The debut album by this Swedish trio consisting of J. Sandin on vocals and keyboards, H. Carlsson on guitars and bass, and N. Fjellström on the drums is a bit of an eclectic affair. The easiest comparison I can make would be to their countryman Quorthon and his last two Bathory albums. While there are a couple tracks with English lyrics the rest are in Swedish as proven when ‘Shaman’ opens with “Gammal Krigare” and its operatic vocals, sweeping guitars and steady drumming.
“Undrets Tid” is quite a bit livelier with the drumming tempo having increased significantly, therefore making the guitars follow suit and having quick lead breaks over the fast choppy rhythm.
A very traditional sounding guitar rhythm is employed on “Fate’s Door”, which combined with the vocals, actually remind a lot of early Candlemass in the way they flow into the leads while retaining all their heaviness.
A lightly picked distorted guitar gives way to it being strummed, making the riffs airy but heavier at the same time. And as “Moder Liv Till Grav” continues the clean vocals resonate and contrast to the melodic guitars, while the drums pick up then drop their pace for added effect.
Slowing things down to a moody melody, “Ursprungskallan” slowly has the guitars build up to full sound all the while allowing the vocals to remain the centrepiece of the song.
A pretty, clean strumming introduces “Patterns”, the rhythm remains constant as the distortion kicks in, then the leads are layered over the guitars and drums, the majestic sounding keyboards are finally added to fill the sound out completely, before it all fades back into clean strumming, only to build up once more for the outro.
“Granslos Grans” has a fast black metal feel to the guitar rhythm which is accompanied by an underlying guitar melody. The full deep baritone of Sandin’s voice adds to a slightly more sombre feel the song carries.
Painting an epic aural picture, “Grey Man” has all the trademarks of a story told to music as it builds to its crescendo lyrically and musically simultaneously.
As the translated title “I Dodens Famn” suggests, this is a rather dark track which ebbs and flows as it makes its way to its conclusion. The guitar riffs are constant, but the changes in drum tempo give the feel that they vary too. There is a second guitar rhythm that comes in as the vocals gain momentum which adds a pleasant melody to what the rather broody track.
“Rimthurs” is hard to describe. It’s a Scandinavian Chant, if such a thing exists, much in the Gregorian fashion, but far earthier. The background sounds help envisage this all taking place on a cold day with the icy wind blowing off sea as the huge bonfire on the beach crackles. A truly epic way to end this album.
I really enjoyed the fact that while the album has many ancestral musical influences, it never derails into the polka bounciness that other bands have trademarked, making this a far more sober pagan metal affair.
(7/10 Marco Gaminara)
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