Angry Metal Guy

Amorphis // Forging the Land of Thousand Lakes
Rating: 4.5/5.0 — The first time I’ve ever recommended a DVD
Label: Nuclear Blast (EU | US)
Websites: amorphis.net | myspace.com/amorphis
Release Dates: EU: 09.07.2010 | US: 07.13.2010

Amorphis is a band that needs no introduction, particularly if you’ve been reading this zine for more than a few weeks. When Skyforger came out in 2009, I was fortunate enough to be able to catch it on MySpace at the time and put up a review of it on this site: it was actually one of the first things that started increasing traffic to this site. At the time that I wrote the review I was particularly laudatory of the band’s new material. Despite the wave against them because they never re-wrote The Karelian Isthmus or Tales from the Thousand Lakes again, I have been nothing but enchanted by the last three albums. They are, for lack of a better word, genius. Modern, melodic metal done with class and style, Eclipse, Silent Waters and Skyforger are three of the best album from the 2000s and have re-established the legacy of a band that has seemed to have lost its way at times. Continue reading

Galar // Til Alle Heimsens Endar
Rating: 3.0/5.0 — Your sources are showing…
Label: Dark Essence Records
Websites: galar.no | myspace.com/galarmetal
Release Dates: EU: 01.03.2010 | US: 03.01.2010 [as download]

It would seem that Angry Metal Guy is actually forming review themes, like some sort of ongoing process wherein I discuss the ups and downs of the metal scene while reviewing records, and even debate them with some of the other reviewers. Because reviewing is an ongoing process here, often times things get lumped into groups in my head that others might not see. But what’s interesting is how during this big debate about whether or not bands should really be striving for an original and unique sound I am basically reviewing Nàttsòl‘s new record and Galar‘s new albums side by side. Like Nàttsòl, Galar is a young Norwegian band that is working in the footsteps of Ulver. Released by Dark Essence Records, Til Alle Heimsens Endar (“Until the End of All Worlds”) is the second album from the band, whose first record Skogsvad was released in 2006 and I, incidentally, have never heard it. The record itself is based on the work of Snorri Sturluson’s “Heimskringla”.  Continue reading

Nàttsòl // Stemning
Rating: 2.5/5.0 — Footnotes to Ulver
Label: Lupus Lounge / Prophecy Productions
Websites: myspace.com/nattsolnorway
Release Dates: EU: 11.06.2010 | US: 07.13.2010

Norwegian metal is famous for two things in modern times: the rise of modern black metal, and more recently, Norway’s fall into disrepute within the metal scene. Since the latter occurred, we have often been hailed with the new band that is somehow breathing new life into the old scene or still making black metal in the old style—and the next band to be hailed in that line is Nàttsòl, whose debut album Stemning hits European shores in June and the American shores in July. Nàttsòl we are told, breathe a new and icy life into the dead Norwegian scene that has been a disappointment to us all since the early 2000s. Surely, they’ll be the ones! Continue reading

Istapp // Blekinge
Rating: 4.5/5.0 — Retarded good.
Label: Metal Blade
Websites: istappofficial.com | myspace.com/istapp
Release Date: EU: 04.06.2010 | US: 06.08.2010

Sweden’s Istapp (translation: icicle) was a big surprise for this Angry Metal Guy. A Swedish melodic black metal from Blekinge Län (which is basically the far south of Sweden) I had never heard of them. They’ve been around in the scene for a while, apparently, having released several demos and then a demo compilation (with practically the same track list as Blekinge). More surprisingly, the band’s vocalist is reported to have been in Spawn of Possession until 2009, which is a strange connection given that the band is at almost the opposite side of the spectrum from the well known and worshiped tech-death band. But while Istapp isn’t going to win any awards with the hardcore fans of black metal with their clean vocals, their pristine production and their melody, they are certainly going to win a lot of fans who like their metal fast, melodic and, more importantly, awesome.
Continue reading

October Falls // A Collapse of Faith
Rating: 3.0/5.0 — Dark, bleak and beautiful
Label: Debemur Morti Productions
Websites: … huh, son of a bitch… I got nothin’! (That’s a first..)
Release Dates: EU: 24.05.2010

