The Lay of Thrym

The sixth studio record of Faroese progressive metal quartet Týr is entitled The Lay of Thrym and picks up precisely where excellent predecessor By the Light of the Northern Star left us exactly two years ago. The band moves away from its doom, folk and progressive elements and offers overall shorter heavy and power metal songs that are easy to digest and quick to remember. The limited edition offers twelve songs with a total running time of fifty-seven minutes, making for songs of about four and a half minutes on average.

This album once again includes some instant classics such as ''Take Your Tyrant'' with its dynamic mid-paced guitar play, high-pitched backing vocals and powerful lead vocals performing timeless lyrics inspiring revolution.

The Faroese quartet isn't excatly known for its softer side but this output offers melancholic power ballad ''Evening Star'' that showcases some minor progressive changes. The song therefore needs a while to open up but stands out with its unusual approach as something the band hasn't attempted before.

Listeners who are longing for melancholic atmosphere from the imaginative islanders should certainly appreciate ''Fields of the Fallen'' that appropriately deals with death and farewell. The melodic chorus is almost soothing and makes for one of the record's catchiest and most memorable moments.

The main issue on The Lay of Thrym however is that slight experiments such as those mentioned above remain exceptional cases. The album plays things a little bit too safely. It sounds at times as if the material were some leftover songs from the excellent songwriting session leading to glorious predecessor By the Light of the Northern Star. The final result is still more than decent but can't equal the band's streak of excellence from the second to the fifth studio album.

Two elements that certainly rate this output up however are the two bonus tracks. Ronnie James Dio had died roughly a year before this album here saw the light of day and Týr decided to pay tribute to the outstanding singer. The band offers an energetic, gloomy and tight rendition of Black Sabbath's overlooked masterpiece ''I'' and a dynamic, imaginative and playful version of Rainbow's famous classic ''Stargazer''. It's obviously a matter of taste whether you are going to prefer the original versions or these covers but Týr certainly managed to make these tracks sound like their own with dystopian discordant guitar riffs, tight rhythm sections and charismatic vocals finding the perfect balance between grit and melody.

At the end of the day, Týr's The Lay of Thrym is a very good heavy and power metal album with a few interesting little experiments. Fans of old age and adamant collectors should certainly purchase the excellent limited edition of this release. However, this album isn't as consistent as several of its predecessors and I would even go as far as calling this record the weakest in the band's extremely strong discography. If you have never checked this band out before or only know a handful of songs, you shouldn't start your discovery here but could opt for excellent immediate predecessor By the Light of the Northern Star instead.

Tyr has been something of a weird beast when it comes to category, mostly because while the amalgamation of progressive and folk metal is the best way to describe both the past and present sound that they sport, it can lends a number of wildly different musical pictures for newcomers than the actual one. The band has evolved from something that managed to be both folksy yet pretty inaccessible, between the wide array of ideas jammed into each song at a slower than customary tempo save for traditional doom metal, into something that is actually less progressive and more power/thrash oriented. Front man, guitarist and songwriter Heri Joensen himself has admitted to a sizable shift in style from their first couple of studio offerings onward, though it actually wasn't until the arrival of The Lay Of Thyrm, featuring a typically epic visual of Thor standing over a giant with a bloodied head with his hammer held high, that this band came into their own stylistically speaking.

While the residual influences of Metallica still permeate much of Tyr's stylistic expression, from Heri's mildly gruff-tinged yet smooth vocal presentation and the general chugging riff character of the rhythm guitar riffs, this album has brought with it a greater degree of melodic guitar sensibility and symmetry of songwriting structure that definitely tilts more towards a hard hitting power metal sound. Granted, it is a type of power metal that is closest to the speed/thrash character of heavier German bands, and also dressed up with a number of harmonized lead guitar themes that are both folksy yet also somewhat similar to the Iron Maiden inspired fair heard out of melodic death metal. Not to mention the fact that while the structure of things has become a bit easier to follow, it still wanders around with much of that wayfaring character that was present from their overly ambitious roots, resulting in something that is quite a bit more complex than a typical Paragon or Sacred Steel album.

