I’m not a lover of the extreme death metal bands as I don’t see the point, other than to say look at us and how fast we can play – it does nothing for me. These guys on the other hand fascinate me. They mix the deathly growls with melodic clean tones, and the music is listenable and the lyrics are deep in Norse mythology, which has always interested me.
This album is from 2012 and the spelling of the album roughly translated is Ritual’s and the Norse take on the Rites Of Man. Opening track, Thoughts Like Hammers, is quite a slow doomy track but somehow sounds epic and huge. I am a big Opeth fan and the similarities are striking, especially on tracks like Veilburner which is one of the best tracks on the album. Roots Of The Mountain has the blast beats and machine gun kick drums pounding, and the mix of growl and clean is the most striking on this track. The title track just sneaks in for my favourite on the album as I love the simplicity of it.
Take away the drums, and this is quite a straightforward album musically. The chord patterns aren’t that difficult, it’s the delivery and the arrangements that make this album epic. Definitely not for everyone but I like it.
9/10 from The Grooveman.