Depressed Finns are really no surprise in metal these days. It seems like Finns are a pretty morose bunch in general. A country famous for bands like Poisonblack, H.I.M., Sentenced, Insomnium, Black Sun Aeon and Swallow the Sun, it shouldn’t be terribly surprising that some pretty bleak and depressing stuff comes out of Finland. And let me be clear, that’s not even naming huge groups of bands that I’m sure others could probably come up with. But October Falls isn’t your standard “depressed metal” band from Finland. There are no silly ESL lyrics about being buried in a plastic bag or any of that jazz. Instead, October Falls is a “depressive” black metal band with folk sensibilities.

A Collapse of Faith is one 40 minute track, which quite frankly doesn’t lend itself to an easy review. It’s difficult to sit down and describe the entire album, when its basically a series of different movements of one track. You try reviewing a symphony some time and see how well it goes. However, this one track is best illustrated by the cover of the album—a little to your left, yup there you go!—and the first minute or so: the sound of a campfire and birds in the woods gently laying under an acoustic guitar, which sets the atmosphere for the album without being cheesy or ridiculous. At about 2 minutes, the real theme for the album comes in on the guitar and for the most part you’re in “metal” territory after that. What stood out for me about this record was that the melody was gorgeous and strong, lending itself towards the melodies of Vintersorg or Borknagar (early), it had a melancholy to it that is not really present in those earlier folk and black metal records. But while I would probably still call this “black metal”, this is not Darkthrone black metal, but Petrychor black metal or maybe something more akin to Ulver‘s epic and classic album Bergtatt. Continue reading

Helfahrt // Drifa
Rating: 2.0/5.0 — Bland like tofu on dry toast
Label: Trollzorn/SMP Records
Websites: helfahrt.com | myspace.com/helfahrt
Release Dates: 30.04.2010

Folk and pagan metal seem to be the new melodic death these days, where every band with a fiddle or flute and a fondness for Renaissance Faires can produce “epic” songs of long-forgotten lore and jump on the bandwagon that trails behind genre leaders like Finntroll and Moonsorrow. After the recent whirlwind success of fellow Germans, Equilibrium, I had high hopes for Helfahrt and their third full-length album Drifa. Yes, the band’s name reads “Hell Fart” in English (though the english translation is roughly “the journey to Helheim and the land of the dead”). Now that that’s out of the way we can continue. You in the back, stop sniggering!

From the get-go, Drifa is typical folk fare, with an acoustic guitar leading into an angular, distorted riff. Unfortunately, by the end of this first track you have heard almost every trick in Helfahrt‘s book (I said, no laughing!). The band’s fondness for half-time riffs and traditional black metal tremolo guitars over blast beats is all too apparent, and there is certainly no reinvention of the wheel going on here.

This trend continues over the next two tracks, with a predictable formula of tremolo riffs driven by the kick drum breaking into half time and then rising up again. Unfortunately these dynamics (or lack thereof) are not enough to keep a listener’s attention and by the fourth song I was bored. Thankfully “Abscheid” mixes it up a little bit with a short, but sweet, acoustic piece that prominenty features a mouth harp. The twanging and folkish chanting is pleasant and until now is the only real indication beyond lyrics that you are listening to a folk inspired album.

After “Abscheid” though, I tuned out. There is just not enough going on in the songs to grab my attention. Everything about the tracks is of a good quality; the production is solid, the vocals are strong (remining me a bit of Thyrfing in places) and the instruments cannot be faulted. There is, it should be noted, a distinct lack of guitar showmanship which I feel hurts the album a little since a good, strong solo to look forward to in a song might actually redeem the blur that makes up the remaining tracks. There is a brief moment that made me lift up my head and start nodding it a little with “Zu Asche”, that features a very catchy hook and conjures all the usual images of flagon waving and brave warriors (despite the absence of additional folkish instrumentation), even if the formula from the past six songs is followed by-the-book.