Being masters at maximizing the impact of a small, bare bones arrangement, the guitars and rhythm section basically stand alone behind the densely produced and often harmonized lead vocal lines that articulate the various myths of old Norse lore that are this band's stock and trade. Up tempo, double bass drum influenced celebrations of crunch and singing bards such as "Flames Of The Free" and "Take Your Tyrant" listen about as close to Viking national anthems with a metal edge that one might get outside of hearing the actual one of Norway and Denmark with electric guitars along for the ride. Similar stories emerge with "Hall Of Freedom" and "Ellindur Bóndi á Jaðri", all of them having this inescapable air of triumph and heroism that is incredibly hard to resist raising one's first to in response, not to mention managing to feel a bit longer than they actually are due to the ambiguity between verse and chorus sections, a feature that this band has managed to cleave to despite their noteworthy changes in sound and approach of late.

For the most part, this album tends to have a feeling of constant drive and energy, but it does make some time for a more restrained sound at several key points. Particularly on the longer songs found here, particularly the closing epic title song "The Lay Of Thyrm" and also "Evening Star", the use of atmospheric clean and effects steeped guitar lines and a more crooning vocal approach, there is a needed break from the constant barrage of fast drumming and shred happy guitar solos at opportune points in the album's duration, though neither of these songs prove to be slouches at kicking up the aggression once they get going. Similarly, the band's habit of covering a couple influential metal anthems from the past (which began on this album and has continued since) reveals a brilliant reinterpretation of Black Sabbath's "I" that makes further use of their more serene clean elements. On the other hand, their rendition of Rainbow's "Stargazer" sees a full implementation of this band's signature sound, resulting in something that occasionally speeds at a pace close to "Kill The King", but otherwise comes off as a monstrously heavy and slow paced thrash number.

Though this band has held a largely consistent record of solid musical material, this album is the go to experience for anyone who has yet to try their unique brand of folksy mayhem, not to mention the best thing they've put together so far. Arguably the only thing that keeps this band from truly creating a perfect masterpiece is their ongoing tendency to throw just a few too many ideas into each outing, resulting in something that struggles to maintain total coherence despite being a towering display of catchy themes and impressive musicianship. This is, by all standards an exceptionally good album, but also one that seems just a little too long, and not necessarily due to its literal time duration. Nevertheless, Viking lovers the world over will definitely get their money's worth here.

The Faroe Islands are not a place that many know anything about, let alone that they are home to one of the biggest Viking metal bands out there. Tyr is a band that takes their love of Norse mythology and makes music surrounded by it, and while this is certainly nothing new for a metal genre that has been worshiping the icy gods virtually since its inception, their highly melodic and clean-vocalized approach to viking metal tends to send them apart somewhat from the legions of other Viking revivalists. 'The Lay Of Thrym' shows a band that is very familiar with their sound and the science of making Viking metal music. On that note, there is nothing new here that listeners of Tyr will not immediately identify with, but their legacy of catchy and melodic mythos-inspired metal lives on here.

I will make it clear from the beginning that Viking metal is not something I find myself all too enthused by, seeing as there are only so many albums and songs that can be written about the ancient stories. On the other hand, Tyr do have a identifiable sound to them, thanks largely to the vocals of Heri Joensen. It is not necessarily that his voice is distinct, but rather the fact that in a genre where vocalists tend to rumble and snarl, he opts for an incredibly clear, only slightly accented melodic voice. The music huddles around the vocal strengths of Tyr, as is evidenced by their songwriting. Although Tyr's songwriting gets somewhat tired by the end of the album, they do know how to write a catchy song, and the choruses to each of these will have you at least humming along by the end of it.

