Landkjenning

Landkjenning is the third full-length from Viking/folk act Glittertind, named for a famous Norwegian mountain. It's taken six years to release the follow-up to the excellent Evige Åsatro, but for the most part the wait has been worth it. Glittertind perform a lighter style of folk metal, with emphasis on the folk half: strings, flutes, organs and accordians are featured prominently on numerous tracks, and the entire album has a very 'swing your mug' vibe to it that should appeal to fans looking for the 'fun' aspect of the style.

The title track opens the affair with booming clean vocals alongside playful guitar work, but breaks into a beautiful folk segment after the 2 minute mark, almost a lullaby. "Nordjafells" features a slow charge of melodic guitars, strings and horns, and an amazing chorus with the hookiness of Týr's better material. This was my favorite track on the album. "Går min eigen veg" is a folk rock piece with traditional vocal melodies and shimmering guitars. Other highlights of the album include the tranquil "Mot myrke vetteren", the bold yet reserved "Brede seil over Nordsjø går" and the closing instrumental "Overmåte full av nåde". There are a few festive, punkier tracks which I didn't care for, such as "Jeg snører min sekk". Among the more serious material they seem slightly out of place, and I don't particularly desire punkish folk rock alongside my meadhorn.

Landkjenning sounds as clean and crisp as most of the modern wave of bigger budget folk metal albums. There is some good guitar writing here, especially the acoustics, but nothing excessive, with a tight focus on the actual writing and placement of vocals. There are a few tracks here which truly impressed me, but also a few I found awkward. The album isn't at the level of Evige Åsatro in its entirety, but it's worth hearing for the few songs that slay. Recommended to fans of Týr and the earlier Vintersorg records.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Let the Scandinavian folk invasion continue! Next on the gilded chopping board is Glittertind, a Norwegian band residing lower down on the scales of both sonic extremity and name recognition at this point in their career. Their take on the concoction of traditional folk melodies and metal has resulted here in a unique, if not interesting, album that I defy anyone to really get in 1 or 2 listens such is the blend of odd-sounding ingredients.

From the very beginning, title track "Landkjenning", tells you this won't be the usual ride. Distinctly male choral vocals in a thick, deep Scandinavian accent sing loud and proud before upbeat Manowar-esque riffage kicks in, taking the song through different lands all of which feel rather out of sync with the staccato pace of the aforementioned vocals. "Går Min Eigen Veg" is a totally unpretentious journey featuring whistles and acoustic guitars for it's first half, and such is its lack of vigour it could have quite easily sat comfortably amongst some dreadful pop record. Or a Led Zeppelin one, if we're being kind to Glittertind. For those most on the ball at this point, "Longships and Mead" bears an uncannily similar name to popular song from a Scottish pirate-themed band who I am not a fan of. Yes, "Longships and Mead" also sounds like Alestorm with a pirate jig here and an accordion jag there and helps pick up the pace for a bit from here on. "Glittertind" is just weird - consisting of a chorus that I'm sure Green Day have used, some Finntroll bounce and a touch of Arkona-ian folk it doesn't know what to be. And then, oh no, a whole Green Day song! "Jeg Snører Min Sekk" is Green Day sprinkled liberally with a penny whistle that is as unconvincing as it sounds. By the time the Opeth inspired "Mot Myrke Vetteren" comes round my head in such a spin that what is a pretty inspired take on Opeth's "Damnation" sound is negated by my confusion of exactly what I'm still listening to.

You see the problem there? "Landkjenning" suffers the problem of being a jack of all trades, master of none. What reveal themselves to be the album's better songs such as the Týr-like "Brede Seil Over Nordsjø Går" and "Mot Myrke Vetteren" reveal two directions Glittertind might have been better off focusing on, but the end result is an album that flirts with too many disparate sounds, and never quite nails on the head any of them. Some refinement of ideas and greater dedication to making a more listenable album is what Glittertind need from here to become that more recognised name.

Originally written for Rockfreaks.net

That’s the kind of album you always think about twice before buying, complete with the dead clichéd cover and imagery screaming for unoriginality. So, what? Landkjenning, third full-length from Norwegian Viking metal band Glittertind, could appear, in some ways, clichéd and unoriginal, that’s a fact. But considering around eighty percent of bands, regardless of their genre, could be deemed unoriginal this can’t be taken as a crippling flaw, provided the execution is good. Here, it is.

