Trollheart

Having only experienced --- and disliked --- “Cowboys from Hell”, I never went further with my exploration of Pantera, but I’m assured that that particular album was from their “Groove Metal” days (though I didn’t see anything groovy about it!) and this is their debut, released on an independent label and more in the glam/trad metal wheelhouse, so perhaps I’ll enjoy it more than my only other meeting with his band.

First thing I have to say is, how awful is that sleeve? Jesus! It’s like someone said be as, to use a word The Batlord favours, goofy about it as possible! Hopefully the music does not reflect the cartoon image on the cover.


Metal magic --- Pantera --- 1983 (Metal Magic)
Recommended by Wpnfire (and Briks)
With spacey, weird sounds including what seems to be a sonar signature, “Ride my rocket” gets us on our way with that faux live sound I hate. But the song is reminiscent of Diamond Head at their best, and I can hear the vocals nice and clearly, which is certainly a nice surprise. It's a good rocker and bops along really nicely like something out of the early years of the NWOBHM, despite being American. Perhaps shows the influence bands like DH and Angel Witch were having 'cross the pond? Good bit of guitar histrionics there from Dimebag Darrel (was that really his name, God rest his soul?) while Terry Glaze (again...?) belts out the vocal.

It's a good start and we move on into “I'll be alright”, with a chugging guitar and rolling drums, heavier than the somewhat more AOR feel of the first track, a darker, almost early Iron Maiden (I'm talking “Killers”, the debut) element to it. The vocal is grittier, the guitar snarlier, the whole thing giving the impression of a band suddenly growing up real fast. The growls at the end are pointless and superfluous though, and instead of sounding hard and tough Glaze sounds like he's on the toilet. His vocal changes a third time, into a sort of John Parr/John Mitchell hybrid as “Tell me if you want it” seems to be very clearly targeting a radio audience. To be honest it's okay; it is heavy but there's a sense of commerciality, or desired commerciality about it that sort of makes me shake my head. And not in a good way. Good solo though.

There's more of a straightahead rock vibe to “Latest lover”, where I'm put in mind of original Tygers of Pan-Tang vocalist Jeff Cox, and I can hear the early influence of Van Halen here too, but again the song lacks something. It's kind of wavering between being a rock song and an AOR one. Odd. Keyboards which are not credited usher in the quite sumptuous ballad “Biggest part of me”, as Pantera confound my attempts to pigeonhole them once again, penning a superb radio-friendly love song that just fairly shimmers with emotion and heartache, but also has a killer guitar riff driving it. Anyone surprised if I say this is my favourite track so far? Really? Do you know me at all, there at the back? Let me introduce myself...

This song has hit (no, hit! )written all over it, but no doubt it wasn't. Also, that man or woman on keys is being criminally treated by being left anonymous. A searing solo from Darrell takes us into a really emotional guitar passage and back into the vocal. There's nothing about this song I don't like. Well, I would have preferred a stronger finish. A deep keys intro then to the title track, a sound like helicopter blades before it whistles off into the distance and Darrell flies in with the guitar, slicing up the tune like a master lumberjack cutting up a fallen tree trunk, and this song belts along with real rock and roll purpose. I definitely would liken these guys at this moment to Diamond Head, particularly on the NWOBHM band's first two albums. The vocal is a little buried in the mix at times, almost whispering once or twice, but the nameless keyboard player does a star turn and really helps carry the song. Big machinegun guitar ending, though again it seems to come to a close a bit too abruptly.

“Widowmaker” is another mid-paced rocker with what I would have to term a somewhat weak vocal from Glaze, whose resemblance to Sean Harris is nothing short of uncanny. If I find he never even listened to DH I will be amazed. “Nothin' on (but the radio)” shows the beginnings of the move they would later make in the direction of groove metal, but for now it has an almost pop sentiment to it, and with the words ”On the radio” being constantly repeated I can't help but think of Donna Summer...

I must admit I thought “Sad lover” would be another ballad, but it starts with a big “Woo-hah!” and then piles into a boogie rocker with a lot of teeth, and as the closer is entitled “Rock out” I think we can assume there was just the one ballad on this album, and it still remains my standout. As for “Sad lover”? It's okay but nothing special, a very formulaic, generic rock track that any of half a hundred metal, rock or even pop bands could have written and sung. Meh, at least it's short. And it has a pretty killer guitar solo in it, but even Dimebag Darrell can't rescue this one I'm afraid. Think Bon Jovi meet the Quireboys. Yeah. Can we go out in style though? Well we get a big growling guitar and heavy drumming and then a suitably gravelly vocal from Glaze on what is actually the longest track on the debut, a little short of six minutes.

There's an element of groove about this too, and boogie to an extent. It's a good heavy song and seemingly wants nothing to do with radio, unless it's blasting it out its car window while speeding down the highway. Speaking of speeding, it picks up tempo halfway as the drums under the control of Vinnie Paul, Dimebag's brother, crash and tumble all over the place. That doesn't last though and it goes back to the original tempo as the song heads into its finale and closes the album reasonably well.

TRACKLISTING

1. Ride my rocket
2. I'll be alright
3. Tell me if you want it
4. Latest lover
5. Biggest part of me
6. Metal magic
7. Widowmaker
8. Nothin' on but the radio
9. Sad lover
10. Rock out

Not a classic by any means, and I don't see any indications that Pantera a) were going to become pretty huge or b) would so radically change their style, but then there were seven years between this and the release of “Cowboys from Hell”, their first of five albums over ten years on major labels. Guess their sound evolved. Here though I would have said, listening to this for the first time and knowing nothing of Pantera, that they were destined to be just another metal band swallowed up in the plethora of their kind who were rising, and falling, during the early eighties as metal became redefined over in the UK, and that permeated across the Atlantic. I don't see the signs of greatness here; this just seems pretty generic to me.

