Wardruna - Kvitravn - First Flight Of The White Raven (Norse Music/Sony Music/Music For The Nations) [Paul Scoble]
Folk has always been a genre with a certain amount of bleed through to Rock and Heavy Metal, probably only second to Blues in its inspiration for the slightly more rugged genres. Many bands have used folk for the musical influence, but also in the lyrical and sociological influence, cross overs such as Folk Metal really aren’t much of a surprise. Most Metal fans are open to a bit of Folk, but over the last few years one Folk band in particular seems to have been adopted by the Metal scene as ‘Metals Favourite Folk Band’, that band is of course, Wardruna.
The reason Wardruna have become Metal’s Folk Band is due to the fact that the bands main man and founder Einar Selvik, was the Drummer in infamous Norwegian Black Metal band Gorgoroth, and it’s initial lineup also featured former Gorgoroth, Trelldom, and God Seed lead singer Gaahl. This was way back in 2003, the band is now made up of Einar Selvik on Vocals, Taglharpa, Kravik-lyre, and Bukkehorn, Lindy-Fay Hella on Vocals, Arne Sandvoll on Percussion and Backing Vocals, Eilif Gundersen on Bukkehorn, Lur, Flute and Backing Vocals, H.C. Dalgaard on Drums, Percussion and Backing Vocals, and John Stenersen on Moraharpa.
In the time that has elapsed since the bands inception they have made 5 albums. Firstly there was a trilogy of albums called Runaljod; Gap Var Ginnunga in 2009, Yggdrasil in 2013 and the final part of the trilogy; Ragnarok in 2016. The band then made the album Skald in 2018, and then the studio portion of this album Kvitravn, in January 2021. This album is a new version of Kvitravn, containing the 11 studio tracks from the original album, and also includes a live set by the band that was recorded without an audience during lockdown, the live set was entitled First Flight Of The White Raven as it was the first live outing of some of the material from the Kvitravn album.
The material on Kvitravn is most similar to the material on the Runaljod trilogy, a mix of ancient musical and percussive instruments, with great vocals that are often layered to create a huge choral effect. A lot of the songs start slow and sombre, but build in tempo and arrangement, so a song that starts minimal and dour, can build to something fast, driving and exuberant. A good example of this is the track Fylgjutal, which starts with melancholy horns, strings and builds throughout, until it becomes an uptempo, driving piece with a great head nodding tempo, until near the end the song breaks back down until we return to the slow and soft feel it had at the start. Synkverv has a similar build up and break back down again structure, opening with plucked strings and choral voices, the song builds by adding multiple layers of instruments and voices until the song slowly returns to plucked strings and vocals.
Skugge is a great song, which opens in a very slow and sombre way with chanting voices, the song slowly increases in tempo, a big bass drum is added and starts to drive the song forward, in many ways this fast driving folk with a big bass drum is closer to a piece of dance music, than anything rock or metal, in fact back in my clubbing days I would have loved to have danced to this. The arrangement get bigger with added vocal lines, until it reaches a crescendo, at which point everything fades. I can’t talk write about Wardruna without mentioning Lindy-Fay Hella, whose voice is so distinctive and who uses it to great effect on this album. The song Viseveiding opens with her mesmerising vocals in a very affecting way, the track is uptempo and full of strummed strings, whistles and huge vocal harmonies, and is a stand out track on the album.
The studio portion of this album is excellent, great songs, brilliantly realised; however the studio part of this album has been out for over a year, the new part of this album is the First Flight Of The White Raven live set. First Flight Of The White Raven was recorded on the 26th of March 2021, without an audience due to a pandemic lockdown. This lack of an audience means that this feels different to a live recording with an audience, instead of crowd noise and cheering at the end of each track, instead there is, not silence, but the near silence of people being quiet, you can hear very faint voices and a certain amount of room ambience. This isn’t worse than crowd noise, it’s different but a feel that suits the kind of thing that Wardruna do. The softer and more dour material is given a feeling of reverence and solemnity, and when things pick up tempo and get a little bit more noisy it feels like an explosion of energy and drive. The set features four tracks from the Kvitravn album (Kvitravn, Skugge, Grá, and Vindavlarljod), all these tracks are great, but Skugge is particularly good. The material from the rest of the bands career comes across very well as well.