'The Lay Of Thrym' certainly is about being Norse and in no dearth of reverence for the old gods, but the thing that actually had me even just a little surprised by the album was the fact that Tyr was expanding their lyrical themes to address other issues. As one might expect, 'Shadow Of The Swastika' is about Nazis, and although a stranger to this band might suddenly think based on the title that Norse mythology is not the only thing that Tyr wants to revive, the band openly condemns the neo-Nazi movement, as well as all of the National Socialist bands that give metal a bad name. The lyrics are not particularly poetic- as anyone who has heard the song may agree- but undeniably effective. With 'Take Your Tyrant', they continue this style of good-guy lyrics, and while it is an interesting change of pace to see a metal band writing lyrics about things advocating the good and well-being of mankind (as opposed to its depravity and destruction), they usually are not particularly interesting.

For someone looking for upbeat, catchy, and even slightly (but only slightly) progressive Viking metal, Tyr's 'The Lay Of Thrym' may be a good album to check out. The album does not pass me as being great or excellent, and while the upbeat melodic nature of Tyr can feel a little too shallow for the album's length, there are enough strong tracks and originality to be worth checking out.

Having well and truly put the Faroe Islands on the metal map in recent times Týr look set to continue to strike while the iron is hot in the folk and Viking metal world with their latest opus, "The Lay of Thrym", an album which looks to the strengths of it's predecessor "By the Light of the Northern Star" and aims to merely outdo these in every way possible. The old days of Týr being a quixotically progressive band from the outpost of Europe seem very much over (at least musically) as not a moment here deviates from the singalong, jolly template laid down by the more resolute "By the Light…" - think of this change as the push of the band from the appreciative fanbase of a respected Moonsorrow to the plastic swords and imagery of an Alestorm.

A good number of listens to the opening catchy trio of "Flames of the Free", "Shadow of the Swastika" and "Take Your Tyrant", through the slower "Evening Star" and "Konning Hans" to the closing title track, which initially aims to replicate their earlier track "Regin Smiður‬" (which first got me so hooked on Týr), provides suitable enjoyment to encourage the next return to "The Lay of Thrym"'s shores. Heri Joensen and his comrades engage in more vocal singsongs than a Blind Guardian and Anthrax lovechild, and each song, whether fast or slow, has the great capacity for live rendition as the band have clearly learnt the oddly structured songs of old made for a tougher live appreciation. After all, the majority of supposed folk/Viking fans have shown no desire to appreciate anything with a degree of depth…

It is that absence of the complexity, and with it the heart, of Týr which now feels missing through these largely identikit, catchy-as-you-like power/folk metal numbers. "Take Your Tyrant" may rate as one of the band's best songs but showing little incentive to really branch out from it's structure, or that of all the others on this and the band's previous LP, leaves Týr now a stagnant presence when once they could be relied upon for forward-thinkingness. A solid effort but not in the league from which I past knew…

Originally written for www.Rockfreaks.net

Who doesn't like Faroese metal stalwarts Týr? I mean really, they've been quite consistent and constantly evolving their music since their 2002 debut “How Far To Asgard”. Famous for the distinctive vocals of Heri Joensen and their excellent blend of Scandinavian folk with progressive touches, we've all been waiting for Týr's next venture after the thoroughly enjoyable “By The Light Of The Northern Star” in 2009. Now that 2011 and the new album are finally here, Týr's latest hammerblow to the metal world is being judged all around the globe. I've found that this a considerable change of pace for them, and in more ways than one.

First things first, “The Lay Of Thrym” sees Týr treading further into power metal territory more than they have in the past. Most of the songs are uptempo and rollicking tunes that once again take on the guise of silly, happy pagan music. At first I thought that “Shadow Of The Swastika” was kind of a stupid song, until I took the time to look over the lyrics. The message, while blunt and antagonistic, is not a bad one whatsoever. In general, the band's regular conceptual commitment to paganism and Vikings is strong and entertaining, if perhaps a bit short-sighted in some ways. At least the lyricism here isn't just thinly-veiled attention-fishing for more fans to jump on the pagan bandwagon like it was on “By The Light Of The Northern Star”.