Just as well I never had a job as a talent scout, eh?

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Wpnfire

It's sad to listen to Araya's piercing voice deteriorate over the years.

Trollheart you listen to Daft Punk? Since when?

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Trollheart

First off, thanks for the comments and sorry for being so long getting back to you. As you can I'm sure appreciate, my plate is very full at the moment.

Re the variety here, yes I tried, even in the original Metal Month, to make sure that there was as much and as different metal as I could. No point in just filling the month up with progressive metal, power metal and other metal bands I liked: who would read that? So I determined to step outside my metal comfort zone, and try some of the harder, more extreme or less accessible (to me) bands and genres. Some of it was torture, some of it was educational and some of it was fun. So this year I decided to keep going in that direction, but pull even further to the right as it were, and allow Batty to torture me with the worst albums (for me) he could come up with while also making sure that everyone had their chance to throw albums at me I would probably not otherwise have listened to, with the top tens and the suggested albums slot.

Slayer was my own decision; I'd avoided them for so long I thought it was time I faced my fear, y'know, and it wasn't so bad. In fact, given my own personal preferences I think I did quite well steering clear of the usual power, prog and symphonic metal I like to listen to. A triple boxset from Gehenna? Done. Grindcore albums? Done. Er, sort of. Doom metal and sludge metal? Done. Japanese metal? Done. And so on.

Hopefully it's been a decent success and I'll build on this next year. Thanks for commenting again and hope you enjoyed it.

As for Daft Punk? Yeah I decided to give in and see what all the fuss was about, and "Random access memories" really impressed me...

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Trollheart

Into the final week of Metal Month II we go, and time to get up off my arse, knuckle down and start wrapping up a few things before we run out of time. Firstly, our last look into


As we complete our short look into Viking Metal, The Batlord has suggested this band as a must, and as I'm still rather clueless about this subgenre (listening to a handful of bands is not going to make me an expert, nor did I expect it would) I bow to his wisdom and present to you the first of our final three bands to be investigated here.

The Varangian Way --- Turisas --- 2007 (Century Media)

You'll probably notice right away from the tracklisting that there is no mention of Odin, Thor, Asgard or Valhalla here, and that's because Turisas are a Finnish band, and rather like Finntroll, tend to stick to the myths relevant to their own particular part of Scandinavia. The band, nevertheless, have experienced their own form of Norse --- or Finnish, if you like --- tragedy, and one would almost believe that the god whose name they took for their band name was scowling down upon them for some perceived slight. Listen to this:

Guitarist George Laakso was involved in a fight in 2004 in which he was stabbed six times in the back. He made a full recovery though, only to be catastrophically injured in a car accident the very next year. This left him paralysed and in a wheelchair. Though he tried to continue with the band it was impossible, and it is unlikely he will ever walk, never mind play guitar, again. To add to that, their accordion player disappeared mysteriously in 2008, having told his bandmates he would not return from Amsterdam on the plane with them, for unspecified, or unrevealed reasons. He has never been seen since. Finally, the band then landed a plum support tour across America and Europe playing second fiddle (literally, more later) to ... Dragonforce! Man, those Finnish gods must really hate them!

“The Varangian Way” is their second of so far four albums, and tells the story of an epic journey by the Finnish heroes into Russia. It's a concept album, but I'm unfamiliar with the myths of Finland. If I can work it out from the lyrics I'll let you know. There's a good dramatic, heavy beginning as we head “To Holmgard and beyond” with marching, rattling drums and proud guitars. I already like the idea in the lyric for this song, the sense of camaraderie and the gentle fun poked at the sailors: ”Osmo and Dalk, Kyy, Kokko and Ulf/ Were glad to be off the oars/ Turo had eaten too much again/ Now hanging himself overboard/ The Tostensson twins were excited as always/ Adventure was their game/ Myself, Hakon the Bastard/ Was out to find my name “ So we know our narrator's name anyway. The vocal when it comes in is surprisingly pleasant, not too rough and certainly understandable. Kind of a power metal feel to this I think, with a choir of backing vocals adding to the grandeur and majesty as the ships set sail for lands unknown, the men aboard determined to make their names resonate down through history as the first ones to cross those borders. Machinegun guitar and hammering drums lead the song, and there's definitely a more restrained sense in the vocal here, the feel of adventure and excitement permeating the tune. Lovely accordion passage then as it slows down in the third minute, the last appearance on album of Lisko, before his strange vanishing act. Hard chugging guitar joins in now and the choir adds its voice as the song reaches a climax and the men of Finland sail out towards their destiny. Great start.

A really nice, but short and soft violin passage takes us into “A portage to the unknown”, which opens on accordion but soon blasts out in guitar assault, the drums rattling as the choir give full vent before vocalist Warlord Matthias Nygård takes the song solo for a short moment, then it all powers back up again as the sailors seem to accept that this is a one-way mission: ”What will we find and what was left behind/ There's no return, get it off your mind. “ Nice keyboard work here, also contributed by Nygård, and the interplay between him and Lisko is pretty cool. Very stirring music all told. Harder vocal now, almost a screaming roar, then a very progressive-style keyboard run which takes us to the end of the track and into “Cursed be iron”, where the vocal changes radically, into a high-pitched scream more comfortable in the death or black metal arena really. Thankfully though that doesn't last, and accompanied by muted drumming and Lisko on the accordion Nygård takes the song into a sort of traditional style. It's weird: it alternates between “Viking death metal” and this more folky, traditional music. Bit offputting as it just jumps from one to the other, taking you by surprise each time.