Solringen works very well live, with wonderful interplay of voices and some beautiful energy. Bjarkan is another track where the voices are stunning and beautiful, sounds absolutely amazing. Raido has a very delicate intro before slowly building to an energy packed song, full of layered vocals, Lindy-Fay Hella excels herself on this track. Isa is beautiful and subtle, then it’s uptempo and driving, before drifting off in a meditative way. UruR is hypnotic and meditative, and in this context it also feels sacerdotal. Rotlaust Tre Fell sounds great, I must admit this is one of my favourite Wardruna songs, and it soars on this recording. Initially brooding and dark, the song builds to an uptempo, energy soaked folk rave, that is packed with inertia.
The album and live set come to an end with Helvegen, which in this recording sounds so good; the solemnity of the setting works so well with this song, it’s beautifully melancholy and is deeply affecting, a perfect way to end this album. Kvitravn is a great album, a really good addition to Wardruna’s discography. The addition of the First Flight Of The White Raven live set makes this a stunning package of studio and live album. If you have already bought the original Kvitravn album, I’d say it is worth getting this version as well ,as the live album really adds to the original studio recording, highly recommended. 9/10
Urferd – Resan (Black Lodge Recordings) [Matt Cook]
There is the established genre of Folk Metal. And then there’s Norse Ambient Metal. In 8 tracks, Urferd transported me to the high hills of Scotland; exiled me to the Norwegian wilderness; and supplanted me into the unforgiving deserts of the Middle East. Resan can hardly be described as an album. This isn’t music – it’s art, crafted by an expert in mythology, science fiction novels and three-plus-hour epic films.
The reason Wardruna have become Metal’s Folk Band is due to the fact that the bands main man and founder Einar Selvik, was the Drummer in infamous Norwegian Black Metal band Gorgoroth, and it’s initial lineup also featured former Gorgoroth, Trelldom, and God Seed lead singer Gaahl. This was way back in 2003, the band is now made up of Einar Selvik on Vocals, Taglharpa, Kravik-lyre, and Bukkehorn, Lindy-Fay Hella on Vocals, Arne Sandvoll on Percussion and Backing Vocals, Eilif Gundersen on Bukkehorn, Lur, Flute and Backing Vocals, H.C. Dalgaard on Drums, Percussion and Backing Vocals, and John Stenersen on Moraharpa.
In the time that has elapsed since the bands inception they have made 5 albums. Firstly there was a trilogy of albums called Runaljod; Gap Var Ginnunga in 2009, Yggdrasil in 2013 and the final part of the trilogy; Ragnarok in 2016. The band then made the album Skald in 2018, and then the studio portion of this album Kvitravn, in January 2021. This album is a new version of Kvitravn, containing the 11 studio tracks from the original album, and also includes a live set by the band that was recorded without an audience during lockdown, the live set was entitled First Flight Of The White Raven as it was the first live outing of some of the material from the Kvitravn album.
The material on Kvitravn is most similar to the material on the Runaljod trilogy, a mix of ancient musical and percussive instruments, with great vocals that are often layered to create a huge choral effect. A lot of the songs start slow and sombre, but build in tempo and arrangement, so a song that starts minimal and dour, can build to something fast, driving and exuberant. A good example of this is the track Fylgjutal, which starts with melancholy horns, strings and builds throughout, until it becomes an uptempo, driving piece with a great head nodding tempo, until near the end the song breaks back down until we return to the slow and soft feel it had at the start. Synkverv has a similar build up and break back down again structure, opening with plucked strings and choral voices, the song builds by adding multiple layers of instruments and voices until the song slowly returns to plucked strings and vocals.
