Zwischen Asgard und Midgard

Thrudvangar’s third release is a strong swig of barbarian black metal. If you like black metal but aren’t a fan of keyboards, then I suggest you bring an open mind because this stuff is really worth listening to. There are no buzzing tin-can instruments and dying animal vocals here, but neither are there overblown symphonics or gimmicky shit. This is solid pagan black metal in the vein of Menhir and Gernotshagen and it’s simply good music.

Beneath the flesh of the distorted guitars and pummeling drums and full-throated harsh vocals, majestic melodies are bubbling. In the background, the keyboards sweep swathes in the epic landscape of the music. They are not obtrusive or overblown, no need to worry there. In fact they add a rich ambience to the music and sometimes they can help guide your senses along the paths of melodies as the music dives into force.

I don’t have a ton of time for your every-day generic-sounding black metal. I appreciate it when bands make songs that you can tell apart from one another whether you can understand the lyrics or not. When bands take a little influence from their pre-christian culture and forge potent creations out of majestic melodies and savage sounds, I appreciate it. That’s what Thrudvangar does, and “Zwischen Asgard Und Midgard” (Between Asgard and Midgard) is a solid representation of the skill with which it is done.