Kampfar
Mellom Skogkledde Aaser
[Malicious]
1. Intro
2. Valdogg
3. Valgalderkvad
4. Kledd I brynje og smykket blodorm
5. Hymne
6. Bukkeferd
7. Naglfar/Ragnarok
(playing time 38:40)
What was deemed almost impossible has occurred: a good CD after 1995 from Norway! Kampfar consists of Dolk and Thomas and make heathen viking metal, or whatever you wish to call it. The intro isn't much (fortunately it lasts just 7 seconds) but things immediately pick up at Valdogg... On top of a polka-beat, the music weaves a tapestry that honours its pagan ancestry. The main bulk of this CD is up-tempo viking metal (a little bit like Enslaved on 'Frost' only not as fast), sometimes to fall silent when an awesome black metal guitar riff creates a dark mood to continue the battle. This is completed with some typical 'garden-sprinkler' highhat drumming.
Some breaks are brilliantly timed to slow two gears down, just to make sure you can bang your head off. The vocalist, Dolk, can be counted amongst the better ones in this genre: his clean chants are somewhat off-key, not in a ridiculous way, they have a pleasantly drunken quality over it actually (yes, keep reading)... And his screams are brilliant... Pure anger, the man sometimes really seems to twist his throat: it's coming from his toes.
I'm put off by lots of viking metal bands because their music seems to be so terribly happy, but this is not the case here: this music is inspired by berserker rage and the black metal parts in it are really grimmmm... Production is neat as well, spacious but not too polished. The only point of criticism I have is the slight overuse of synths: they weren't really necessary and in a few parts they're even annoying...
But on the whole, this is an honourable CD for us heathens out there. Over blanke egger strømmet det blod!!
© 2000 dwaallicht
2. Valdogg
3. Valgalderkvad
4. Kledd I brynje og smykket blodorm
5. Hymne
6. Bukkeferd
7. Naglfar/Ragnarok
(playing time 38:40)
What was deemed almost impossible has occurred: a good CD after 1995 from Norway! Kampfar consists of Dolk and Thomas and make heathen viking metal, or whatever you wish to call it. The intro isn't much (fortunately it lasts just 7 seconds) but things immediately pick up at Valdogg... On top of a polka-beat, the music weaves a tapestry that honours its pagan ancestry. The main bulk of this CD is up-tempo viking metal (a little bit like Enslaved on 'Frost' only not as fast), sometimes to fall silent when an awesome black metal guitar riff creates a dark mood to continue the battle. This is completed with some typical 'garden-sprinkler' highhat drumming.
Some breaks are brilliantly timed to slow two gears down, just to make sure you can bang your head off. The vocalist, Dolk, can be counted amongst the better ones in this genre: his clean chants are somewhat off-key, not in a ridiculous way, they have a pleasantly drunken quality over it actually (yes, keep reading)... And his screams are brilliant... Pure anger, the man sometimes really seems to twist his throat: it's coming from his toes.
I'm put off by lots of viking metal bands because their music seems to be so terribly happy, but this is not the case here: this music is inspired by berserker rage and the black metal parts in it are really grimmmm... Production is neat as well, spacious but not too polished. The only point of criticism I have is the slight overuse of synths: they weren't really necessary and in a few parts they're even annoying...
But on the whole, this is an honourable CD for us heathens out there. Over blanke egger strømmet det blod!!
© 2000 dwaallicht