Angry Metal Guy

Kromlek // Finis Terrae
Rating: 2.5/5.0 — Kiddie Kalmah/Bodom for babies.
Label: Trollzorn Records
Websites: bollwerk-kromlek.de/ myspace.com/kromlek
Release Dates: EU: 2011.04.08/15 | US: N/A – Digital Release 04.08.2011

I never heard of these guys before and didn’t know what to expect but they’re described as folk/viking black  metal from Germany. Finis Terrae is their third platter and features guest appearances from members of Heidevolk and Equilibrium. Since I wasn’t able to locate their earlier works, I can’t speak intelligently about how this stacks up to their past material but I can say this isn’t what I expected from a viking/folk group. Instead, a lot of Finis Terrae reminds me of a mid-paced, way more melodic version of Children of Bodom with some hints of Kalmah appearing throughout as well. Only during the back half of the album does KromleK employ what could be considered a traditional viking/black metal style and by then it seems out of place after all the COB-lite noodling. Thus, this becomes a tale of two half albums that don’t necessarily compliment each other. While I was pleasantly surprised by the strange, progressive approach on some of the material here, things get pretty uneven and spotty as things move along. What we get left with is a confusing mish-mash of styles and intentions. Continue reading

Fimbulthier // Arise
Rating: 1.0/5.0 – Fimbulful of awful
Label: Trollzorn
Websites: fimbulthier.de | myspace.com/fimbulthier
Release Dates: EU: 09.07.2010 | US: No available date

Into every reviewer’s lap, some crap will surely fall. Now, I can’t complain too much since I’ve had a pretty crap-free run so far as a scribe for the mighty and esteemed Angry Metal Guy. Sadly, that run has now come to a sudden and painful end with Arise, the second album from Germany’s Fimbulthier. I had never heard of these gents before but apparently their 2007 debut was some kind of viking/death metal hybrid, which by the looks of online reviews, didn’t exactly warm the cockles of the metal minded among us. Arise however, is about as viking as Pee Wee Herman in drag. No, seriously, maybe I misread the band description and it said Tricycling metal because there is nothing remotely close to viking metal here. What there is plenty of however, is awfulness and dreck. 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.

Wulfgar // Midgardian Metal
Rating: 3.0/5.0 — Entirely enjoyable, but sort of lacking something… Oh, right, originality
Label: Trollzorn / SMP Records
Websites: wulfgar.se | myspace.com/wulfgarse
Release Dates: EU: 19.03.2010 | US: No date found

The guys from Wulfgar and I have something in common: we both really love Amon Amarth. I mean, I’ve been an Amon Amarth fan since I first heard “Victorious March” all those years ago and I’ve just never looked back. I’ve purchased every one of their records since I started listening to melodic death metal and, let’s face it, I’ll probably keep listening to them for years to come until I’m old, bitter and bored with everything that I used to like (it’ll happen: then I’ll become Angry 12 Tone Jazz Guy). The difference between my love of Amon Amarth and that of the guys from this Swedish quintet is that I didn’t start a band…

OK, now that I’ve gotten the shit talking out of the way, let me say something: these guys are actually really, really good at what they do. They pump out excellent, mid-paced melodic death metal with the vocal styling of an epically bearded Swede named Emil (who incidentally does actually sound like Johann Hegg from Amon Amarth). The tracks are heavy, with great chuggy riffs and totally solid melodies which hook you in right away. You spend the majority of your time nodding your head, and I’m sure this stuff is totally awesome live. I mean, Midgardian Metal has it all: addictive melodies, fun riffs and a style that I just love to listen to.

The band has a bit of variation, as well—the track “Norsemen of Steel” sees the band wander into power metal territory on the chorus, and there are even some pretty folk metal parts on here as well. In my opinion, the band would do well to think about expanding these parts of their music. Because while I think that they’re a good band, there is definitely a part of me that wants a little bit more than an excellent audiocopy of an already loved and famous band. These guys obviously have the talent to write solid metal—so they should use that talent to expand their sound a little bit beyond the boundaries of their current sound.

To fans of the style, this record will be thoroughly enjoyable. If you can’t get enough new music that sounds like Versus the World and Fate of Norns, then you’ll be a nice shade of satisfied after listening to Midgardian Metal a few times. The comfortableness of this style isn’t lost on me. Songs like “Circle of Runes” and “The Death of Yggdrasil” definitely pound through the speakers and pummel you with a viking-like ferocity. The production is thick and meaty, and the performances are convincing. Over time you will probably forget that you’re not listening to Amon Amarth and just start to enjoy this record for what it is—solid, groove based melodic death metal about vikings and the mythology of medieval Scandinavia.

…

Just like Amon Amarth.