mythsofmetal

An excellent release for the genre of Folk/Black Metal or more specifically, Viking Metal. This album does so many things right that most other Folk Metal bands forget to do at least one of on any of their albums. This may not be a perfect release, but it's very close to perfection. There are great riffs, and there's clearly been attention paid to each of the instruments, the rhythm section always has an interesting part in the songs that aren't interludes/acoustic ballads. Speaking of which, the interludes on this album are performed with success and provide a good atmosphere to the album instead of what one would fear as being just an attempt to pad out the album's length and provide variety, here they're really successful in actually making them work. The acoustic ballad at the end of the album also doesn't feel cliche or cheesy, and works as a good ending to the album. There's also female vocals and violin/other folk instruments on this album and I'll gladly tell you all are performed and executed tactfully, and likewise never come off as cheesy/gimmicky. There's also many epic parts, and many of the songs are quite energetic, but there's also a fair level of variation on this album and a good number of slower songs. The songs also are produced perfectly and the melodies create a great atmosphere that draws you into listen to each song, one after another, and despite the songs having a fair amount of diversity they all mesh well into the excellent package this album is.