Moonsorrow - Jumalten aika

Moonsorrow is a band that combines folk metal, heathen elements, epic battles, and blackened metal to create something so unique and amazing that since first hearing them in 2003, they have become my all time favorite band. Will that make this review of their brand new seventh full length album, Jumalten aika, a bit biased? Perhaps, but the quality of their music speaks for itself. With every album they have seemed to take their sound a bit further. Their last three albums seemed to be going into a darker direction; inserting more black metal into their sound. But with Jumalten aika, we see the band combining their elements from entire career into one epic album that is nothing short of perfect.

This album is epic from start to finish but this emphasis on long epic songs seems to turn some fans off. Even though they were never known for having songs that were less than six minutes, they seemed to only include one or two songs over ten minutes in length. With Verisäkeet they began making the long epics the rule and not the exception. Why this was an issue is beyond me because Moonsorrow is not a song band but an album band. By that, I mean that their albums take you on a musical journey and should be consumed in their entirety and not on a song by song basis. Most of their songs segue right into each other anyway. Jumalten aika is an album that continues the cycle of predominantly long songs obviously because this album fills up an hour and seven minutes with just five songs. Not every band is able to do this and still create a coherent album. Moonsorrow not only pulls it off, with this album they have perfected it.

The title track starts it off with some flute, drums, and mouth harp. Right away you are taken back into time where the ancient gods ruled. The English translation of the album title and this song is The Age of Gods so the music fits right in with the subject matter. As the vocal chants lead to the bombastic riffing you can feel the epic nature of this song. At almost thirteen minutes in length, there is no time where this song meanders or bores you. Instead is slowly builds as it moves along, only slowing briefly in the middle, then continues it momentum to this magnificent crescendo. The song ends abruptly but segues right into the next song, "Ruttolehto incl. Päivättömän päivän kansa." This fifteen plus minute epic is sheer brilliance from beginning to end using their tried and true formula of taking you on that journey to the old world. There is an amazing folk part in the middle that includes flutes and chanting then the choirs come in to give you the chills. The last few minutes of the song are clean choirs and folk melodies including the unmistakable vocals of Jonne Järvelä of Korpiklaani fame.

"Mimisbrunn" is ,quite possibly, the best song that Moonsorrow has ever done. The opening melody reminds me a bit of "Jotunheim" from Verisäkeet as the song slowly builds to this amazing melody with vocals that are so intense. The English translation of this song is Mimir's Well, the well that contained so much wisdom that Odin gave his eye to drink from it. There are so many layers to this song and each one is more intense and more incredible than the other. The melody in the middle with the flutes providing melodies simultaneously with the guitars is just chilling. Mere words can not describe the feeling I get from this song. The album ends with another amazing epic, "Ihmisen aika (Kumarrus pimeyteen)." Clocking in at sixteen minutes flat, this epic song is the album's crescendo as all of the songs were building to this monster of a song to close the album. The intensity of the melodies and the pure emotion in the vocals are absolutely mesmerizing. The brief acoustic break in the middle fits just perfectly as the song builds to a finale only to end with just vocals over what sounds like campfire.

Once again, Moonsorrow has created an album that is the epitome of perfection. The fact that they took their time to create an album of this magnitude shows throughout the entire album. This is not just a mere collection of songs put together to fill up an hour. Instead, this is a composition in five parts. Each part can stand on it's own but when they put these parts together they created something absolutely brilliant. This album is why they are my all time favorite band.

10/10

Ancient Rites - Laguz

Ancient Rites has had a long and illustrious career spanning more than two decades. Starting out as a black metal band with really early material bordering on Celtic Frost worship they seem to be overlooked when it comes to early black metal, and that's a shame because they were doing it right around the second wave was in full bloom. The future would hold something quite different for these Belgians as they went into a more epic viking metal direction starting with 1998's Fatherland and peaking with 2001's Dim Carcosa. It's been almost a decade since their last album, Rubicon, has graced our ears and finally we have their newest opus, Laguz, and man was it worth the wait.