Sadly, Helfahrt feels like metal-by-numbers. Drifa is an acceptable metal album, there is no doubt about it, but there are hundreds of other bands that sound exactly like it and who quite possibly mix it up a little more. The band has not done anything horribly wrong in their latest offering – and fans of pagan-tinged black metal would do well to at least give them a chance – but they do not seem to have done much right either. There is nothing wrong with creating a formula and sticking to it, which is certainly the feeling that I get from Drifa; however Helfahrt‘s case it is a formula that is being done much more effectively by so many other bands. The pagan metal market is almost as saturated as death metal and black metal at the moment and it takes something special to stand out from the crowd; unfortunately Helfahrt does not seem to possess what their style so desperately needs.

Skyforger // Kurbads
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — A remarkable blend of elements
Label: Metal Blade
Websites: skyforger.lv | myspace.com/skyforgerofficial
Release Dates: EU: 23/26.04.2010 | US: 05.11.2010

Skyforger is Latvia’s answer to folk metal and they’ve been giving it a go for quite a while. Despite having been around since 1995, however, they’ve not produced a terribly huge discography. In fact, Kurbads is the first Skyforger album since 2003, when they self-released a folk album that was mightily well-received by their fanbase—even, apparently, more so their metal album from the same year Thunderforge. The band, for the record, has also been involved in a bit of controversy surrounding the use of, what the band calls a thundercross, and what the rest of us call a swastika in their logo. But it seems the band has worked very hard to distance themselves from any of the controversy surrounding this and should be approached from a non-political stance.

And pure folk metal Kurbads certainly is. Written with an eye towards ancient Latvian mythologies about men becoming heroes, every song on this record is basically about people standing up to the evil confronting them and defeating them. Think about it as the Baltic equivalent of the great national epics of Germany, Sweden, England or anywhere else for that matter. To back up this admirable and interesting concept the band has once again attacked the subject with their breed of doomy (or at least mid-paced) blackened folk metal. As I’ve been listening to this album I’ve had some issues placing exactly who the band sounds like, which is a thing to be admired, really, but I guess the best way to describe Skyforger‘s sound to newcomers is a blend of 80s thrash, Iron Maiden and Bathory with a healthy dose of folk melodies. It is a sound that is both familiar and comfortable, yet unique and interesting. Normally not a fan of mid-paced bands, Skyforger spoke to me on a completely different level.

This appeal has largely to do with the well-structured and interesting songwriting which combines all these different elements into a strong alloy. For example, the track “Black  Rider” mixes a Blind Guardian-esque riff, using bagpipes as lead instead of overly layered guitars, with an old school style Motörhead riff. While “The Nine-Headed” blends folk metal with Kreator-like German thrash and Iron Maiden‘s dual guitar leads. Each one of these songs offers a beautiful blending of these different metal styles and makes them cool, cohesive and crushing. My personal favorite song, and the one that convinced me that Kurbads was going to be a good record after all was definitely “Son of the Mare”, which starts out slow but turns into a speed metal track of amazing quality, with some of the most addictive melodies being carried by the bagpipes towards the end. This track set the standard for the album, which most of the record really lives up to.

Listening to Kurbads I’m really reminded of what it is about being a metalhead that I like so much. Sure, there seems to be a ridiculous amount of genrefication that’s gone on in the last few years. There are very few bands that are universally loved by metalheads in the same way that an Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath or a Metallica once were. But the ability of bands to take these various different genres, blend them together and get something new out of it is definitely something that is worth our admiration. Every metalhead has his or her own idea of what The Best Fucking Band Ever should sound like, and most of the time it’s not one band, but several. Skyforger has managed to mix all of these things together to write one of the more interesting folk metal albums you’ll hear these days and something I guarantee you doesn’t sound anything like Eluveitie, Turisas or Finntroll—and that’s what makes it awesome.

Heidevolk // Uit Oude Grond
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Addictive as hell
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: heidevolk.com | myspace.com/officialheidevolk
Release Dates: EU: 26.03.2010 | US: 04.06.2010

So, apparently Napalm has dibs on every awesome folk metal band in the universe and Dutch metallers Heidevolk are another one of their excellent pagan folk metal bands. These six guys came together for the first album in 2002 and are conceptually fairly unique, focusing on the local culture of Gelderland, what is now a province of the Netherlands located along the border with Germany. Heidevolk sing in their native Dutch, as one would expect, but this never causes any issues with understanding as the record is musically deep and entrancing.