Hope seems to desert the Norsemen – are Finnish Vikings still Norsemen? --- as “Fields of gold” (NOT the Sting song, I hasten to add!) details their growing disillusionment with their quest as it stretches on, seemingly unobtainable, and the idea they may never see their destination. ”Is a draw the only win?/ Would a tie double the loss? A fight*for existence/ Life-death: 0-0 “ More of the folk music coming in here with violin and accordion, and the return of the “death metal” vocal screaming away, but returning too is the chorus, the choir, carrying the tune in a perhaps incongruously triumphant vein. Given the lyric I would have thought this might be a slow, morose ballad, but nothing could be further from the truth. Perhaps defiance is the main theme in the song, a refusal to be beaten. Egyptian style melody then suffuses the music as it runs into an extended instrumental section, mostly carried by keys and guitar. Some nice whistle and military drumming before we go into a reel or something before the big dramatic finish. Then it seems that, despite their misgivings and fears, the Finnish heroes reach their destination and are welcome by the (presumably) king Janisieif, who gives them shelter and I think promises to give them men too. Hard to know when you're unfamiliar with the legends and histories of the country, but that seems to be the basis of it.

“In the court of Jarislief” is a short song, propelled by some demonic violin work from Olli Vänskä, really quite amazing, and the story then continues in “Five hundred and one”, where piano --- the first time I've heard it used on this album --- takes the tune in a little uptempo style before big heavy keyboards, guitars and the roaring scream blast in, trundling drums adding to the mix as the heroes praise the succour offered them by the king. The song develops into a sort of boogie, rocking along in a mid-paced vein, some great keyboard arpeggios from Nygård peppering and in some places driving the tune. In fact, he absolutely blows it out of the water with an unbelievable mellotron solo in the fourth minute: really prog rock! A huge, powerful choral ending, worthy of the end of the album, but we have yet two tracks to go.

Danger again looms for the sailors though as they encounter “The Dnieper Rapids”, a real sense of urgency and even panic in the opening instrumental as the ship heads for the deadly hazard, guitars from Jussi Wickström scything through the track, and for the first time I hear female vocals in the choir; really adds something. As indeed do some very cleverly placed and used orchestral samples, giving the thing a very cinematic and epic feel. Very strange to hear the end of “The Fountain of Salmacis” by Genesis, unless Gabriel and Co. robbed it from somewhere! That takes us to the conclusion of the album, with “Miklagard overture”, but though you would expect such a title to refer to an instrumental, well it doesn't.

It's also the longest track by far here, just over eight minutes. With an acoustic and gentle sort of pastoral opening, framed by lush keys and crying violin it ramps up as it heads into its first minute, with a melody that unaccountably reminds me of the Bond theme! Even this though, allied with the darker vocal, can't detract from the grandeur of this closing track, especially when the orchestral keys come into the mix, and what is this? Sounds like a Yes-style keyboard run! This just gets stranger, and yet here, stranger is better! Back to the acoustic for a moment before it all heads into the big finale, which has definitely been worth waiting for. Superb.

TRACKLISTING

1. To Holmgard and beyond
2. A portage to the unknown
3. Cursed be iron
4. Fields of gold
5. In the court of Jarislief
6. Five hundered and one
7. The Dneiper Rapids
8. Miklagard overture

There's a “Director's Cut” special edition but to be honest it only includes a cover of Boney M's “Rasputin”, which while funny is not really worthy of coverage here (maybe somewhere else...) and another edit of the opening track, so I'm not going to go into it. What I can say is that this has been the most enjoyable album I've listened to in this whole section. More than Bathory, more than Einherjer, more possibly even than Manowar, were I to feature them. I loved everything about this album, and the progressive rock touches, samples, or whatever they were, while weird, were very welcome and helped this album stand out among those I've reviewed so far.

It's sad that Turisas had such bad luck, and I do wonder whatever happened to Lisko, but they had a new album out last year so they're obviously still alive and kicking, albeit with some different members than played on here. But if there is, of what I've heard so far, a crowning glory to the Viking Metal of Finland, I think you'd have to go very far to top this.

Sweden, Norway, Denmark, eat your hearts out.



Spanish Viking Metal band is something of an anachronism, as they have no real connection to the northern invaders, but Hordak --- named for one of the villains in “Masters of the Universe, apparently --- consider themselves the Spanish equivalent of Viking Metal. Meh, we'll see.

The last European wolves --- Hordak --- 2006 (Griffin Records)
They certainly have songs that seem to fit the image, with titles concerning wolves, ravens and battlefields, and the opener to this, their second of three albums, is an instrumental that sets the scene, with what sounds like a French horn booming out before acoustic guitar is joined by flutes and pipes courtesy of guest musician José Luis Frías, the piece retaining very much a celtic influence. It's a relatively mid-paced effort to start us off, and takes us into “Silvano, senor des bosques”, where I'm a bit taken aback to find that the vocals on this are almost as bad (to me) as ol' NSK from Tietanblood! Scratchy, raw, visceral, not the sort of thing I like at all. Oh, Trollheart! What have you done?

