Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2024
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

Rimfrost > Veraldar Nagli > Reviews
Rimfrost - Veraldar Nagli

On the shoulders of Teutons - 85%

Gaius Petronius, August 22nd, 2012

Listening to this album is like reeling from a flurry of body shots and pile drivers, having your head stomped into the ground by a pair of Viking boots made from German steel, and then being lead into the intoxicating bosom of a Valkyrie. That being said, there are moments of oceanic grandeur and deliciously heavy, slow grinding riffs reminiscent of the marches of axe-wielding warriors here, especially on the longer tracks.In this album, Rimfrost have taken the punishing riffs of old school thrash, the transcendental and atmospheric sound of early Norwegian black metal, combined those two with the basic elements of viking metal, made you wear the whole thing as armor and sent you into battle.

Rimfrost draw heavily from the Teutonic thrash bands here, that unceasing assault of both speedy, quickfire riffs and slow, grinding, extremely heavy riffs resounds from nearly every song. Especially songs such as 'The Black Death', "The Raventhrone', 'I Stand my Ground', and the title track. Then there are obvious black metal influences, that appear as a fog of sound made up of Iron riffs and thunderous blast beats, that's highly reminiscent of Immortal and Darkthrone, in songs such as 'Scandinavium' and 'The Black Death'. Also, nearly every song is quite long (7-8 minutes) and has viking metal influences that lend a momentous feel of soaring, regal grandeur to the album and give the listener the satisfying feeling of having arrived at the shore after a great voyage, 'Void of Time' is an excellent example.

This is an exceptional album as far as good albums go. My only qualms with it are that it isn't very memorable and it tends to get repetitive and boring in some places, towards the half-way mark it takes effort to keep yourself interested, and it hasn't really got a flow when you get down to it but that's hardly noticeable because of the riffs that keep you in the songs. Overall it's a great release and I recommend this to fans of Bathory, Immortal, Amon Amarth and the Teutonic thrash bands.

Viking punch and pie - 75%

autothrall, November 29th, 2009

Sweden's Rimfrost take a different approach to the frozen north than many of their thematic peers, in that they sacrifice a lot of the brazen folk melodies, pomp & circumstance to provide a solid black/thrashing. The glory here is delivered straight through the band's energetic discharge...and there is a huge influence of German thrash metal here that truly works with the subject material. Perhaps the best comparison is to Immortal, who also have a very punchy style to these rhythms which Rimfrost excel at. Veraldar Nagli, the band's second full-length effort, has a cool tone to it which feels very authentic but well balanced. The guitars are boxy and the drums crash about, while Hravn's vocals unsettle through a powerful, emotional snarling.

A good band, and another good pickup for Season of Mist. Title track "Veraldar Nagli" provides for an immediate confrontation, hostile and thrashy and ready to punch your kidney in with the hilt of an oak hewn battleaxe, before reversing direction to cut your head clean off. The riffing is like Immortal meets Witchery, a frigid and diabolical slew of palm muted frenzy. "The Black Death" reveals a bit more of the band's Norse glory, a galloping mid-paced rhythm which rolls into black chords and double bass. "The Raventhrone" is right back to the thrashing, thick guitars (here they sound like Iced Earth, sans mediocrity). "Legacy Through Blood" has 3 minutes of acoustics, percussion and atmosphere delivered through a synthesizer, before the war drums pick up. It's about 9 minutes in length, and mostly slower thrash rhythms. "I Stand My Ground" and "Mountains of Mána" pick the pace back up, both solid throttlings, and "Scandinavium" is another of the longer tracks (8+ minutes) with slower riffs and acoustics. The closer, "Void of Time", has a glorious, charging gait, and you can subliminally feel the winds of old howling through the silence above its spread of punching rhythm.

I enjoyed my time with this, and would recommend it to fans of Immortal or the late 90s material from Enslaved (in particular Blodhemn). It offers further proof that not all Viking metal must be laden in synthesizers and excess folk instrumentation to succeed, and the thrash-like influence is welcome. Not every riff is great, and to be honest there are times where some of the excitement lapses off (in particular the longer tracks), but certainly enough meat on the tired bones.

Highlights: The Black Death, The Raventhrone, Mountains of Mána, Void of Time

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com