Nordstjärnans tidsålder

It's only logical, being that black metal is the parent genre of Viking metal, that a considerable number of Viking metal bands start out with a sound that is predominantly black metal.

Manegarm show here that they could have just as easily remained a folk-tinged black metal band and still completely demolished most of their contemporaries. This early offering is black metal, with atmosphere and the occasional break for a folk passage.

The playing on a technical level is rough around the edges, it's obvious the band really got tighter later on. There are times when the music stumbles into sounding like some generic Norweigen black metal band. Though thankfully, the album is dominated by ugly and aggressive black metal that will at times hint at the melodic grandeur of future releases. It's much like what Manegarm is today with a layer stripped back to reveal rawness and talents not completely honed yet.

Cold and mighty is the tone here. It's raw Pagan black metal, through and through. Abundant atmosphere: nicely tweeked production, and distant sounding female vocals. Unbridled energy: punishing black metal riffs with the occasional Viking greatness they come to be known for. Tasteful folk essense: well executed folk sections show this band may have already mastered this aspect of their craft at such an early stage.

You needn't much else to make a great folk-tinged black metal album.



{Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com}

There are only a few viking metal bands that can truly combine extreme, fast-paced brutality with just enough folk influences and melody to set it apart from generic black metal. Nordstjärnans Tidsålder not only accomplishes this feat, but also has a great variety. The album opens with a light piano intro, followed by violin, which then bursts into a fast, brutal assault of black metal and folk. The violins play in the background just enough so that they can be heard without overpowering the guitar like many other bands of this genre (ie: Moonsorrow). This combination continues throughout the album, with a few female vocals thrown into the mix. Track 7 contains a short folk ballad, which has a very refined, well-composed sound. The overall album is very solid, and is a must have for any fan of true viking metal