The music is very good though, so I'll concentrate on that and largely ignore the vocals of the inappropriately-named Autumn, while his buddy Winter (sigh) handles guitars, bass and drums. As does he. Apart from the bass. Also keyboards. Well the song has a nice romping almost Maiden quality to it, the drums crash but don't thunder or smother and the guitar work is pretty much flawless. The title track opens on a sort of humming acoustic guitar line, Spanish guitar perhaps with a clean vocal, but spoken only for a moment before hard electric guitar breaks out and our man Autumn starts spitting all over the song. Good driving rhythm to it, and it speeds along with the help of a really searing solo from I guess Winter. Maybe. Why do people always do this? Play the same instrument as someone else in a band? Don't they know how hard it makes it for the reviewer? Selfish bastards.

“Son of the fatherland” has a really nice acoustic opening, as do many of these songs, with some more soft flute from José Luis Frías, then the guitar winds up into a hard riff as the song begins to take off, then speaking of taking off, Autumn's scream is like the roar of a jet engine as they thunder down the runway and kick everything up to ten, drumming rattling along furiously as the guitar quickens to meet it. “Witchblood” is a little more restrained, with a grindy guitar and slightly slower drums. Kind of a military marching beat to it. Oh, now we have a double vocal, with Autumn screeching and hissing while another (Winter?) does a darker, deeper one. The first track so far, I think, not to begin with an acoustic guitar, “Fog on the battlefield” just goes for the throat from the start, with a big battleroar from Autumn as the boys pile into an almost speed metal trip. The drumming really takes centre stage here, hammering like a thousand battlesteeds galloping across the field. Something almost like a jig on the guitar there for a short moment, stop/start guitar giving way to more fluid fretwork and back to the jig. Interesting stuff. Certainly powerful and exciting. Gets the blood pumping, as they say.

We take a break then with the second instrumental, “El lag elol” --- don't know what it means: eternal lake? --- as José Luis Frías again favours us with his fine flute playing, as well as some truly lovely Spanish guitar work from one or other of the two guys. A lush keyboard introduces “The night and the fire”, which seems to ride along on a somewhat swaying melody line, with guitar as ever leading the way. The tempo changes fairly quickly though as it kicks up with the arrival of Autumn's vocal, and we get another jig or reel or whatever it is on the guitar. “Ravenkind” starts off rippling electric guitar then breaks into another uptempo rocker with blistering percussion then we close on “Hugin and Munin”, named for the two ravens who were supposed to sit on the throne of Odin and bring him news back from the world. Their names translate as “Memory” and “Thought”. It's a mid-paced, celtic-flavoured song, with another reel or jig in there somewhere, and more flutework. Decent ending to an album that sort of turned into a disappointment for me.

TRACKLISTING

1. For a new pagan age to come
2. Silvano, senor de los bosques
3. The last European wolves
4. Son of the fatherland
5. Witchblood
6. Fog on the battlefield
7. El lago enol
8. The night and the fire
9. Ravenkind
10. Hugin and Munin

I'm probably being unfair to Hordak here. Their music is pretty bitchin', and the vocals, while definitely not my cup at all, are competent. It just isn't quite what I was expecting. Maybe I had been spoiled by listening to Tierra Santa previously, I don't know, or perhaps the prospect of good mythical lyrics made me expect more. But this is not really a band I would come back to of choice, despite their prowess and talent. Some things click with you, some don't. This didn't. But it's still a fine example of the variety and wealth of Viking Metal, certainly beyond the shores of Scandinavia.

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Trollheart

I thought it would be really cool, considering the last country on my short whistlestop tour of Metal is my own homeland, if I could finish this look at Viking Metal by reviewing an Irish example, but I can't find one, or at least, one with output I can find, so I'm going for an American one instead. Believe me, it wasn't as easy as it would seem. Most of the bands that came up either had no albums or their albums were not available. So I ended up with this, which was, ironically, the very first name on the list. I skipped it because it sounded too much like Finntroll, but, you know, beggars can't be etc.

Sea of blood --- Finsternis --- 2007 (Independent)

To be honest, I'm expecting a more brutal form of Viking Metal here. Don't quite know why, but I just don't see it being anything like progressive or power or anything. More edging towards the dark side, as it were. But we'll see. This is the debut and so far only album from Waco, Texas-based Finsternis, and what a bunch of Texans has to do with Vikings you'll have to decide yourself. But then, we can't all be born in the lands of the Norse legends can we, and that shouldn't be a barrier to playing this sort of music if you have the right spirit and the talent. Have Finsternis? Got the attitude and the talent? Read on...

It's a dark, low-key, ominous sort of opening to “Resounding”, a snarling electric guitar rising through the mix as the percussion stomps in, the beat getting faster as the vocal reveals itself to be a scratchy, screechy one which I was kind of expecting. Yeah, Vitzel (they all use single names apparently) is not going to be one of my favourite vocalists. Guitar work is good, thanks to Nettie (seriously? Nettie? He couldn't think of a harder, more Viking name than that? ) and it's basically a slow plodder, not quite in doom metal territory but not too far removed from it at times. The album has only seven tracks, but with one clocking in at ten minutes and most of the rest not falling below the six or seven minute mark, we're not exactly looking at an EP here! Tempo's quickening now a little, but it's a little basic, after the violins, accordions and orchestra we've been listening to from Turisas.

“The journey” is that long ten-minuter I told you about, and it starts with a nice melodic gutar that sort of sways along though somehow I get the feeling it's out of tune, or something is, though I assume that's being done deliberately, to achieve an effect the band want to create. The guitar slows down now, almost acoustic, very gentle for the first two minutes. When Kuester comes in properly on the drums it speeds up slightly, though not that much. With the appearance of the vocals from Vitzel it takes on a faster, harder edge for a time, then turns into a sort of romp as the song reaches the fourth minute. To be fair to him, I've heard much worse than Vitzel, and you can basically make out what he's saying. His voice is certainly very powerful and I guess fits in with that sort of ragged, raw, gruff feel you get from a lot of Viking Metal. Nice little melodic guitar passage there in the eighth minute, with some fine bass from Anreischken. Then it all winds up for the big finish, throttles open and hammers down as Vitzel screams his head off. Strangely enough, it ends though on a very ambient guitar piece.

