Tag Pagan
Let me start by being completely upfront. This is Moonsorrow’s best album for more than a decade. Perhaps even one of their best yet. It’s a melting pot of all that has gone before and if you’re not hooked in… Continue Reading →
We find ourselves basking happily in Viking/Folk Metal territory with Grimner’s third full-length offering “Frost Mot Eld”…and I’m a sucker for a bit of well executed Folk Metal! These mighty Metal marauders mix harsh and clean vocals, over heavy guitars,… Continue Reading →
Much like exalted labels such as Dark Descent, Norma Evangelium Diaboli, Daemon Worship and Eisenwald, Debemur Morti are one of those stables that simply demand attention. Applying rigorous standards to their signing policy and allying it to a focussed sense… Continue Reading →
In the land of mathematical formulae, Finnish + Pagan + Black Metal will never equal warmth or cosiness, yet while the ambient beginning of this atmospheric adventure suggests cold winds, there is an alluring mysticism in the lapping waters. “Descension”… Continue Reading →
Zgard, with its resolutely Carpathian take on black metal, has always had obvious potential and has been quietly, in the background, constructing its legacy over the past three or four years. Totem again features former Nokturnal Mortum drummer Munruthel on… Continue Reading →
I’m not quite sure why eight albums into their career a band would simply self-title their album. It strikes as a statement that they are completely re-inventing themselves or are just plain lazy really and there’s no real hint of… Continue Reading →
Sometimes the simple names are the best but no, a closer look unveils that Blot is actually Sacrifice in olde heathen Scandinavian. Considering this and the fact that the cover of this Norwegian outfit’s debut has a long-ship on it… Continue Reading →
There’s no messing around with twiddly, whimsical intros for Dutch Pagan Metallers Heidevolk. Nope, opening track ‘Winter Woede’ piles straight in there, brimming with their own special brand of Tyr-tinged, Ensiferum-edged Viking Metal that they have been crafting and honing… Continue Reading →
It’s rare that I reach these levels of excitement about a pagan black metal release – in the same way as I did when I first heard all those early Kampfar, Falkenbach and Forefather releases. It’s not that I’m jaded… Continue Reading →
Helrunar have always stood out from the black metal crowd with their unique atmosphere and Germanic vibe. Rather than relying on the rapid fire blasts and tremolo riffs, the band has increasingly preferred to bludgeon with heavy riffs and hammer-like… Continue Reading →
I’ve got to be honest, I think I initially bit off a bit much when I volunteered to review this one. Totally my fault, I was unfamiliar with the band, saw the artwork, scanned through a brief description and thought… Continue Reading →
Let’s face it, a new Primordial album is always something of a special event these days – from the moment the band truly unfurled their songwriting wings on 1998’s ‘Journey’s End’ album, has there been another act in the extreme… Continue Reading →