostly choirs spar with steely guitars and meticulously devastating percussion, producing an atmosphere of battle under wintry skies. The stark howls constituting the vocals are the icing on the cake, recreating the lonely independence of the warrior in combat.

After this, the album's title track begins with a swirling vortex not unlike a whirlpool. As it progresses, the music evolves into a patient, plodding waterfall of sound, replete with cascades of falling riffs and mournful wails. Bursting from the turbulent seas is a delicate series of guitar notes, soon eradicated in a firestorm of crushing metal. Ending with a moody swell of ambience, "Vite" captures the resoundingly fierce emotions of the album bearing its name.

"Griftefrid" continues along the path of brutality, laying waste with hammering riffs and wild shrieks. Cutting through the song's dense rhythmic crush is an ethereal chorus, drifting upwards like a pagan prayer. Compelling and beautiful, it creates a particularly smashing finale, leaving listeners breathless.

Thankfully, "Becoming the Eye" immediately presents a respite. Tribal drums snake their way through a churning bass line, producing an atmosphere more in line with Tool than Amon Amarth. When all Hell breaks loose, however, the song reveals complex tremolo-melodies sounding worthy of Enslaved. The end result is a labyrinthine rocker, full of twists and turns.

Last but not least is the cold splendor of "Tre Vintrar - Tvâ Solar." Frosty piano keys wind through gloomy bass notes, instantly creating an atmosphere of darkest winter. Interestingly enough, the song never leaves this mournful morass, ending the album on a sinister note not unlike unexpected death on the field of slaughter.

If there is one gripe I have hosted towards Viking metal, it is how the genre rarely conjures up the appropriate image of Viking culture. Always absent are the isolations of the nomadic lifestyle, the joy and sorrow of war and the evil of earlier ages, blatantly unkind towards all men. Dark, harsh and vast in scope, Hels Vite captures these emotions perfectly. Thyrfing remain champions of Viking metal, and Hels Vite will go down in history as one more crown jewel, albeit a little bit murkier than the rest.

by Mark Hensch in http://www.rocknworld.com/thrashpit/

Viking Metal, Sweden
Full-length, Regain
October 22nd, 2008

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Odal - Zornes Heimat

Odal - Zornes Heimat

Pagan Black Metal, Germany
Full-length, Christhunt Productions
June 2008

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Crimfall - As the Path Unfolds...

Crimfall - As the Path Unfolds...

Enough can’t be said of Crimfall’s keen ability to marry high energy folk and movie soundtrack devices within the context of a metal album, sounding simultaneously contemporary and, not necessarily old school metal, but rather steeped in an old world feel.

Like the onset of a soundtrack score, As The Path Unfold’s opening track “Neothera Awakening” marches forth with melancholy-filled violins and triumphant percussive thrusts. Distorted guitars chime in at the onset of the following track, “The Crown of Treason,” reminding listeners this is in fact a metal album. But, again, this is anything but metal by the numbers. At various points accordions and stringed instruments bring Viitala’s cinematic vision to life. And Haaparanta’s beautiful, operatic vocals help drive the band’s epic nature predominantly championed by traditionally European melodic styles; however she adventurously and seductively croons with a Middle-Eastern flare on “Sun Orphaned.”

Providing interesting contrast to her lush vocals, Häkkinen’s blackish rasps create a mood in polar opposition with an angry sentiment that’s almost tangible. Though the vocalists play off each other effectively, the black metal approach the band takes musically alongside the black metal vocals is PG-13. To put it another way, the formulaic black metal-influenced portions taste like Bud Light compared to a thick, hearty serving of Guinness.

How far the band has come in such a short span of time (Jakke Viitala formed the Finnish band in late 2007) is quite interesting indeed. It’s a double-edged sword they wield in that of course every band wants a great debut; however the pressure they’ll feel while writing their follow-up, one may presume, is going to be tremendous. Never mind exceeding the quality of As The Path Unfolds, but to meet the standard they’ve set would be a great feat indeed.

Original review at http://heavymetal.about.com/

Symphonic/progressive power/viking/folk metal, Finland
Full-length, Napalm Records
February 25th, 2009

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