This band, as you might have guessed by the cover and name of the CD, plays ‘epic’ Viking Metal with a very strong focus on the synth. The Riffs aren’t bad, but the music is basically focused on the synth, with lots of ‘heroic’ breaks and (synth) solos (!!). The drum playing is quite good but the drums were horribly produced, I can barely hear the double-bass! I have two major problems with this CD…The first annoyance is that the singing is extremely bad, it sounds like my Grandpa trying to sing Black Metal and failing miserably, it just detracts from the value of this disc. This band must find a new vocalist! The second major annoyance is the lyrics; they are the most hilariously stupid lyrics I’ve ever laid eyes upon, what’s more, it’s obvious that the band possess no knowledge of the English language at all! They are completely ridiculous; here’s a sample:

‘I know that I hung in this tree
All of nights nine
Wounded by the spear, given to myself
Enlightened I’ll become
No horn they upheld, nor handed me bread (!!)
I looked below me
Aloud I cried
Caught up the runes, caught them up wailing’…

And that’s not at all the worst it gets by any means, some songs are so funny I view them as bad jokes! The guitarist or the bassist writes the lyrics… I’ve always believed that the vocalist should write the lyrics, it’s more natural that way, but in this band the vocalist writes not a single song. Hah! The poor guy can’t sing or write! The production is mostly good, (recorded in the famous Abyss studio and engineered by Peter Tagtgren of Hypocrisy fame) the synth sounds good, and the guitars and bass are done very well but the drums are extremely quiet and with a poorly produced bass-drum. Between the sub-par singing, ridiculous lyrics, and quiet drums, there is no way I can give this CD a positive review… Maybe their second album will be better.

Pros: ‘Epic’ synth bits, recorded in the Abyss studio…
Cons: Miserable singing, crap lyrics, poor drum sound…
Style of music: Very synth based Thrash/Viking metal with an excessive dose of ‘heroic’ bits and poor vox.

Final Judgement: Unacceptable.

Overall - 3/10

© 2000 sauron anarazel