The whole Viking metal scene has really swelled into a large pool of talent in the last decade.\u00a0 Front-runners like Amon Amarth have stayed tried-and-true in their quest for a vision that is more about staying true than continuity in some senses.\u00a0 That\u2019s not to say all bands in this sub-genre are painted with the same brush, but the aforementioned band is judged by many as the measuring stick for this particular sound in the current musical landscape.<\/p>\n
So along comes a band like Vinterblot.\u00a0 Showing that geographic location doesn\u2019t necessitate feel for a particular geographic custom in a musical sense, the Italian band take on many of the hallmarks of the aforementioned genre and put it into their second full-length album with as much ease and talent as their respective heroes.\u00a0\u00a0 Blast beats and an underlying black metal fury duel with a powerful Viking-death onslaught to form a solid effort.\u00a0 Mixed and mastered by the legendary Dan Swano, he puts a stamp of quality on the overall recording and gives the musicians a polished product.<\/p>\n
While the riffs are punishing and the delivery is unrelenting and true to form, it has to be known that this band is not doing anything radically different.\u00a0 The first spin of this album gave me enough to want to explore further, and the second and third listens definitely helped to make this album grow on me and help me hear more layers and feel the vibe more.\u00a0 The main problem for me is that out of nine tracks, it took till the sixth track (the simple and effective acoustic chorded ambiance of \u201c\u2026of Woods And Omen\u201d) to give me their full attention.\u00a0 The last three tracks have a nice flow and punch (specifically \u201cStone Carved Silence\u201d and album closer \u201cTriumph Recalls My Name\u201d), bringing the overall energy of the music up quite a few notches.\u00a0 To these ears, it would\u2019ve made more sense to put these tracks at the beginning of the album to keep the listeners attention.<\/p>\n
This group has the talent, has the chops, and are obviously driven towards keeping the original Scandinavian roots of the music intact with this release.\u00a0 What needs to happen going forward is a realization that paying tribute and moving forward are two different things, and perhaps the latter needs to be paid more attention to while continuing to embrace the qualities of the former.
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