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Ysorex / Harsgathyr > Nordlandkrieger > Reviews
Ysorex / Harsgathyr - Nordlandkrieger

fuck yeah seaking - 80%

Noktorn, May 30th, 2008

I have no idea what the story behind this split is, I picked it up in a blind purchase from Runefire Records for like $6 and I can't find any real information on it in English. It was originally released on a German label as a tape limited to 500 and then re-released by a Russian label on CD (the version I have) and predictably everything about this is written in fucking German or Russian, neither of which I read for feel like Babelfishing. So I'm going to say that both bands are actually Mexicans just claiming to be from Germany. Whatever.

Harsgathyr:

This band plays pretty straightforward pagan metal that sounds relatively cool. There's a drum machine and sort of a dumb guitar tone, but I can get over those factors because there's also cool vocals that are a mix of black metal rasps and declarative spoken words, and the riffs are good and like newish Graveland. Actually to be honest it reminds me more of Graveland tribute band Iuvenes. It's mostly midpaced, with rolling, epic rhythms and soaring melodies and probably vaguely NS lyrics about 'taking back our homeland' and 'purging it of vermin'. There's cool keyboard backing that helps make up for the overdistorted, crumbly guitar tone, and of course it helps make everything more EPIC with capital letters.

I'm being sort of flippant but I do genuinely like this stuff a lot. I'm not sure if it would be served by better production or not; part of the charm seems to be in it being a 'rawer' breed of epic pagan metal, unlike the super clean stuff that Graveland is doing these days. Anyway, it's good music and it makes me want to conquer something and maybe kill some black people, I don't know.

Ysorex:

Ysorex is like a faster, less 'overlooking the battlefield and thumbing your goatee' version of Harsgathyr. There's real drums (that are actually pretty well played, lot of feeling), much faster delivery in general, and I guess 'perkier' riffs. More like being in a battle than commanding it. The riffs are pretty ambitious, with long, involved melodies that are sort of like a high-wire act. They occasionally fail, but that's to be expected. Most of the time it's good though, even if they occasionally get too happy. Vocals are a sort of growly/speaky voice with aren't very noticeable most of the time. All the emphasis is on those fast, epic tremolo riffs, and I have to say that overall the package is pretty good.

It's a good split. Nothing amazing but pretty cool. Half the interesting comes from how no one knows anything about the bands on it, which is kind of cool, but the music doesn't exactly live up to the mysterious tone when it's generally so mainstream. Anyway, if you dig pagan metal, you'll like this, end of discussion.