A fast riffing guitar finds us “In the halls of the wicked”, the song itself striding along with purpose, falling into a marching rhythm before slowing down at the halfway point to allow Nettie to run another of his introspective passages, Anreischken walking carefully behind him as the tune gives a feeling of building up to something. And it is. In the fifth minute Nettie winds up his guitar and lets loose, Kuester pounding in with the drums too and Vitzel roars the final verse, or chorus, or whatever it is. There's a sense of folk music to “Phantom carrack”, before it bursts off on a fast guitar line up to about the halfway point again, when it briefly slows down then speeds up again. I'd have to say though, other than the tempo changes there's not a whole lot going on here, and little to interest me.

Well, that said, there are some tubular bells or somesuch coming in there at the end, and a nice laconic guitar line to close it all out. That was unexpected, in an album that was becoming very predictable and stale. The title track is up next, and using more bells, this time dark pealing funeral ones, we have a slow moody intro on guitar with a really bleak bassline driving the tune. Now though the ambience is destroyed as Nettie starts riffing hard, and we're back to the basic sort of music these guys seem to thrive on. Yeah, I really can't find anything here to get too excited about. Vitzel is certainly enjoying himself, bellowing to his heart's content. He cuts back a little on the growls as the song moves into its last minute, more bells ringing and a faster solo taking it there.

You probably know what to expect from a song entitled “War song”, and with dour rolling drums and a groaning guitar we go for nearly two minutes of the almost seven the track runs for without vocals, other than Vitzel roaring “War” and “Death!” before it speeds up on a harder guitar, the percussion intensifying to meet it, Nettie displaying some really fine chops on the frets. Goes kind of “Children of the grave” for the concluding section, trundling along nicely and taking us to the closer, and the shortest track, “Denoument”.

Less than two minutes long, it's a relaxed, laidback instrumental with what sounds very much like violin driving it, the sounds of muted thunder overhead; an understated, low-key kind of coda to the album.

TRACKLISTING

1. Resounding
2. The journey
3. In the halls of the wicked
4. Phantom carrack
5. Sea of blood
6. War song
7. Denoument

I certainly won't say that Americans can't or shouldn't do Viking Metal: I haven't heard nearly enough to make that sort of pronouncement. But of the albums I've heard over the course of this short series this probably ranks as one of the worst, and I wonder is it coincidence that it doesn't come from the lands where the Vikings originated? But even Spanish Viking Metal seems better than this. Mind you, it does have all the hallmarks of the subgenre and maybe it's just that I don't particularly like the less inventive, straightforward Viking Metal; I'm more for Turias, Einherjer and Bathory, who put a lot of thought into their music.

Not that I'm sure Finsternis don't also work hard on theirs, but just here it doesn't show, not to me. It seems very basic and unimaginative. I would have preferred to have heard a few instruments other than just guitar, bass and drums. I feel this band is lacking something, and their songs don't seem all that well constructed to me. But again, as I've said a few times this month, what do I know?

So that's our short exploration of Viking Metal over. Hope you enjoyed it, and if you, like me, knew little or nothing about the subgenre before this then I hope it's helped open your eyes a little to this kind of music. Whether that's been for the good or the bad is of course up to you. For myself, I've enjoyed a lot of the bands here, but I've come to see that whereas I always sort of saw Viking Metal as a kind of offshoot of power metal, it's something more than that, something much different. It's primal, tribal, even brutal, but it reflects a deep understanding for and love of the traditions of the ancient Scandinavian warriors. Like them I suppose, sometimes it's hard to understand the vocals, but as when you were menaced by a Viking brandishing a battleaxe you didn't need to know what he was saying, so too the music here drives much of the enjoyment you get from Viking Metal.

It's almost always loud, often cacophonously so, but behind it usually lies a story, a tale of heroism and bravery, of gods and men, of times long past and often of a religion which sought to crush it, and which in the end did. But the names and traditions and stories of the Norsemen live on through this music, and for that we should be thankful. It's not for everyone, and it doesn't always quite click, but when it does --- oh Odin! It's like Happy Hour in the Halls of Valhalla! So if you like this sort of music, drink your fill, because the taps are always flowing, and the drink is free. And best of all, there's no hangover --- unless you bang your head too vigorously, of course!

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Trollheart

Drip! Drip! Drip!

Man, it smells down here. Place probably hasn't seen the touch of disinfectant nor polish in years. Needs a woman's touch. Now if I were able to --- whoa there Troll! You're slipping into the female mindset again. Hard not to of course when these massive bazoogas are in front of my eyes --- why did he have to make them so large? Not that I'm complaining necessarily. But they are heavy, am I'm not used to carrying such weight in front of me. Hey! A thought just occurred: how did he manage to have an outfit that exactly fitted my new petite but voluptuous body? That must have been an embarrassing purchase! I can see it now...