Sometimes, you never know what you are going to get when there is such a long time between releases. It could either be really good or really bad. In the case of Ancient Rites, the result is an excellent epic metal album that picks up where the last album left off without it ever feeling like there was a nine year lull in hearing from this band. The band's consistency is due to the one constant in the band, bassist/vocalist Gunther Theys. It shows that his influence in the songwriting is all over this album. After an instrumental into we have "Carthago Legenda Est." This song is proof that, once again, we will get another history lesson from this band as this song is about the Punic wars that waged for over one hundred years in the third/second century B.C. As one would expect with this kind of lyrical content that this would be another killer epic from this band. The song is brilliant in it's epic feel as the orchestrations are real. The musician ship is just top notch here. The orchestrations are prominent but the riffs and the blast beats drive this song. Gunther's vocals are a cross between a black metal rasp and an almost narrative tone. He's telling a story set to music. The melodies in this song are quite infectious and culminate with a nice solo at the midway point in the song.

These guys also prove that you don't always have to write eight or nine minute songs to be epic as fuck. Most of the songs on this album straddle the five minute mark but seem to pack so many elements into these songs. Each one tells it's own story but the music stays within that epic theme. "Under the Sign of Laguz" brings us back to the viking age with killer blasts, serious tremolo riffs, and bombastic orchestrations. There's a lot of metal out there labeled as symphonic metal but, in my opinion, this is the epitome of symphonic metal. Less than five and a half minutes long, this song takes you on a musical journey through the ancient north lands and ancient Nordic mythology with Gunther's signature way of "narrating" the story that this song tells. It is at this point that it hits me that even the band's name matches their music. "Apostata" starts off with an almost eastern feel in the orchestrations then kicks in with the heavy guitars and some killer eastern feeling lead riffs driving the song along with the bombastic orchestrations. This is the longest song on the album and is just epic from beginning to end. There are so many elements to this song that a proper description would be pointless, let alone impossible.

"Umbru Sumus" is another song that needs mention here shut due to it's sheer brilliance. From the opening riffs you get the feeling that this song is something special. It opens with some serious tremolos and blasts but transitions to be so much more. As with every song on this album, the orchestrations are there and this song adds another layer with some prominent piano involved. This is one of those songs that just defines this band and their own special brand of epic metal that only these guys can do. This song is heavy, melodic, bombastic without being pompous or pretentious. It leads right into the last proper song on the album, "Frankenland." This song is less than four and a half minutes but seems to pack just as much bombastic epic metal as the longer songs. This song has that special something that makes it one of those songs that gives me chills while it is playing. Gunther's narrative giving us another history lesson is part of the magic that is Ancient Rites. A brief narrative over piano and acoustic guitars rounds out the album with a short song, "Fatum." It's the perfect way to end a perfect album.

Once again, this band has not let me down. There is no song on this album that is out of place or drags this album down. Each song flows to the next with precision and sheer brilliance. Hey, how can you go wrong with an album that has a photo of the original Sutton Hoo helmet as it's cover art? If you are a fan of this band and have been wondering where they've been for the last nine years, this is your answer. Does it take nine years to create perfection? Maybe it does because this album is just that, perfect.

10/10

Auðn - Auðn

When it comes to Scandinavian metal, especially black metal, most people automatically think Norway. Although not technically part of Scandinavia, Iceland is starting to produce some good metal bands.  Auðn, an atmospheric black metal band is a new band that I discovered  while scanning Bandcamp and my life is much better because of it. They seem to remind me of Vinterbris as they are quite good at producing some great atmosphere without the use of keyboards or effects. Their debut self titled album is a blast of melody, aggression, and atmosphere that makes this band one to watch for because I predict big things for them.

