Vanir have been about for a lot longer than you might think. The Danish Viking metal merchants actually produced their first album back in 1991, though I got into them back in around 2016 with the “Aldar Ruk” record. It’s been a couple of years since their well-regarded “Sagas” release, and the question therefore remains – are Vanir still a decent listen?
Actually, in many ways Epitome is an iterative improvement over the last couple of albums. While I really enjoyed “Sagas”, there were a few tracks that outstayed their welcome. That’s not something that you can accuse of Epitome. For the most part, we get some tightly focussed melodic death metal with some folk influences. Opener “Twisting the Knife” sets the blue print, but there’s still plenty of variety to be found within. “One Man Army” is a mid-paced stomper that wouldn’t be out of place on a mid-career Amon Amarth album (which to be clear, is my favourite era of theirs). Throughout, the riffs from Kirk Bacharach and Michael Lundquist carry the tunes, albeit there’s also a disciplined if slightly under-stated rhythm section of Mikael Christensen (bass) and Jon Schmidt (drums). Rounding out the roster are the raspy but legible vocals of Martin Rubini and tasteful keyboards courtesy of Stefan Dujardin.
The song-writing is really on point for Epitome. My personal favourite, “Wood Iron and Will” is a case in point. From an effective opening to the martial pulse of the track, this is a song with interesting ideas built on a familiar framework. It’s all so bloody listenable. Often, melodic extreme metal has to sacrifice heaviness in order to produce the melody. Not so here. The fascinating guitar parts are woven effortlessly into the overall motif, and the gentle swell of the keyboards add a touch of slightly down-cast class. Production wise, this is on par with anything from the genre that you’re going to hear all year: powerful yet clear, with a magnificent clarity that still packs a punch.
Criticisms? Few and far between. At nine tracks long, some might want some more, but with each track at around the five minutes mark, I’d say that the run time really verges on perfection. I find myself listening to it and still wanting more at the end, but not to the extent that I’m irritated.
Probably the strongest Vanir album to date, and it should really see them being mentioned along heavyweights of the genre.
(8/10 Chris Davison)
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