1.The Eye of Oden (6:01)
2.The Winter Way (7:51)
3.Om Hundrede aar er alting Glemt (piano, 4min12)
4.A Tale of Pagan Tongue (6:12)
5.The Mountains Rove (4:55)
6.Grimland Domain (6:19)
7.Ascension of our Fathers (instrumental, 3:53)
8.The Dawn of the End (5:06)

Total time : 44min 29


Comments:

Borknagar is one of those Norwegian bands made up of many BM "stars" : the excellent singer Garm (he sings for Ulver and Arcturus, Grim (r.i.p) from Gorgoroth and Ivar Bjornson from Enslaved. Unfortunately, Ivar & Garm have left the band. Ivar has been replaced by Stian Aarstad, former Dimmu Borgir's "keyboardist" (??). However, the music is composed by a member relatively unknown , Oystein (from Molested). Obviously, Borknagar is not a copy of the bands previously named. The music is epic, majestic and melodic, not really aggressive. The band has its own sound (the band calls it "Epic Metal"). There is a lot of acoustic guitars and some good , melancholic, keyboard parts. The drumming is perfect and fits well with the rest of the music. The vocals are great : Garm is always changing from magnificent clear vocals (well sometimes boring and annoying) to very aggressive black metal vocals. The lyrics are about Northern landscapes and are very poetic.

All the songs are good, especially "The Winter Way" and "The Dawn of the End" (my favourite). There are two instrumental songs, one with piano only... it adds a melancholic touch to the album...

Conclusion :

"The Olden Domain" is a good album. If you want something melodic, you'll like this one.



© 1999 cythrawl