The atmosphere of this album sets in immediately with the album opener "Klerkaveldi." Clean eerie sounding guitars set the mood then lead into some heavy riffs. This band doesn't seem to need to rely solely on blast beats because this is a mid paced song with loads of heaviness but also with plenty of melody that provides an eerie atmosphere. The English translation of this band's name is Desolation and that's the atmosphere they are pulling off. The vocals are a black metal rasp that's not too screechy but also add to the atmosphere they are trying to convey. "Sífreri" uses some blast beats and killer tremolo riffs in the beginning but slow it down in the middle with some softer clean guitars that build to some epic riffs to wind up the song. It's that type of atmosphere that makes you actually feel the cold and grimness of this album. Being from a cold and grim place this bands is a perfect representation of what Icelandic metal should be.

"Feigð" is just over five minutes long but shows the bands entire dynamic in this epic song. Clean guitars that display that cold and eerie atmosphere kick this song off as it builds to some blast beats and tremolo riffs while still having those beautiful melodies that gives this song such and epic feel. The middle of the song blasts faster with some awesome tremolo riffs that just add more to the epic atmosphere of this song. As I listen further to this album it is becoming more apparent that, although this may not be a concept album, this is an album that must be listened to in it's entirety rather than focusing on individual songs. This band seems to put all they have into each song making them more like compositions than songs. "Þjáning Heillar þjóðar" is another of those epic numbers that flow with all the beauty and all the aggression of the previous songs but with something extra that I just can't pin point to really go all out for the "goose bump" effect. Once a band gets me to that point, I'm hooked.

The album closes with the title track and they just go balls out epic on this one. Clocking in at close to nine minutes, this song just grabs you from the very star, holding nothing back. This is epic, this is aggressive, and this is absolutely beautiful. The melodic lead guitar that enters the song about a third of the way in is the icing on the cake. This band is capable of adding so many different elements into each song and that, to me, is a sign of great songwriting. My only complaint about this album is it's length. I feel like an album that is this epic should last a bit longer than thirty-six and a half minutes. If you enjoy epic, melodic black metal than this album is essential. It has all the ingredients of a classic. As I said, I am predicting big things for this talented band.

9.5/10

Halberd - Remnants of Crumbling Empires

Halberd is an epic doom/death band that is rather unique since it's members are from three different continents (North America, South America, and Asia) and even though they proclaim their music to be doom/death there is a huge amount of epic metal to their sound. There is so many more dimensions to their music, so to pigeonhole them into a specific genre is actually doing this band a disservice. Their debut release, Remnants of Crumbling Empires, is an impressive four song release clocking in just seconds over forty-one minutes and is a perfect mixture of atmosphere, brutality, melody, and epic metal.


I never go into any review lightly since I really want to know what's going on with any album before forming an opinion of it. I really needed to let this album sink in due to all the elements that are presented here. What impressed me with this band is how they use each dynamic to create a unique sound. The doom riffing at the beginning of "Northern Bloodletting" is heavy as fuck but as the song progresses we have the keys providing the epic orchestrations leading to some nice melodic tremolo riffing. Then it bursts into some massive thrash/death riffs that just slay. The guitar work on this album is incredible as the solo on this song, as well as the rest of the album, just fucking shred. These guys are serious about what they do and there is so much going on here that you need to absorb all the elements to really get the full effect. This song is all over the place as once the ripping solos and the blast beats are over we slow it back down to some epic doom loaded with atmosphere provided by the keyboards.

The vocals are mix of black metal shrieks and low guttural death metal growls. They know when to use each to create an experience with each song. Most of the songs are over eight plus minutes and that is what puts most of this album in the epic zone. However, they seem to take a break from the epic on "Barghash's Poison" to remind you that they are also capable of kicking your ass. This is straight up riff heavy death metal. The song is fast and brutal with just a touch of melody. The riffing just pummels you between the thrashing riffs and the tremolos. Once again, the solo on this song is fucking godly. Then we have "Ignorance of Morbidity" which is an epic song that pretty much maintains a mid paced doom sound throughout the song. The riffing is just pounding heavy with the vocals going back and forth from that low guttural to a black metal shriek that reminds me of Grutle from Enslaved at times.The keyboards are thrown in sporadically and only when they want to create the epic orchestrations that almost sound like battle horns but also sound like the horn section of an orchestra. Again, the star of this show is Andrés Felipe Murillo who just fucking shreds another classy solo.