Skugge is a great song, which opens in a very slow and sombre way with chanting voices, the song slowly increases in tempo, a big bass drum is added and starts to drive the song forward, in many ways this fast driving folk with a big bass drum is closer to a piece of dance music, than anything rock or metal, in fact back in my clubbing days I would have loved to have danced to this. The arrangement get bigger with added vocal lines, until it reaches a crescendo, at which point everything fades. I can’t talk write about Wardruna without mentioning Lindy-Fay Hella, whose voice is so distinctive and who uses it to great effect on this album. The song Viseveiding opens with her mesmerising vocals in a very affecting way, the track is uptempo and full of strummed strings, whistles and huge vocal harmonies, and is a stand out track on the album.
The studio portion of this album is excellent, great songs, brilliantly realised; however the studio part of this album has been out for over a year, the new part of this album is the First Flight Of The White Raven live set. First Flight Of The White Raven was recorded on the 26th of March 2021, without an audience due to a pandemic lockdown. This lack of an audience means that this feels different to a live recording with an audience, instead of crowd noise and cheering at the end of each track, instead there is, not silence, but the near silence of people being quiet, you can hear very faint voices and a certain amount of room ambience. This isn’t worse than crowd noise, it’s different but a feel that suits the kind of thing that Wardruna do. The softer and more dour material is given a feeling of reverence and solemnity, and when things pick up tempo and get a little bit more noisy it feels like an explosion of energy and drive. The set features four tracks from the Kvitravn album (Kvitravn, Skugge, Grá, and Vindavlarljod), all these tracks are great, but Skugge is particularly good. The material from the rest of the bands career comes across very well as well.
Solringen works very well live, with wonderful interplay of voices and some beautiful energy. Bjarkan is another track where the voices are stunning and beautiful, sounds absolutely amazing. Raido has a very delicate intro before slowly building to an energy packed song, full of layered vocals, Lindy-Fay Hella excels herself on this track. Isa is beautiful and subtle, then it’s uptempo and driving, before drifting off in a meditative way. UruR is hypnotic and meditative, and in this context it also feels sacerdotal. Rotlaust Tre Fell sounds great, I must admit this is one of my favourite Wardruna songs, and it soars on this recording. Initially brooding and dark, the song builds to an uptempo, energy soaked folk rave, that is packed with inertia.
The album and live set come to an end with Helvegen, which in this recording sounds so good; the solemnity of the setting works so well with this song, it’s beautifully melancholy and is deeply affecting, a perfect way to end this album. Kvitravn is a great album, a really good addition to Wardruna’s discography. The addition of the First Flight Of The White Raven live set makes this a stunning package of studio and live album. If you have already bought the original Kvitravn album, I’d say it is worth getting this version as well ,as the live album really adds to the original studio recording, highly recommended. 9/10
Urferd – Resan (Black Lodge Recordings) [Matt Cook]
There is the established genre of Folk Metal. And then there’s Norse Ambient Metal. In 8 tracks, Urferd transported me to the high hills of Scotland; exiled me to the Norwegian wilderness; and supplanted me into the unforgiving deserts of the Middle East. Resan can hardly be described as an album. This isn’t music – it’s art, crafted by an expert in mythology, science fiction novels and three-plus-hour epic films.
The brainchild behind this project, founded in 2020, is Daniel Beckman, who has also plied his trade with the likes of Twilight Force and Ages. Before even listening, the artwork appropriately features a puny figure dwarfed by a mist-covered landscape shrouded in uncertainty. A foreshadowing of how the vocals – the voice – takes a back seat, only compounding the ambience. There is subtle chanting here and there, but almost always as an afterthought. Resan is elegant, inquisitive (Strovtag), spectral and glistening (Hymn), percussively breezy and rhythmic (Envig). Each entry is inexplicably simplistic, yet monumental.
The tracks progress and build, allowing time to imagine the fantastical scene that’s about to be revealed. Strovtag develops into perfect montage music for an epic battle; Envig’s introduction reeks of impending danger. The closer Dvala is the only composition that prominently features singing. This is not Folk Metal. There is a strong emphasis on the ambient aspect. It’s not full-throttle, high-powered music, nor is it dull or elevator music used to whittle away the time. Each song tells a massive story in such a short amount of time. To label Resan as such would be like calling Stephen Hawking a thinker or Stephen King a writer. Urferd released to the masses a saga worthy of fitting into a class of its own. 9/10
Voldt – Vandalism (Blood Blast Distribution) [Zak Skane]
Going into this album it was on Headless Haunting Hound I instantly loved the powerful clean vocals that Al Shirazi, bellowing out like he was Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) and Warrel Dane’s (Nevermore) love child. Another element that caught my attention straight away was the unique spanky, bright guitar tone.