“And what size bust is the young lady sir?”
“What? Oh ... er ... I dunno. Big. You know ...”
“Yes sir. Bra sizes go up to double letters if your ladyfriend is, ah, specially endowed. Would that be correct?”
“Um. No, I don't think double figures. Just, you know, big.”
Batty holds his hands out in the universal cupping gesture beloved of lecherous men the world over. The assistant gives a knowing wink. She's been around. She knows how to deal with this kind of customer!
“Perhaps if you wished to try the outfit on, sir? The changing rooms are just through ...”
Batty explodes, his face acquiring the hue of a Mexican tomato. “What? WHAT?? No! No, you don't understand. It's not me me! I don't wear ... how could you think .. why would I...?
The assistant nods in sympathy. “Oh it's nothing to be ashamed of sir. We get many ---” But Batty has already fled, the intimation burning his cheeks and the imagined laughter of other customers ringing in his ears.
Then again, he probably just bought it online. Nice though. Skirt's definitely too short, however...

Snap out of it Trollette! I think I hear him approaching. At least I'm through listening to Limp Bizkit. Nothing could be as bad as that. Unless ... A shiver of horror creeps up my gently arching spine. He wouldn't, would he? Another of their albums? Oh no, even The Batlord wouldn't be so cruel. Plus it would be redundant, and he doesn't like to repeat himself, does he? Not down here in


As if he's been somehow able to hear my thoughts --- or more likely, what I believed I was thinking was in fact being muttered by me (it gets lonely down here, and sometimes talking to yourself is the only way you can keep any kind of sanity) --- he grins in the darkness, his voice a sibilant whisper.

“No, I don't”, he confirms. “No more Limp Bizkit for you. This time, we have something entirely different.”

Dommedagsnat --- Thorr's Hammer --- 1996 (Moribund Records)

Ah yes, I've heard him talk of this one. To be honest, had he not mentioned it I might have been taken by surprise by the vocal, but then the singer, Runhild Gammelsæter, is shown on the cover of the album. Well, more an EP reallym with only six tracks. This should be easy! Total running time of just over twenty minutes. Ah, Batty! Getting soft in your old age?

Hold on a minute! I'm confused: six tracks, and three are exactly the same titles and lengths? Side A is the same as side B? So are there only three tracks? How weird. I guess that's it then. This may be easier than I thought. Well, he's pushing play so let's see what we got.

Oh yeah: obviously I'm no longer a zombie, or proto-zombie, thanks to his regeneration machine or whatver it is. Okay well there's some sort of female chanting to start off “Norge”, with a thick dark guitar line and then Runhild kicks into it as the guitar punches in properly --- oh wait a moment! I just looked at the lineup and other than her these guys' name are SO black metal: Greg Anderson (sounds like an accounting firm), Stephen O'Malley (sounds like a member of the reserves for the Ireland Under 21 soccer team), James Hale (no relation to Fred?) and Jamie Sykes. Good lord! She's the only one with any sort of dark, portentous name, and that probably means like Betty Black or something. Mind you, she has a PhD so I had better not just write her off as a pretty face. Though she is. Concentrate Trollette, concentrate!

Anyway, the two guitars --- I guess you'd say the two arms of Thorr's hammer --- are handled by Greg and Stephen (titter) and they do a good job, but it's when sweet little Runhild starts singing that you really get a surprise. To think that's a seventeen year old girl singing, well it just takes the breath away. I said breath! God! Some people! She sounds about the darkest voice I've heard, and I've listened to some Cookie Monsters this month! When she cuts down to her “normal” voice it's really nice, as the guitars slow and Jamie on the bass adds his touch. But you know it won't last. And here comes the monster again.

I don't know: maybe my experiences during Metal Month II have somewhat inured me to this kind of music, or maybe I'm just expecting it so it's not a shock, but while it's unsettling I don't see it being a major thing. It's certainly not like listening to Cryptopsy. I'll tell you one thing though: I hope she doesn't use that voice when she's in bed with her boyfriend. Or girlfriend. Whatever, it's not a thing you want to wake up to or hear just at, um, “the moment”! Decent guitars yeah but it's very doom/black metal-by-the-numbers, and if it wasn't for Runhild being the vocalist this would be another very forgettable album as far as I'm concerned. Nothng to worry about here!

HEALTH: 100%

“Troll” is a little slower (!) and she starts off with the dark vocal right away. I have of course no idea what she's singing, even if she's singing in English, and you have to wonder how she developed that voice. Could be a real one to fool your mates on “name that vocalist”, if such a game existed. But generally it's more of the same, the guitars a touch more animated, and though I certainly don't like this, I don't like it in the same way I don't like Eminem or the Sex Pistols: it doesn't scare me, outrage me or make me lose any of my bodily functions. It just makes no real impression on me, and I think Batty's annoyed to see a smile on my full, sensuous lips...

HEALTH: 100%

And so we come to the closer, already. Had this EP been longer then maybe I would have hated it more, maybe it would have been harder to get through and maybe it would have made more of a negative impression on me. But as it is, were my hands free I'd be doing my nails or touching up my lipstick. Or possibly trying to pull down this skirt --- getting a chill here Batty! But not from the music: it's just boring really. The vocal is interesting, but since I already knew about it the shock value, such as it is, has been robbed from this album. It's like someone telling you the exact moment the murderer springs on his victim in the latest shlock horror, and what he does. Once you know, it lessens the surprise and reduces the impact. Even at that though, had I not known this was a young girl singing I would just have assumed it was another vocalist doing my least favourite type of singing. Doesn't bother me. Don't like it, but it doesn't bother me.

This is the longest song on the album, the title track and god knows what it means, though maybe with the word “domme” in it there's some connection to bondage or domination? How appropriate, huh, given my current position? But it's all the same: slow, plodding, grinding, churning, boring. Even the novelty value of a seventeen year old hottie who sings like Satan's worst nightmare has very quickly worn off. Bored now.

