Wolfchant - Embraced By Fire Review

Track Listing:

1. Devouring Flames
2. Embraced By Fire
3. Element
4. Turning Into Red
5. Einsame Wacht
6. Autumns Breath
7. Freier Geist
8. Winters Triumph

Like previous Wolfchant albums, Embraced By Fire creates an epic atmosphere of galloping beats. The title track is a valiant, undaunted effort, guiding the listener further into the album, employing a mix of both harsh and clean vocals. ‘Element’, ‘Einsame Wacht’ and ‘Freier Geist’ are all sung in German, with the perceived harshness of the German language to a non-German speaker still seeming to fit with the music itself. 

‘Turning Into Red’ has a very folk sounding introduction, although it could do without the same lines being repeated in both clean and harsh vocals in some verses. Other verses in the same song actually work well with clean vocals, momentarily working to slow the tempo. Occasionally throughout the album, one can catch snippets of symphonic influence. ‘Autumns Breath’ emerges as the standout track, perhaps because of an incredibly catchy and shout-able chorus that sticks with listener for days. ‘Winters Triumph’ closes on a simpler note, in which the song structure feels more natural. Overall, while Embraced By Fire isn’t a bad album, Wolfchant has released stronger efforts in the past. 

Månegarm - Legions Of The North Review

Track Listing:

1. Arise
2. Legions Of The North
3. Eternity Awaits
4. Helvegr
5. Hordes of Hel
6. Tor Hjälpe
7. Wake The Gods
8. Vigverk
9. Sons Of War
10. Echoes From The Past
11. Fallen
12. Forged In Fire
13. Raadh

Released in early July, Legions Of The North is Månegarm’s eighth studio album. Much less known than some of their contemporaries in the viking/pagan metal genre, Månegarm have proven themselves as innovators. In a departure from previous albums, the majority of the tracks on Legions Of The North are comprised of lyrics in English, which, in this case, actually works brilliantly. (‘Raadh’ is the only song sung in Swedish, with both male and female vocals).

The album opens with the instrumental ‘Arise’, leading into the much heavier title track. Folk-influences are obvious, mixed perfectly with the heavy stylings that one expects from the viking/pagan metal genre. Catchy melodies abound on this album, allowing for plenty of head-banging and creating the urge to shout along. Lyrical themes are aptly previewed by the album title itself, generally consisting of anthems of vengeance, battle, death and solidarity. ‘Wake The Gods’ is frantically fast, calling for a return to the pagan past, and a battle cry to bring back the wisdom of yesteryear. Legions Of The North is broken by the instrumental tracks ‘Helvegr’ and ‘Vigverk’, although broken may not be an appropriate descriptor, as the instrumental songs fit seamlessly into the album as a whole. The relatively clean vocals on ‘Sons Of War’ add to the song, making it a powerful anthem. The addition of the female vocals on ‘Echoes From The Past’ creates a sentiment that could not have been expressed as perfectly if they were left out, again demonstrating that this band has a vision and has mastered its execution. 

Reminiscent of fellow Swedish artists Amon Amarth and Unleashed, Månegarm adds a signature flavor to their music that is difficult to pinpoint, but is definitely noticeable. Legions Of The North is undeniably a vigorous, heavy hitting album, made more accessible due to the mostly english lyrics. It’s well worth a listen. 

Månegarm has also very recently released the video for 'Sons Of War':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfOBpMpYAxc

Metal By Country

Out of curiosity, I decided to do a quick analysis of which countries the metal artists contained on my computer come from. I only included artists that are, for the most part, definitively considered to be metal. I did not take into account owning (or at least having in the house) multiple albums from artists, as there are several on the list in which I have more than one album.

After looking at the number of artists by country, I decided to take a look at the number of albums by country that I have. The distribution is relatively the same, with the exception of the United States.

Shared List of The 10 Best Folk Metal Bands

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/heardmentality/2013/12/the_10_best_folk_metal_bands.php

It seems that this particular blog entry has been shared quite a bit recently, so I thought I’d take a look for myself. While everyone is going to have some level of disagreement over ‘best of’ lists, this one leaves me a little puzzled. Like every other writer, and music lover, I tend to have opinions that do not necessarily agree with the opinions of others. 

There are a few bands appearing on this list that I would not put into the category of folk metal. Ulver seems to be a weird choice, especially when the author notes that they’ve created a hybrid that includes almost every sub-genre but folk metal. Just because you have cellos or ambient drums does not make you a folk metal band. Agalloch is another that I wouldn’t classify as being an example of folk metal. Sure, they incorporate several different subgenres, and much like Ulver, have sampled many different influences. Are they folk metal? I wouldn’t say so. Blackguard really does not strike me as folk metal either. I’ve seen Blackguard live numerous times with bands that are both folk metal, and bands that are more death or thrash influenced. While they fit somewhere in the middle, I would not use them as an example of folk metal.

With a ‘ten best’ list, you have to quite selective. The title suggested that I would find examples of folk metal upon reading the list. While there are some legitimate examples of what one tends to consider folk metal, there are a few that make me question the choices on the list. There are so many other bands that are much more distinctly folk metal than Agalloch, Ulver and Blackguard that including them to exemplify the sub-genre seems misguided. The other bands on the list are what most would likely consider folk metal, albeit being some of the most popular, well known bands of the genre. 

I always like reading ‘best-of’ lists and contemplating why I either agree or disagree with the choices. Maybe I should just write my own list of 10 Best Folk Metal Bands. 

(Insert Number) Best Albums of the Year

Just a quick thought...

When I see these lists of the best albums of the year, I often wonder how you can have enough time to sit and actually absorb the material on each album. I would assume that whomever is composing these does not pay for each and every album, because when I see lists of the '100 Best Metal Albums of the Year', I begin to wonder how this is even possible.

I know I certainly couldn't find the time to listen to and review that many albums without shirking every other responsibility I might have! Nor could I find anywhere near the level of spare cash required to buy that many albums in a year...

The difference between a hobby and a career? Probably.