Urkraft

I came across Thyrfing since I am huge fan of Jens Ryden who is currently Thyrfing's vocalist. Urkraft was my first exposure to the band but I made a stupid mistake. The reason is because when I bought this album I realised Jens Ryden wasn't the vocalist of the band just yet. Anyway, T. Väänänen is a great vocalist and no one couldn't have done it better.

I personally own Thyrfing's whole discography and I've realised they love to do the trick of putting their two best songs as the first two tracks. The first two tracks Mjölner and Dryckeskväde are the two songs where all the viking shit is done well. The chorus's of this songs will make you jump like a leprechaun. Speaking of leprechauns... Thyrfing made a mistake this time. Remember when I said they choose the best songs and place them as the first two tracks? Thyrfing clearly missed the song The Slumber of Yesteryears. These songs will make you press replay so many times and you'll forget the rest of the album for a good week. Sadly, that song consists of Celtic melodies. We all know majority of folk metal bands use Celtic melodies because they are the catchiest ones. In reality, folk metal should be played to represent your native's traditional music. This is the exact mistake most folk metal bands do. Now this is not big deal at all, but the resemblance will be very similar between many bands which is a constant problem around at the moment. Good example: Oh My God they've copied Ensiferum or These guys have never heard of Alestorm before now have they?

The rest of the tracks of the album can be considered melodic death/folk metal but still as good as the other tracks I've mentioned before. The guitar work is well done, mainly there's heaps of chugging but that's what the viking and death metal genre consists of anyway. There's a good mimic of riffs and keyboards together. The vocals don't matter in such a genre but there is a good combination of clean, death and black metal vocals.

The first time you'll hear this album, you'll find it very strange. The reason is because it's fairly a unique viking metal release. Most viking metal bands tend to drain it with melodies all over the place in every song. Thyrfing does it different where there's a good combination of Swedish Gothenburg influences with catchy melodies here and there. Highly recommended release to any fan of the genre.

This overall is a very good album. It has songs that range from being heavy, to more melodic, to sounding very folkish, to some that are great epics. This album is filled with variety.

One of the highlights of this album is definitely “Mjolner” which is a relatively long and heavy song, but with some melodies too. “Dryckeskväde” is also relatively heavy and dark. The vocals here are of a very deep and powerful growl for the most part. “Sweoland Conqueror” isn’t that great because while it is heavy and dark it is also long, repetitive, and kind of bland. Nothing really strikes you as out of the ordinary here.

“Home Again” is the first Thyrfing song I ever listened to and it is also one of if not the best Thyrfing songs ever made. It is a lengthy epic of over 7 minutes that starts off with very dark and beautiful acoustics. The riffs are similar here but they don’t get boring. The melodies are simply awesome, and the lyrics are very nice and tell of a nice but sad Viking tale. The vocals here are also awesome and the growl is very deep.

“The Breaking of Serenity” is an enjoyable song, although one of the faster moving songs. The atmosphere is very different from “Home Again”. The chorus on this song is also pretty addicting.

“Eldfärd” is a short acoustic interlude, and while nice, it gets boring real fast. Towards the end the guitars stop and the drums come in and this leads into the next song which is “Ways of a Parasite”. This is a more upbeat and faster moving song also. It is very enjoyable.

“Jord” is definitely a more folkish song and the songs to follow are also very folkish. The drums on this song are very nice and give a much more happy I won a Viking battle type of feeling. The vocals here are great, vary from high to low pitched. You also have a fiddle in the background during parts of the song.

“The Slumber of Yesteryears” is not a very good song, but this might be because it is overly folkish and too much folk melodies is something I don’t like very much. If you like folk you’ll love this song, for me it was just average. “Till Valfader Urgammal” is another upbeat folkish song, which is slightly better than its predecessor. The vocals are pretty good here and make listening to the fiddles, which in this album I don’t like very much, more bearable.

“Urkraft”, the title track and last track is another epic, not quite the masterpiece of “Home Again” but enjoyable. It does have folkish melodies, however they are not overdone and here are quite nice. The guitars are rather heavy and the vocals once again are low pitched and very deep at least in the first part of the song. We do have some acoustic breaks and even some clean vocals later on. The clean vocals are very well done and are high-pitched. It may sound a bit strange and out of place, but if you have a more open mind you will like them also.

Overall this is not quite a “Valdr Galga” or “Vansinnesvisor” however still very well done and highly recommended for Viking metal fans.

Thyrfing's album, Urkraft, is a sweet collection of skilled, energetic metal. Despite flaws, it is an above average effort from a wonderful band and a worthy addition to their discography.

The opening track, Mjölner, begins quietly and then attacks you with one of the finest viking metal song compositions. This one song has it all - strong riffing; wind instruments that add a folky note without overpowering the song; gruff vocals on the verses followed by smooth, rich clean ones for choruses and enough stylistic changes to keep the listener interested without becoming too presumptuous. The song comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, a wonderful lead-in to an album full of strong tracks.

The downside to this album is how repetitious the songs can get. After the superb opening track, the rest of the album becomes a bit bland. The instrumentals sound alike and the guitarwork feels recycled, and at times the listener will not even notice when the songs have switched. None of the songs are bad in the least, but neither are they groundbreaking. Had the filler tracks been removed, the album would have been much stronger and less tedious. The standout songs (Mjölner, Till Valfader Urgammal and Jord), however, save the album from mediocrity and make it a pleasure to listen to. The bonus song, a cover of Over the Hills and Far Away, is a complete turnabout from Thyrfing's signature sound and acts as an extra treat.

Urkraft is a strong album and one that would be appreciated by fans of the genre. While not perfect, it is a solid and most enjoyable addition to the viking metal genre.