HEALTH: 100%

Well, that made absolutely no impression on me. If that's the best you can do, Batty, you may as well let me go now, because I'm not going to give you the satisfaction of ... hmm? Gnaw their what? Okay, sure: bring it on. I'm getting cocky --- I mean, confident now, aren't I? What's that? You'll wipe that smile off my face, will you? Yeah well, we'll see. Do your worst. I can take it.

I hope...

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La masquerade infernale --- Arcturus --- 1997 (Music for Nations)
Recommended by The Batlord
Batty tells me this band could be considered progressive metal, though they're mostly tagged with a Black/Avant-garde label. I can do A/G; I like Theater des Vampires and of course Diablo Swing Orchestra, but Black could present a problem. No it is not racist! This is Arcturus's second album and apparently saw a huge shift from their original doom metal leanings, with the shrill screams in the vocals on the previous album replaced by somewhat cleaner, if deeper and gruffer ones.

They're from Norway and have titled their album in French, but I'm somewhat relieved to see that their songs are all in English. Whether that relief will be short-lived or not we will find out. “Master of disguise” opens with deep boomy synths and orchestral strings with the vocal --- well, weird. You know when you hit someone on the back as they're talking? Yeah, that kind of strange vibrato effect. As the song gets going the vox start to alternate between more normal and a very high-pitched operatic soprano from guest vocalist Simens Hestnæs, which is quite jarring. I immediately see what the batty one meant about “goofy vocals”. The song now slows down into a stately, serene pace with some really nice piano from Sverd (yeah, they all have weird names) then takes up a sort of swaying tempo with some expressive guitar from Knut Magne Valle (!) before he lets loose with a pretty decent solo. To be fair, the operatic vocals have not at this point returned and the singing is mostly in a sort of bass voice which I think tries to be menacing but fails utterly. Kind of like a mermaid trying to be a vampire. Some violin and viola adds to the feeling of drama, and we're into “Ad astra”.

With a big, ominous, dark synth sound and slow, portentous drumming from Hellhammer (oh please!) it's the longest track at short of eight minutes, but like the one before it seems to weave in and out and all over the place. I like variety in music, but I also like there to be a clear pattern: everything should come eventually to create a final picture. This I find a little haphazard. What little singing there has been so far, this time from band vocalist G. Wolf, has been largely unnoticed and as we enter the third minute I'm still really thinking of this as an instrumental, although it isn't. Harpsichordical piano takes the tune in a new direction, with attendant cello and violin provided by guest musicians Hans Josef Groh and Vegard Johsen respectively. Must admit it's a really nice tune; again, the vocal comes in but you could almost ignore it.

Some really superb keyboard passages now as the strings section keep Sverd company, then take over as Valle lets loose on the guitar. It's over now and I would still consider that an instrumental. I did like it, that's for certain. A much harder, metal edge to “The chaos path” with the return of Hestnæs on vocals, but this time he's singing like an imam in a minaret. Tres weird! More scope for Valle's fretboard skills here, Hellhammer's drumming much more powerful though not much faster, and the synth barking out odd noises and effects. The title track is an instrumental, but has an annoying taped effect running through it, like someone scratching a record, and it really detracts from the otherwise quite nice piano that drives the tune.

“Alone”, based on a poem by that jolly Edgar Allan Poe chap, is a little discordant and chaotic, but has again that sweet piano running through it, with some decent synth also. It's a bit too intense though I feel, and speaking of intense, the orchestral section near the end really ramps up the tension and freneticity (is that a word?) until we head into “The throne of tragedy”, with a spacey synth opening and wind noises. A sort of metallised voice speaks in the distance but I have no idea what it's saying. Now the music picks up on guitar and keys, and again it's largely instrumental, which given the vocal style here I have no real problem with.

Humourous aside: the mastering for the album was performed by Gandalf Stryke. What a great name! Can't you just picture it? “No, I don't care! You can find your own way through the Mines of Moria! I'm on strike! Equal rights for wizards! We shall not be moved! Come on, Radagast: join me – We shall not, we shall not be ---” (Yeah, I'm becoming a bit bored with the album, in case you hadn't twigged. Okay then, back to it)...

“Painting my horror” promises much from such a title, but again it kind of goes off in every direction, running here, running there, trying to be all things to all men and kind of missing its mark, if it has one. Very confusing. DSO do this sort of thing so much better. The song goes into a sort of traditional Russian folk tune for a few moments, then dissolves into ... I don't know. Something else. It's exhausting, keeping up with all the elements of this album. Those annoying operatic vocals from Hestnæs are back, though not for too long. The last track is “Of nails and sinners”, but to be honest it's kind of more of the same, directionless and trying to be more clever than I think Arcturus are, and though there's drama and pathos in the song it's a little hard to take seriously, which is an accusation I'm afraid I have to level at the whole album.

TRACKLISTING

1. Master of disguise
2. Ad astra
3. The chaos path
4. La masquerade infernale
5. Alone
6. The throne of tragedy
7. Painting my horror
8. Of nails and sinners

If there's one word that fits this album perfectly and encapsulates what it's all about, then Batty has used it: goofy. It's just impossible to pay any real attention to the album, as the songs are constantly dividing and subdividing; cello here, piano there, high vocal, low vocal, instrumental passage, effects ... it's all just a little hard to pin down. It's like a whole house of noisy kids all vying for your attention, and in the end all you want to do is give them a slap. Your patience will only last so far, and this album has stretched mine to the limit.

Think I preferred Cryptopsy!

Disclaimer: I do not prefer Cryptopsy...

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And so we come to the last week of Metal Month II, and our last chance to check out metal from around the world. As a mark of respect to my home country, I'm delving into the metal which can be found on these emerald shores. So take a deep breath as we head deep into the land of Paddymetal!


