Last year I received Swedish folk-metallers Fejd‘s Napalm Records debut with great excitement. I had been listening to the band for a long time and was really impressed with their material in general. Their earlier demos I en tid som var and Huldran had both been constantly on my playlist since I downloaded them (and with good reason). But while I was not disappointed with Storm,  the material didn’t blow me away as much as the earlier demos had. Maybe this was a “slump” or something, but it didn’t quite live up to those standards.

Eifur offers no such disappointment! This may be the strongest material that the band has produced up until now. For those of you not familiar with the band, Fejd is a folk metal band that distinctly lacks many of what people would consider to be the most “metal” part—the electric guitar. However, with heavy bass, drums and great instrumentation that fills out the sound there is still something that I think is distinctly “heavy” about these guys. Even though the band lacks that crunch that fills out most metal records these days and that guitar players desperately fight to get, Eifur is remarkably heavy. Not Meshuggah, but certainly not easy listening, either. But what really differentiates these guys from the “folk metal herd” as it were is that not only is their instrumentation quite authentic for Swedish folk music, but the tracks are just so damn well-constructed.

Up until now my favorite Fejd has definitely been I en tid som var, but this record not only includes my favorite track from that demo (“Arv” as well as another track “Yggdrasil”) but the new material is totally on that level. Other stand out tracks are numerous on the album (this is one of those records where you could recommend every track for different reasons). The track “Gryning” shows a perfect example of what makes these guys cool, starting out with a single stringed instrument and building to a classic metal gallop with pounding double bass before jumping into one of the catchiest choruses I’ve ever heard. Another excellent track is the closing one “Trollfärd” which has a fantastic groove and an amazing range of instrumentation and arrangements—and doesn’t need a vocal track to be worth every second of your time (and multiple listens). And so on. And so forth. You get the picture.

I guess the only reason not to give this record a perfect score is because it’s not all new material and because it hasn’t had time to really grow on me yet. But I suspect that I’ll be coming back to this one for a long time, because it’s one of the most convincing “folk metal” offerings that I’ve ever heard. It reminds me of what I love about the classics (Storm, Otyg) but with a wider range of instrumentation and understanding of history of the music—which speaks to a sophistication that the earlier material simply didn’t have. So if you’re a fan of the genre this is definitely one I recommend because it will excite you. And if you’re a fan of the Swedish language I recommend this record for that purpose as well. Just watch out for falling ‘äro:s’. *cough*

Related posts:

1. Fejd – Storm
2. 10 Questions With Esko from Fejd
3. Svartsot – Mulmets Viser Review

After the flights back to Sweden we had less than 24 hours at home before taking off for Australia. During those few hours I had to pack, take a bath and prepare the audio CDs and mixes for Melodifestivalen. For those who don’t know what Melodifestivalen is, it is the biggest thing in the Swedish music industry. A huge machinery built to single out the Swedish contender for the Eurovision Song Contest. Out of thousands and thousands of sent in songs, 30 are selected by a jury to participate in this national contest, viewed by half the population when it’s on TV. It’s a big thing, to say the least! Do you recall a week with two Thursdays, some two months back? It was that day when hell froze over, remember? That was the day they told us Pain of Salvation would be participating in Melodifestivalen. It just doesn’t happen.

For those of you who are not familiar with Eurovision or, the preliminaries that are Melodifestivalen, these things are about as metal as, say.. American Idol. That is to say, they are not fucking metal at all. They’re not metal even a little bit. There is not a shred of metal in this stuff. “Sure,” you say, “but Lordi got famous because of Eurovision!” To which I respond “Exactly!” Lordi, while funny, is certainly not a band that anyone over the age of 8 takes seriously at all. And that should give you the idea of what it means that Pain of Salvation, the progressive rock idols that are incredibly well loved in the prog scene (the word “overrated” almost comes to mind, though they are exceptionally talented), are going to be in Melodifestivalen.

The best part about this whole thing is the interview on the SVT site.

Even if you can’t understand Swedish you should check out the end where they slaughter this song (which I was informed of by Angry Metal Girlfriend, who totally knows this stuff.. haha)

Though, he points out thoughtfully that Lena Philipsson should have won with that song, and after listening to it I think he’s absolutely right. One wonders if Daniel Gildenlöw can dance like she can… If so, maybe they can pull off the big upset.

Related posts:

1. Pain of Salvation – Road Salt Two [Ebony] Review
2. Pain of Salvation – Road Salt pt. 1 – Ivory – Review
3. Pain of Salvation – The Second Death of Pain of Salvation