What’s so cool about folk metal is the variety of places it can take you as a fan. It is true that many folk metal bands are similar, but there is also a tremendous amount of variety in what is considered folk metal. In the case of Vintersorg, for example, it was basically Ulver influenced post-black metal in its earliest form, whereas Otyg was producing music that were folkvisor in the old Swedish style—both of them are considered folk metal. Heidevolk, also folk metal, sounds a lot like Falkenbach, but they have a certain power metal kind of charm to them. Lots of straight beat, highly melodic music with great guitar solos and lots of guitar harmonies. But what differentiates these guys from power metal is that they focus on broadening their sound, including folk melodies and instruments.

Another thing that really stands out for me about Heidevolk is the intensely gorgeous vocals that permeate every crevice of this record. Choirs and harmonies have a strong appeal to this  Angry Metal Guy and have since I was an Angry Metal Kid, and this love is satiated by nary the existence of a single vocal line on this entire album that doesn’t have a harmony and sometimes there are two or three of them. These harmonies are powerful, haunting and add a very unique sound to something that might be otherwise not as unique. This combination of catchy melodies, beautiful harmonies and well-written music creates a formula that is addictive as hell and draws the listener back to this album again and again (and again and again).

Clocking in at 50 minutes, Uit Oude Grond is definitely worth picking up, particularly if you’re a fan of folk metal. Tracks like the opener “Nehalennia”, “Best Bij Nacht” and, probably my personal favorite, “Dondergod” will weed their way into the gray matter you’ve got floating around there and not let go. There’s a reason that Heidevolk is becoming better and better known in the scene: it’s ’cause they’re fucking awesome. And Uit Oude Grond just re-enforces this point.

Svartsot // Mulmets Viser
Rating: 4.0/5.0 — Thoroughly enjoyable
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: svartsot.dk | myspace.com/svartsot
Release Dates: EU: 26.03.2010 | US: 04.06.2010

Given the whole history of medieval Scandinavia and where the vikings actually came from as a rule, it is surprising to me that there are not more bands from Denmark that have jumped onto this whole Viking Metal thing that has been swelling up in metal for the last decade or so. No, instead it was basically introduced by a Swede in the 1980s and has been carried on primarily by Swedes and Norwegians who do the style well. But it was not the Swedes that the Englishmen were so afraid of, but the Danes. There was even a law (and a word for it) where they called the money that was paid in tribute to the Vikings who were threatening to invade a certain area: “Danegeld”. It is true that (what would be modern day) Norwegians were involved in these raids, and so, too, were the Rus, or Swedish Vikings. But the Danes are the Vikings you learn about. “Sure,” you say, “but this point is pedantic and long-winded. You’re Angry Metal Guy not Angry History Nerd.” Good point. But my point is this: very little Danish viking metal exists. The only band I’ve heard of is Svartsot, who has just released their second album of folk influenced, medieval Scandinavian metal songs.

The world is better for the existence of Svartsot, however. Mulmets Viser is a really enjoyable collection of folk influenced, melodic death metal tracks by this Danish sextet. The style isn’t terribly unlike things you’ve probably heard before as a fan of folk metal, that’s for certain. Bands like Finntroll, Otyg and others would be sorely treated if they were not mentioned in a description of the sound. The band uses mandolins, whistles and accordions to make their particular brand of catchy as hell folk metal. Stylistically they lean towards death metal, and have a growl as the primary vocals on the record even at times when clean voices would seem more appropriate—but 99% of the time this works out convincingly.

While there are not lyrics included, or translations of the lyrics really, in the promo material there was a really fascinating piece with the liner notes from the album which I found to be fascinating and which shows the depth to which these guys are going when it comes to lyrics. Instead of focusing on the Ásatrú, like so many bands do, or writing wistfully about what a great country Denmark must have been in the ages of the past like some overrated black metal and folk metal bands have done, Svartsot instead writes about history for the most part, with a few simpler songs about masculinity thrown in for good measure. (This is metal afterall.) For this reason, the songs read a bit like a Scandinavian History course: covering the first Viking raid in recorded history (Lindisfarne in England in 793) to writing about King Æthelred II (the Unready) who paid the Danes 10,000 pounds of gold (i.e., the Danegeld) to not ransack his ass.

