Forndom

Urferd – Resan Review

Urferd – Resan Review

By Twelve on April 15, 2022 in Reviews, Neofolk, Not Metal, 45 comments

“Promotional material is magical. Often it’s a poorly written, exaggerated exercise in alternate realities. That’s par for the course when you’re talking about marketing, and everyone who reads it knows what they’re getting into, but it’s funny how sometimes it works anyway. In the case of Resan, the debut full-length from the Swedish Urferd, it almost worked too well. By suggesting that Resan is “a journey through dark and olden Nordic forests” suitable for fans of Heilung, Myrkur, and Forndom, sole band member Daniel Beckman (Twilight Force, Ages) certainly caught my attention, but he also set the bar sky-high. And then… well, then he took me on a journey through dark and olden Nordic forests.” Nice forest package!

Darkher – The Buried Storm Review

Darkher – The Buried Storm Review

By Grymm on April 11, 2022 in Reviews, Doom Metal, 57 comments

“I still remember the initial impact Realms, the 2016 full-length debut from singer/songwriter Jayn Maiven, aka Darkher, left when it was first released. Her stripped-back instrumentation, multi-layered vocals, and hefty command of atmosphere reshaped what doom metal could be if a little bit of creativity were applied, and in doing so, set one hell of a bar for similar acts to try to surpass. Thanks to numerous delays, word on a follow-up was sparse, and it looked like anything that would follow such a tremendous album would be a letdown.” Dark expectations.

The Moon and the Nightspirit – Aether Review

The Moon and the Nightspirit – Aether Review

By Twelve on June 27, 2020 in Reviews, Folk, Not Metal, 10 comments

“I love receiving distinctly non-metal promos. I mean, it’s the name of the site, right? Angry ‘Metal’ Guy. Receiving folk, neo-folk, ambient, and similar musical styles feels like a statement from their artists: “no, it isn’t literally metal, but it’s metal in enough ways for you, ‘Guy.’” And I’m not complaining; from Winterfylleth’s The Hallowing of Heirdom to October Falls’s Kaarna to Forndom’s Faþir, some of my favorite musical discoveries have been metal “in all the right ways but one,” and all featured on this site. Since 2005, The Moon and the Nightspirit, a Hungarian duo featuring multi-instrumentalists Ágnes Tóth and Mihály Szabó, have been making traditional folk music; Aether is their seventh full-length album, and it feels like it belongs in all three of the above fields.” Aether realms?

Forndom – Faþir Review

Forndom – Faþir Review

By Twelve on April 2, 2020 in 2020, Folk, Nordvis Produktion, Not Metal, Reviews, Swedish Metal, Folk, 19 comments

“When we talk about “power” in the music we review, it usually translates roughly into one of two categories: “loud” and “emotional.” More often than not, it translates into both. Metal music strives to be powerful, whether in the form of “crushing” riffs, “anguished” screaming, or “epic” symphonies. I muse on these definitions because, when pressed to come up with a word to describe Faþir, the second full-length release from Sweden’s Forndom, “powerful” is the word I feel aligns most strongly with the album. And yet, there are no riffs; there is no screaming; there are no symphonies.” POWERS!