Voldt – Vandalism (Blood Blast Distribution) [Zak Skane]
Going into this album it was on Headless Haunting Hound I instantly loved the powerful clean vocals that Al Shirazi, bellowing out like he was Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) and Warrel Dane’s (Nevermore) love child. Another element that caught my attention straight away was the unique spanky, bright guitar tone.
On it’s own it sounds quite brittle but with the thick deep bass tone complementing the bright snappiness it leads to a good marriage. Killing At The Speed Of Light provides some tight technical progressive riffs with some black metal inspired blast beats. Love the classic metal chanting in the choruses and the gridding bass tone making that rhythm section extra punchy. Groovy riffs and consistent double kick drum beats coming from Monsters Of The Sea. Servant demonstrates how this band can perfectly balance extreme metal elements of blast beats and tremolo picked guitar part with power metal vocals and melodies.
Other highlights on this album are the great vocals melodies that are provided on Shame Or Glory the thrashy energy accompanied with well orchestrated female backing vocals of Teaching and the amazing musician ship that takes us off on a musical journey that consists of operatic vocals, bass solos and surf-rock sounding tremolo picking on The Great Command.
Overall I really enjoyed listening to this album. The bright spiky yet crunchy guitar tone filled out with the beep, punchy, grinding bass tone really creates a good marriage whilst producing a unique sound for themselves. My concerns lay on the vocal production, even though the vocals were very well performed and powerful they could of done with some extra layer to make the arrangements sound more dimensional. When it came to the lyrics I felt that they could of done with more hooks to keep the listener entertained whilst making the songs more memorable. 9/10
Nazareth – Surviving The Law (Frontiers Music Srl) [Matt Bladen]
There are very few bands that manage to consistently exist and release records from more than 50 years. One of those bands are Scottish rock n rollers Nazareth, who in their 54th year have released their 25th studio album Surviving The Law. It’s the second record without founding vocalist Dan McCafferty who stepped down in 2014 making way for Carl Sentence with his blessing to continue the band. Sentence made his debut on 2018’s Tattooed On My Brain and while he hasn’t got that rawness of McCafferty he brought a new lease of life to the band on that record which continues on Surviving The Law.
Nazareth – Surviving The Law (Frontiers Music Srl) [Matt Bladen]
There are very few bands that manage to consistently exist and release records from more than 50 years. One of those bands are Scottish rock n rollers Nazareth, who in their 54th year have released their 25th studio album Surviving The Law. It’s the second record without founding vocalist Dan McCafferty who stepped down in 2014 making way for Carl Sentence with his blessing to continue the band. Sentence made his debut on 2018’s Tattooed On My Brain and while he hasn’t got that rawness of McCafferty he brought a new lease of life to the band on that record which continues on Surviving The Law.
As founding member Pete Agnew (bass), leads the way, flanked by drummer Lee Agnew and guitarist Jimmy Murrison, Nazareth still a hard rocking band drawing on blues tradition for some punchy ‘pub rock’, I mean the album has a track called Ciggies & Booze. Co-written by all the band members, you can hear that it was composed in lockdown as most of the tracks are about getting out and getting back to normality. Let The Whiskey Flow especially is a big proponent of this. Musically they have a couple of more modern influences along with the melodic rock flourishes that suit Sentence’s voice. Sinner goes all Deep Purple, while Mind Bomb has that classic Nazareth punch.
As does Waiting For The World To End, a song about our current state of affairs. They don’t lose that bluesy feel though on Better Leave It Out and You Made Me which reminded me of Eric Clapton. Surviving The Law, is a decent rock album, especially when you consider how long Nazareth have been doing this, but it’s far too long and doesn’t quite grab you like their previous record. 7/10