VREID - Kraft
Band: http://www.vreid.no/
Label: http://www.tubarec.com/
1. Wrath of mine
2. Raped by Light
3. Helvete
4. Unholy water
5. Eldast, Utan Å Gro
6. Evig pine
7. Empty
8. Songen Åt Fangen
From the ashes of WINDIR, arise VREID! Since Valfars death, the remaining band members have decided to continue on under a new name, and quite right too. Taken from the bands website, VREID (meaning wrath in Norwegian) are a natural continuation from WINDIR, combining the black metal elements with Viking melodies and old school Thrash. They even reference the rocking groove of SEPULTURA. I guess on surface value that makes them sound like a Viking DARKTHRONE, but theres really much more going on than something so stripped down and raw. For the most part Ill agree with their description (after all, its the band describing themselves, not their label PR) and the best part is that it truly is a natural progression from Likferd my favourite WINDIR album, so do not expect 1184 part 2.
Kraft offers a strange production that seems to fit well with the overall atmosphere. Theres a heavy focus on guitars (lots of steel string acoustics by the way) while the drums are kept distant. Theres lots and lots of traditional folk melody absorbed into the riffs, and the drums of course dictate the different dynamics very effectively: there are quiet moments of ambience, to mid-paced rhythms that on occasion fall into a FINNTROLL like polka, but all interspersed with Norwegian patented blastbeats. (If you want to cross check my description here, check the sample for Raped by Light on their website). The vocals, sung both in Norwegian and English, switch from harsh to clean (plus a few death growls to boot) -- indeed the clean vocals are a standout, particularly in Eldast, Utan Å Gro and Empty.
A couple of interesting moments really worth pointing out: Helvete falls into mellotron heaven yes, Im such a sucker for the mellotron, it is my red kryptonite and this ambient flash of electro-wizardry makes way (starting at 3:10) for the biggest headbanging moment of the year thus far. Honestly, listen to this and I defy you not to crank the volume, raise your beer, and shout to the Valkyries above! (Its even got some chick vocals in the choirs). The other glorious moment is in the form of an entire song, Songen Åt Fangen seriously, this is going to be one of the greatest songs of 2005 ..er, make that 2004. Shit, I hate getting to these releases so late. But anyway, just a perfect song through and through, and when it slows down to the finger picking moment at 4:10 it really delivers the goods. They found a perfect melody here and built the whole song around its core. Great, great song and so addictive, I must have listened to it five times whilst writing this review.
Why they chose to use such crappy artwork I have no idea. Its a disaster. Lets face it, youre not exactly going to think Viking Black Metal when you see an electrical pylon on the cover, instead youre either going to think industrial noise terror or cancer-ridden children playing under the low hanging wires in their middle-of-nowhere schoolyard it really depends on how depraved you are I guess. Overall, this is an album for headbangers that can handle a little fancy footwork in their morning mead. You know who you are!
9/10
Band: http://www.vreid.no/
Label: http://www.tubarec.com/
1. Wrath of mine
2. Raped by Light
3. Helvete
4. Unholy water
5. Eldast, Utan Å Gro
6. Evig pine
7. Empty
8. Songen Åt Fangen
From the ashes of WINDIR, arise VREID! Since Valfars death, the remaining band members have decided to continue on under a new name, and quite right too. Taken from the bands website, VREID (meaning wrath in Norwegian) are a natural continuation from WINDIR, combining the black metal elements with Viking melodies and old school Thrash. They even reference the rocking groove of SEPULTURA. I guess on surface value that makes them sound like a Viking DARKTHRONE, but theres really much more going on than something so stripped down and raw. For the most part Ill agree with their description (after all, its the band describing themselves, not their label PR) and the best part is that it truly is a natural progression from Likferd my favourite WINDIR album, so do not expect 1184 part 2.
Kraft offers a strange production that seems to fit well with the overall atmosphere. Theres a heavy focus on guitars (lots of steel string acoustics by the way) while the drums are kept distant. Theres lots and lots of traditional folk melody absorbed into the riffs, and the drums of course dictate the different dynamics very effectively: there are quiet moments of ambience, to mid-paced rhythms that on occasion fall into a FINNTROLL like polka, but all interspersed with Norwegian patented blastbeats. (If you want to cross check my description here, check the sample for Raped by Light on their website). The vocals, sung both in Norwegian and English, switch from harsh to clean (plus a few death growls to boot) -- indeed the clean vocals are a standout, particularly in Eldast, Utan Å Gro and Empty.
A couple of interesting moments really worth pointing out: Helvete falls into mellotron heaven yes, Im such a sucker for the mellotron, it is my red kryptonite and this ambient flash of electro-wizardry makes way (starting at 3:10) for the biggest headbanging moment of the year thus far. Honestly, listen to this and I defy you not to crank the volume, raise your beer, and shout to the Valkyries above! (Its even got some chick vocals in the choirs). The other glorious moment is in the form of an entire song, Songen Åt Fangen seriously, this is going to be one of the greatest songs of 2005 ..er, make that 2004. Shit, I hate getting to these releases so late. But anyway, just a perfect song through and through, and when it slows down to the finger picking moment at 4:10 it really delivers the goods. They found a perfect melody here and built the whole song around its core. Great, great song and so addictive, I must have listened to it five times whilst writing this review.
Why they chose to use such crappy artwork I have no idea. Its a disaster. Lets face it, youre not exactly going to think Viking Black Metal when you see an electrical pylon on the cover, instead youre either going to think industrial noise terror or cancer-ridden children playing under the low hanging wires in their middle-of-nowhere schoolyard it really depends on how depraved you are I guess. Overall, this is an album for headbangers that can handle a little fancy footwork in their morning mead. You know who you are!
9/10