That doesn’t mean the overall construction for instance isn’t a tad surprising and, let’s admit it, clumsy. It begins with three marching tunes with an obvious epic vibe which are also the strongest tracks, before the mood radically switches with the fourth track Går Min Eigen Veg – a slow, cold ballad. Then follow three upbeat tunes hinting far more at casual drinking music or folk punk than anything else here. The three ending tracks, including an organ-driven outro, are other cold lullabies similar to Går Min Eigen Veg. Of course this makes Landkjenning a pretty varied recording, but I can’t prevent myself from thinking it would have sounded far more powerful if the different moods had been more cleverly mixed together. Instead after the brilliant opening the listener first feels slightly disappointed, then towards the end is even on the verge of falling asleep, though the whole work hardly excesses half an hour.

A pity as the songs, in their respective genres, are good. Some might criticize the too polished production, but for once it complements the music well. Every instrument sounds bright, neat and clear, still it’s not overproduced. Of course there are lots of flutes, horns and fiddles and probably not enough guitars, but after all as the vast majority of the songs are direct covers of Norwegian folk tunes it seems all but absurd. The vocals aren’t overdone; the clean parts sound both majestic and melancholic without ever falling into grandiloquence, the harsh parts, though far less frequent and also less remarkable, add nonetheless a welcomed raspy touch. And yes, the mandatory shouts and chants are present as well – what did you expect, may I add – and they’re as ridiculous as with the majority of similar acts, but that’s the law of the genre and, let’s be fair, weren’t they here we’d soon miss them.

Coming to the individual songs, as said before the most interesting are probably the epic ones, which are also the most finely-worked. The slow part in the title track sounds just... grand, and the second, harsher track is simply taking us back to a time where everything wasn’t so comfortable as today. In contrast the upbeat middle tracks are far more spontaneous and catchy; of those the eponymous track with its memorable chorus is undoubtedly the best, Jeg Snører Min Sekk is both the fastest and the most punk-influenced, and Longships and Mead is an obvious joke. Think about it: it’s the only song in English here, a song about drinking, a song with a goofy accordion seemingly borrowed from Korpiklaani and a song advertised as “fucking great” (sic) by a guy from... Alestorm. Actually as you’d indeed rather expect it on an Alestorm album than on this very one I bet it was part of the deal with Napalm Records on which said band is also signed. Funny shit though, but pretty out-of-place if you ask me. Eventually the soft, ballad-ish tracks are all poignant and emotional while devoid of any ridicule or affectation, but again, they would have worked far more efficiently if scattered throughout the album.

All in all as the only release I heard from this band so far it seems to justify its semi-popularity. While the recipe of relying heavily on old traditional tunes is nothing original it’s also a good way to avoid several pitfalls, and the guys do it in a tasteful and clever fashion. Like Svartsot I discovered a couple of years ago, it simply appears like another pleasant Viking surprise.

Highlights: Landkjenning, Nordafjells, Glittertind

My biggest fear concerning this long-awaited album was that mainman Torbjørn Sandvik would steer his musical ship to far into generic folk metal landscapes. I for some reason feared that he would leave the most "non-metal" sounding folk elements or the punky Dropkick Murphy's feel behind him when signing to Napalm Records, home of bands like Tyr and Alestorm. Thankfully this is not the case on Landkjenning! The punk element that almost automatically comes from simply adding distorted guitars to folk metal melodies is still very much present. The biggest difference from earlier Glittertind releases is probably that this is far more epic sounding overall. There's almost a psalm-like sanctified atmosphere to some of the songs, or rather in parts of the songs. This is probably due to the fact that the album's lyrics deal with the early christening of Norway. It works amazingly well alongside the traditional folk parts and the heaviness of the metal elements. Glittertind is definitely an original sounding band but imagine Dropkick Murphy's being drunken metalheads and you should be able to get the right feel.

Every song on this album is absolutely great in its own right but there are a few tracks worth an extra mentioning. In particular the opening trio with the epic titletrack, the melodic extravaganza of Nordafjells and the raunchy folk-punker Varder i Brann. The chorus of the last one is to die for. Sandvik has has always had an amazing sense for melodic patchwork and on this one he reaches absolute perfection! When he shouts "...ved Satan i Helvete ende deres ferd" at the end of the chorus my nordic heart melts completely. I believe it is called true love.

There's always a danger in claiming an album to be perfect but I can't describe this album in any other way. I actually can't for the life of me imagine how this could've been executed any better. Thus a 100% rating is the only possibility here. This IS perfect!

Hats off to the reigning kings of folk metal!