Forgotten Beneath the Soil

Norse culture and mythology has been a popular topic in metal for well over two decades now, with viking metal coming from the msot unlikely corners of the world nowadays. But it is only in the past few years that we have seen a number of bands coming out of England embracing their own Anglo-Saxon heritage as a theme for their music. Certainly, there are many similarities between the two cultures, but there is enough difference to make it an interesting and separate field of study, whether as a historian or simply out of a want of lyrics and imagery for your band.

Fyrdsman are a relatively new band to hop on the Anglo-Saxon bandwagon, having released this, their debut EP, last year. I became aware of this EP when it was first released via a promotional post online from fellow countrymen and Anglo-Saxon black metallers Winterfylleth. On a whim I ordered the EP without having heard a single second of it. Upon it's arrival I was not disappointed.

The EP consists of 3 original songs and a Forefather cover. The first two songs "Forgotten Beneath the Soil" and "Demonised in a Disgraced Land" are a rather familiar sounding breed of pagan metal. Obvious reference points are Forefather, Ensiferum, Equilibirum and other bands along those lines. Fast, yet bouncy and catchy riffs are accompanied by synth melodies and raspy, black metal style vocals. Solid songs, though nothing too groundbreaking or new.

The third song, "Survival," is where this EP really shines. Survival is a departure from the fun pagan metal of the first tracks, instead being a an atmospheric epic. This song bares much more of a resemblance to later Enslaved and Wodensthrone than the drinking metal of Ensiferum. There is also a clear post-rock influence, as the song builds on a main theme, gradually growing and expanding. Swirling synths and guitar create an atmosphere of longing for one's ancestral homeland and to fight against the empty materialism of the modern world. The harsh vocals on this track feature a large amount of echo, and are contrasted nicely by clean vocals that sound not unlike those done by Falkenbach.

Finally the EP ends with a well executed cover of Forefather's "Natural Chaos." A Forefather song is certianly not a surprising choice of song to cover. Forefather were one of the first bands to fully embrace the Anglo-Saxon theme, so it seems fitting for a new band like Fyrdsmen to pay tribute to them. Aside from this, the first two songs on the EP bare a strong sonic resemblance to Forefather.

Production is clean and crisp, allowing all the instruments to be heard clearly. The harsh vocals remind me a lot of Ihsahn (circa Anthems... and IX Equilibirum), while the clean vocals bring to mind Forefather and Falkenbach.

The first two track and cover might be nothing new they are well played and written, making for an enjoyable listen. The epic "Survival" shows real promise and hope for Fyrdsman, having a much more unique sound. Hopefully they will further explore this atmospheric side of their sound on future releases.

'Forgotten Beneath the Soil' is the debut EP of Fyrdsman, the British black metal project of one Tim Fife-Shaw who has previously worked with Scotland's Alestorm. It has come out in a time when British black metal bands that are proud of their heritage and the history of their country are beginning to appear left, right and centre but Fyrdsman brings an original sound and a decidedly different feel to some of the other bands with similar themes.

The music to be found within this EP is of a far more melodic nature than that of some of Fyrdsman's fellow heritage-concerned British black metal bands such as Winterfylleth and Iceni. In fact, at times such as on the fast-paced title track, the music is somewhat reminiscent of melodic death metal or at least the less raw and visceral sides of black metal.

A special mention should be given to Tim's guitar playing as it is very impressive and really brings the songs to life. Similarly to many Pagan-influenced black metal artists inspiring riffs can be found often in Fyrdsman's music. The guitar mainly plays rather uplifting yet aggressive rhythm riffs such as that of 'Demonised In a Disgraced Land' with the occasional clean lead or solo also taking place. A good example of one of these solos which is particularly impressive is the one at the end of 'Demonised In a Disgraced Land'. It adds that great traditional metal tradition of flashy solos to an otherwise quite different style of metal. The main riff of the atmospheric epic 'Survival' in particular is powerful and heralds the song as a true paean to ages long past when a man's survival was not promised as it is now and he had to fight to remain alive.

The relatively clean production makes the cover of Forefather's 'Natural Chaos' an interesting proposition as the original had quite a lo-fi production and still shined through. In fact, Fyrdsman's cover does not seem especially different, aside from perhaps adding a few keyboard lines that I do not remember from the Forefather version, but it is a good addition anyway and pays tribute to one of Fyrdsman's influences and one of the most stalwartly excellent of Britain's metal bands.

Tim Fife-Shaw's harsh vocals are quite clearly discernible and effective in giving the music even more of a sense of aggression. From time to time clean vocals with a certain echo effect on them make an appearance and this can be very effective such as on 'Survival' where they add to the epic feel of the song. The clean keyboard and guitar interlude in 'Demonised In a Disgraced Land' has the same sort of effect and makes the song feel multifaceted. This interlude also seems to have a transcendental sound to it which adds to the historical feel of the EP.

The bass, one can assume, is also played well though it is not always clear in the mix. The drum machine is also very competent and does not sound unnatural and divorced from the sound of the other instruments as can often be the case.

'Forgotten Beneath the Soil' is a fantastic debut and leaves one excited to hear more from Fyrdsman. Here's looking forward to the debut album!