Vor Walvaters Thron

Vor Walvaters Thron is not the most original Viking Black Metal album out there. Surturs Lohe sound like their countrymen and contemporaries, Menhir, with striking similarities in many of the melody lines. This is not the sole fault of the album. It also tends to get repetitive, and it seems that many of the riffs and structures are recycled throughout the songs. The pace of the compositions is seldom varied.

The vocals are sometimes clean and sometimes harsh, alternating between the proud Norse style and a rawer Black Metal approach. The vocal transition occurs too often, though, and the band betrays its best, most emotive melodies by excessive use of vocals. This is not the case, however, in the album's best songs, especially the final track, 'Ewige Hallen', in which the opposing vocal styles compliment each other perfectly and fit into the groove of the song.

Another great song is 'To Walhall We'll Ride', the only one on the album sung in English. The main riff resembles Speed Metal more than viking-themed Black Metal, and the lyrical content is very good:

'In this battle of a blood-red song
My lifeless body lays down on earth
So take me away on my father's side
And the Gates of Walhall are now open wide'

A couple of great songs notwithstanding, the execution here leaves something to be desired. The album fails to really grab the listener and take him along for a ride. With the exception of the two best tracks, you might as well go buy Menhir's Thuringia. Vor Walvaters Thron was made in the same vein (in fact, the band hails from Thuringia, Germany), but it is unfortunately a less spirited release.