The production is also noteworthy here because it just creates more of the atmosphere that's present here. The effects and the echoes just give this a sound that doesn't sound over produced but doesn't have that severely under produced sound just to be "kvlt." Even the programmed drums are believable. And no two songs sound the same on this album. Each song has it's own personality but each are essential to the other because this album needs to be consumed whole. This couldn't be more true than on the final and longest song on the album, "Dead Horses Cavalry." This starts with some serious epic doom rhythms but as the song progresses it just builds up to a massive climax as it blasts and the solo just shreds. Some eerie epic doom carries the last few minutes of the song as if the song itself is letting you know that this journey has come to an end. There is a story being told here and I think that the story drives the song and what we are going to hear.

This is one impressive album of epic metal, No, it's stunning, actually.  There's no way to give a full description of the music because of all the elements that make up the songs. After repeated listens to this album, I still hear something new each time I listen to it. This album should appeal to any fan of death, doom, or black metal. Actually, this album should appeal to any and all metal fans. This is serious music by a group of guys who know exactly how to create an amazing atmosphere. This album is essential.

10/10

Halberd on Bandcamp

Appalachian Winter - Silence Before the Great Mountain Wind

Epic black metal is probably my favorite of all genres because of the way it's constructed. It's more like classical music than anything else and it's that classical sound that gives certain bands that epic feeling. Then we have the lyrics of this type of music and they are usually based on nature, especially winter and the colder more grim aspects of nature. I currently live in the mountains of western Pennsylvania which is part of the Appalachian range and it just so happens that I found a one man band from not far from me that actually creates epic and cold black metal, with lyrics that relate to the mountains that we both call home.


Appalachian Winter is the brainchild of Schellsburg, PA resident Daniel Klyne, who plays all instruments as well as the vocals. His music is provided to metal fans for free and his first album, Silence Before the Great Mountain Wind, was released in August of 2008. The music is epic black metal, and is sometimes considered symphonic black metal but, to me, this band has more in common with Moonsorrow than with Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir. So what we have here music that just reminds you of the frozen mountains with lyrics that match the music to provide the total experience. The album opener is the title track and you immediately feel the cold and winter in this music. A slower more melodic song we do see some blasts and melodic tremolo riffs interspersed throughout the song. Ten minutes in length this song tells a story of how living in this region in the winter can be unforgiving and desolate. The keyboards provide the atmosphere as well as the backing vocal chants throughout the song. Appalachian Winter is not just a cool band name, that is what this band and album are all about.

The music on this album can be hypnotizing as it segues from soft, acoustic passages to blasting metal but it does it without sacrificing the melody and it's the melodic riffs and vocals that truly take this album to another level. "Into the Abode of Wolves" is a straight up black metal song that starts with an acoustic passage then blasts right into the tremolos with the grim vocals sounding like something straight out of Norway in1992. "Windstorm" hits you the same way with it's cold, grim sound that blasts you as if you are in the middle of a blizzard. In contrast you have "Forest of a Thousand Ghosts" that takes you on a journey through the wilderness that makes up this forbidden landscape. As you listen you feel yourself there in the story the song is relating to you. The riffing goes from some thrashers to melodic tremolos and the keys adds another dimension to this song. Clocking in at a little over eight minutes this epic song is one of my favorites of the genre due to the sheer beauty of it. "The Mountain in Stone" is a cool concept because the lyrics are basically the mountains speaking to you. More of a straight up metal number, you can still feel the sheer epic nature of this band. Once again, you are part of the music, not just listening to it.

Every once in a while you come across a band that can bring something special to the table and this is one of those bands. Mr. Klyne lives in the Appalachian mountains and it shows in his music. Like his Scandinavian counterparts, he creates music and lyrics that speak of his environment. I love it because finally you don't have to live in Norway to feel the icy cold of winter in black metal but instead I can relate to the harsh landscapes and unforgiving lands that made the music from across the pond so special. Winters in this region are now immortalized by this amazing and special music. I love it, you should too.

9.5/10