“King of Asgard’s brand of Viking-themed, folksy, black metal was praised for its stellar riffing and sword-swinging energy. In light of their tenure, the green light was given to review their new EP, :taudr:. Comprising just five tracks over thirty minutes, I anticipated something sharper than the hour-long albums which are becoming the norm.” Sword swinging and review bringing.
“Formed from the ashes of the highly underrated and (AMG worshipped) Viking metal act Mithotyn, King of Asgard has more or less continued the mission statement of releasing odes to the northern winds, Viking valor and snowy landscapes, all heavily influenced by latter period Bathory as well as Einherjer, Ensiferum. Karg is their third such endeavor and it observes the traditions of its ancestors with all due reverence, while moving things in a darker, more stripped down direction.” Do you feel the need to plunder and pillage? If so, here’s your liege lord.
King of Asgard is back for another flogging. But this time, they showed up with their butt kicking armor on.
This little gem fell from Odin’s mighty beard in the waning days of December and since that time of year is so hectic, this may have eluded the attention of many metal-minded folk. Steel Druhm simply cannot abide such a ruinous oversight. Why? Because the U.K.’s Forefather plays such a highly endearing mix of black, viking and folk metal with some power and NWOBHM tossed into the Anglo-Saxon stew. Over the course of five albums, they’ve honed that mix into an insanely catchy, guitar-driven style of epic-infused music. With Last of the Line (Seven Kingdoms Records), that honing continues unabated and this is one sharp ass piece of jagged iron. Though Forefather consists entirely of two brothers (both appear in Folkearth as well), they know exactly how to blend genres and craft tunes that alternate between catchy and heavy, epic and black and most of this material is designed to stick deep in your brainpan. Stylistically touching on Falconer (or Mithotyn to be more exact), Running Wild, Tyr, Crom, Ensiferum and Amon Amarth, they manage to carve out their own identity and I’m betting after hearing some of this stuff, you’ll join me in wondering why Forefather isn’t more of a household name in metal… houses.
hate Falconer. Okay, that’s not really true, but I have never liked Falconer, let’s put it that way. I first got wind of these guys with the publication of their second album Chapters of a Vale Forlorn and I was very unimpressed. Since then I’ve heard a things here and there, and nothing convinced me away from my previous conviction. I didn’t think what I heard was particularly good, nor did I think it was particularly interesting. In spite of the fact that I’m a huge fan of guitarist Stefan Weinerhall and drummer Karsten Larsson’s previous project Mithotyn (an absolutely underrated band), the power metal tinged Falconer never did anything for me at all.
That is, until I heard Armod.
Few names rate as highly among fans of “viking metal” and melodic death metal as the classic Swedish act Mithotyn, which sadly went defunct in 1999 after three excellent full lengths (In the Sign of the Ravens, King of the Distant Forest and Gathered Around the Oaken Table, all of which come highly recommended). Since then, they have gained a near cult status as one of the leaders in the genre and one of the best to ever touch the folk-viking metal legacy. For fans of the band, or at least for this fan of the band, Falconer was never an appropriate replacement for what was a unique and fresh band that went sadly under the radar during their tenure. So you can imagine my excitement upon receiving a copy of Fi’mbulvintr (which, btw, shouldn’t this be FÃmbulvintr?), from the new incarnation containing the former guitarist from Mithotyn as well as the band’s drummer.