As this is my own country which I know reasonably well, I want to try to take, rather than --- or perhaps as well as --- bands from different subgenres, an example from different cities. With this in mind, the first one I'm going to look at comes from County Tipperary, which for those of you who only know the city from the song, is in the south of Ireland, though not as far south as Cork or Limerick. They're described as a traditional metal band, and have only been together since 2007. Still took them three years to get their first demo out, and a further year before this, their debut album, hit. What's it like? Let's find out.

Impending chaos --- Army Rising --- 2011 (Rising Records)
The name of their record label would certainly make you think that it's their own, and that essentially this is released independently. Whether that's true or not I don't know, but the album opens with “Who I am”, a fast, heavy rocker that throws you right in at the deep end. Impending chaos, indeed! At least Noel O'Brien is neither a screamer nor a growler, for which I'm grateful, and in fact when he's joined on vocals by the others they make some very nice harmonies, almost AOR at times. The general delivery though owes a lot to punk and speed metal, and I don't think too much of the guitar techniques; seem a little sloppy. Mind you, the drummer doesn't impress me either but then, when did a drummer ever do that?

The song slows in the middle into a sort of marching beat, then speeds back up and now I can, briefly, appreciate the talents of axemen Tony Myler and Garreth Lawrence, and the solos are okay. The tempo ups considerably for “Destination grave”, hammering along on a hard beat driven by the guitars, O'Brien's vocal much better on this track. There's also much more melody about it, a real hook in the chorus. Some decent riffing here too, with a distinctly celtic flavour as the boys pay homage, either intentionally or subconsciously, to their Irish heritage. “War” puts me in mind of Gary Moore, although it's hardly the most inspired title. Pretty good solo, but really the song's nothing special, like everything I've heard on this album so far. It does have an interesting quote at the end, Oppenheimer on the testing of the first atomic bomb.

A big energetic guitar introduces “Lost generation”, but so much of this sounds like it was recorded in the early eighties it's just not funny. “Tyrant” is more of the same, O'Brien emulating Sean Harris, but other than that there's nothing terribly interesting about it, or anything that stands out really. One of the lines in this is ”Just save your breath” ... advice they should perhaps have taken. Come on, it can't be that bad? No it's not that it's bad, it's just not very good. Or to be fair, very original. In a world where to make it you have to stand out, Army Rising are fading into the background for me, and that's never good. Another big machinegun guitar opening to “I'm dead”, but then it sort of falls a little flat on its face as it drops into the familiar pattern these guys seem to follow for their songs. I'd be hard-pressed to tell one apart from the other.

There aren't even that many decent --- oh there's one now. I was going to say solos, but even at that, it's quite short and not at all engaging. The big punk-style shout at the end doesn't help matters. These guys aren't Tank, after all, and this is not the 1980s! “If you want peace...” has some good melody and an interesting opening, chugs along nicely and seems to throw their personal rulebook out the window. As a result, this may be the first track on the album that actually speaks to me. Very hooky chorus and some great vocal harmonies. Yeah, I like this a lot. Also contains a nice laidback guitar section. I think I might actually remember this after the album has finished.

Speaking of finishing, we're only three tracks away, and “Strength of none” takes us closer, speeding things back up before the song swaggers along on a ragged guitar line, Ted Barret finally distinguishing himself behind the drumkit with some good percussion. The song though basically returns to the playbook and it's pretty generic, with shouted choruses, chugging guitars and quite a lot of riffs robbed from Maiden. That leaves us with “Fallacy” --- nothing terribly special here, though there is a nice vocal harmony in the chorus, and we end on the longest track on the album. Weighing in at just over seven minutes, “Visions” opens on a nice soft bass line from Louis Rice, gentle acoustic guitar and a laidback vocal from Noel O'Brien. Wonder if this is a ballad?

No, it isn't. Here come the fast hard guitars again, though there seems to be something more of a cohesion about them this time. The shape of the song seems more ... developed somehow. Good vocal harmonies again, and the two guys on guitar shine pretty well here. Even given that, it doesn't do a lot to change my opinion of these guys I'm afraid.

TRACKLISTING

1. Who I am
2. Destination grave
3. War
4. Lost generation
5. Tyrant
6. I'm dead
7. If you want peace...
8. Strength of none
9. Fallacy
10. Visions

Unfortunately the impression I get from Army Rising is of a bunch of guys jamming together and hoping to hit the big time, but without the talent or any sort of plan. This album will be forgotten as soon as I press stop, and I feel the same will be true of anyone else who listens to it. There just aren't enough hooks, memorable songs or even standout talent. Which is not to say these fellas are crap, cos they're not. But they're certainly not great, and they don't instil in me any belief that the future of Irish metal is bright.

I'd be more inclined to say Army Falling, personally. Just don't see any future for this band, though in the end they'll probably go on and conquer the world. Yeah, if that happens buy me a hat and I'll eat it. Let's hope our next example is a little better than this.

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The Batlord

I'm not worried. There's absolutely zero chance you'll like anything about Gnaw Their Tongues. If you can stay above fifty percent until the end I'll give you my computer.

And The Varangian Way isn't an old legend (though apparently "Cursed Be Iron" is based on an on old Finnish legend), it's a story the band wrote themselves. And "The Miklagard" overture is about the narrator entering Constantinople, just FYI. I can't think of many songs that evoke that kind of grandeur. Brilliant ending to that album. Their next album, Stand Up and Fight, tells the second half of the story.

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Frownland

I've been checking the updates for the GTT review alone. Gnaw Their Tongues, stat.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.