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Bifrost > Pagan Reality > Reviews
Bifrost - Pagan Reality

I still think it's unique - 89%

Abominatrix, December 22nd, 2003

I have a feeling this is where the other copy of "Pagan Reality" ended up (see Saad's review down the page). My friend and cohort Spatilomantis picked this up at an excellent used CD store here in Toronto. The thought that someone else must have picked up this CD and not been totally enamoured with it is troubling, but at least it ended up in good hands.

Everyone claims that this band sounds a lot like the UK band Sabbat. Well, I'm not really in a position to contradict that as i've only heard about four Sabbat songs in total....but they didn't sound much like this. True, the ideology and feel of the two bands is somewhat similar....both play what might be termed thrash metal, with a distinctly pagan feel in both lyrics and over all approach to songwriting. However, Bifrost seem to also draw on quite a few modern influences, and come up with something that, in my experience at least, is quite unique. The only really similar sounding band I can think of, in fact, might be Mortuary Drape, though bifrost is much less black metal and perhaps not so musically accomplished. I must confess that I downloaded a few of these songs a while back, as I was interested in the band, and they didn't really appeal to me. However, I've listened to "Pagan Reality" two or three times now and it's sunk in how solid it really is. The production is a little strange, and I think that may be part of what threw me at first. The sound is still, I think, slightly lacking and a bit too dry..but on the other hand, it can be argued that the fact that it sounds as if it were recorded outdoors is really appropriate for this type of music. although strictly speaking this is thrash, Bifrost don't hesitate to slow the pace to a near crawl on a few occasions, and this works really well in songs such as the absolutely incredible "My Lady of Winterfire" and the equally great title track. The fast, thrashy sections which make up a good portion of the songs are really great: sounding rather unusual and original in a way that I find hard to place. The drumming is great....this man is like a machine, and although normally I wouldn't mean this to be complimentary, in this particular case I find it utterly suitable. Every fill, every nuance is perfectly timed and placed...everything makes absolute mathematical sense, and although there's nothing too fancy in the playing itself the sheer precision of it is something that I marvel at, though as a drummer I don't think I could or would choose to play in such a rigid manner. The vocals, as mentioned by Saad, really stand out and contribute a great deal to the mystical yet aggressive feel of this opus. They're very passionate, venomous shouts with the ocasional growlier moments or strange slow chanting. Most of the choruses consist of simple repeating refrains, yet the way he screams out lines like "battle lord Odin! Father of victories!" makes them sound unlike any other stereotypical thrash choruses I've heard. Finally, the riffing style is, as I said, rather unusual...and may contribute to the difficulty some obviously have in truly grasping this album.

In writing this review it's become obvious to me that I can't really do Bifrost's music justice with words. It's not as though this is exactly the best thing I've ever heard, yet it has a certain quality that can only be described, I think, by the music itself. Fans of Mortuary Drape, esoteric thrash or perhaps some Greek black metal, such as Rotting Christ, who also may be a small influence on Bifrost's music, might find this a very worthy addition to their music collections.