Honestly, this is one of the better folk metal records I’ve heard recently. The tracks are well-conceived, well-performed and caaatchy. Angry Metal Girlfriend did her fair share of silly, impression folk dancing while I was listening to this album so it should give you an idea of the feel of this music. But unlike bands like Metsatöll or Fejd, these guys are still more rooted in death metal, which makes the music still more aggressive and fun to listen to from an energetic stand point. You could drive to this music, listen to it while drinking with your buddies are just or just plain rock it out while doing something else. The word “visa” in Swedish (and I’m assuming in Danish as well) means basically “folk melody”, a simple melody which is catchy, simple and worth knowing by heart and singing when intoxicated. That pretty much describes Svartsot.

Metsatöll // Äio
Rating: 3.5/5.0 — Entertaining even though we haven’t a clue what’s going on—good sign!
Label: Spinefarm
Websites: metsatoll.ee | myspace.com/metsatoll
Release Dates: EU: 03.03.2010 | US: ?

That Metsatöll even exists is actually a great surprise. We had no idea! Seriously, not even a little bit of an idea. Turns out, they’ve been around for quite a while and given the very cool nature of the band’s 2010 release Äio, this Angry Metal Guy is definitely suggesting that you run out and buy every single one of their albums. Though, it’s hard to know whether or not Äio is a true masterpiece, because lyrically we’re in the dark. Still, it’s hard to argue with anyone who can make a recorder sound metal.

Metsatöll is an Estonian folk metal band that’s been putting out records for nearly a decade now. Apparently the word from which they derive their name is an archaic word for wolf and they work at keeping their language and thoughts nice and archaic for all of us who feel robbed for never having been ridden with lice or killed our food with a bow and arrow after several weeks of starving and the birth of our 14th child (but only 3rd one to live). Keeping in thematic consonance with this, the band blends flutes and bagpipes into their heavy metal, making a catchy blend of metal and folk that is catchy like the plague and sticky like plague honey.

The biggest issue with this record, honestly, is that for a non-native speaker it can get pretty frustrating. While the music is often quite simple and the band seems to be writing from the point of view that there will be lyrical focus, we non-Estonians (and Finns I guess—and anyone else who speaks Finno-Ugrek languages) have absolutely no clue what’s going on. What ends up happening is that an album that is an hour long and probably a lyrical masterpiece, turns into something that one might want to shut off after half that time because it’s tough to figure  out what’s going on. Unless you’re a big fan of folk music, are trying to learn Estonian via archaic language (thus making it harder on yourself), it’s entirely probable that you will just find this record frustrating.

But patience, my friends, is a virtue and for those willing to wade through something a little obtuse an exciting musical adventure awaits them. While the band does not adhere to any of the extreme influences that litter most modern folk metal and the tracks really never get much beyond a mid-paced chug, there is a lot of excellent heavy material, as well as beautiful folky moments. The track “Kune pole kodus, olen kaugel teel” is a fantastic folk song with a heavy bass vocalist that is reminiscent of Finntroll‘s forays into folk music (and the title is a blast to say). The title track is heavy, pounding and novel with great flute melodies and a good folk metal groove to it. And when Metsatöll breaks into the kind of vocal harmonies that litter the album, but are particularly visible on the opening sequence of “Nüüd tulge, mu kaimud”, it’s hard not to sit up and take notice at something that really just has a fascinating and novel sound. We were particularly taken with the track “Verjiää”, which is well worth the pay off of sitting through a few slow tracks for these great folk melodies and the beautiful composition.

If you’re a fan of music that’s not in your native language and you’re totally OK listening to it for the music, Metsatöll is the band for you. But like other bands of the genre, such as Fejd or Tarabas, it really does feel like something gets lost in translation. There is a sense that a non-native listener would have trouble following the band where they want to go. We hope that the non-Finnish/Estonian booklet comes with translations at least, so that listeners know what the hell they’re listening to. But even if you don’t: this record is worth a listen, because the music is novel, entrancing and well-crafted.