Musically, this is very catchy and accessible, maybe more so than any of the band's albums to date, and it'll definitely net a few more fans for Týr without a doubt. However, for those of us who were used to and fond of this albums predecessors, tracks like “Sinklars Visa”, “Tróndur í Gøtu”, and Turið Torkilsdóttir are sadly absent here. In fact, the lush harmonization that we've heard on previous efforts has been all but forsaken on "The Lay Of Thrym", generally in favor of more straightforward work. While there's nothing wrong with excellent metal tracks like “Flames Of The Free” and “Fields Of The Fallen”, I for one miss the subtlety and beauty of these vocal-centric tracks (Yes yes, I know that they're a metal band). But that doesn't stop me (nor should it the reader) from appreciating the band's move towards higher octane metal. The music here is some of the most energetic the band has ever written, and an example to followers of how the power/folk hybrid is supposed to sound when executed properly.

One other thing that bears mentioning when it comes to Týr's music is the emotional quality of Heri Joensen's voice (or rather, the almost complete absence of it). Sure, he's got an excellent knack for this rough-edged Viking material, and especially when singing in his native Faroese, but he really only has a couple of settings when he's singing without backing: loud and aggressive or soft and tentative. Perhaps that's why I find the overall song selection a bit weaker on “The Lay Of Thrym”, as the vocals are more often Heri singing solo, and the rarely-changing timbre can become a bit grinding. While I generally prefer faster tracks, Týr has historically been so good at adding color to their albums with great vocal harmonization (not just in the choruses of some songs) and varying of speeds, and I just don't see it happening here.

Technicalities, mostly, are the order of the day for complaints here, since it's really a stomping good time the whole way through. “The Lay Of Thrym” is a bit of a departure from the band's norms, but it's a high energy toss of the axe that anyone into the band is bound to enjoy. I recommend this highly, with the caveat that you'll hear the band's folky and progressive side fading a bit. Regardless, this is an album that any fan of folk, power, prog, (or anything in between) will find to be a great deal of fun.

Originally written for www.blackwindmetal.blogspot.com/

I don’t just dig this Tyr band. I actually respect what they’re shooting for. I know plenty of people who aren’t too keen on them on account of them being “too slow” or “boring”, but they’re unfortunately seeing the forest for the trees. TYR is a fine example of folk metal’s ability to evolve and branch off from its central source, encompassing other styles with that still-present danceable factor. Their music may be slow, and it’s hard to dance to, but there’s a lot going on; this isn’t Sunn O)))-level blandness or Warhorse-like drudgery: each riff of Tyr’s always has about three or four different things going on, requiring attention and a firm eardrum to listen to and appreciate. Maybe that’s where the aforementioned folks fail. Oh well, their loss.

And so, with that in mind, I dive into “The Lay of Thrym”, curious to know where our god of war will take us next…

From the get go, we may have here one of Tyr’s most majestic works, as well as one of their more accessible. The folksy/progressive elements are still present, but the general framework seems to encompass an upbeat power metal backbone that makes the riffs and arrangements “happier” and easier to digest than previous albums; the riffs are heavier and faster than usual, the atmosphere is more bombastic, and the compositional themes are a touch more streamlined than some people are, no doubt, used to. This simultaneously helps and hinders the overall product; the more simplistic song structures may be able to bring in listeners who may have, at one point, been turned off by their earlier strangeness, but it also has the group running the risk of losing their identity as a band who stood out from the folk metal troll horde on account of their more complicated compositional meanderings. But then again, that may be me looking a bit too far into things, as at the end of the day, “The Lay of Thrym” is still a fine disc that storms from point A to point B with plenty of energy and waves of melodies to keep one’s attention afloat. This just might be the best example of the band really enjoying what they are doing, where heavy riffs, plentiful harmonic leads, neck-snapping percussion (even with a few blast-beating moments!) and powerful clean choirs rub elbows with slower by-the-campfire odes that augments a sensation of natural majesty and beauty now commonplace with the Tyr musical way of things. If nothing else, this should serve as another good position of the group’s continuous evolutionary mountain roving, where from the base of “How Far to Asgaard” things have only gone upward with each successive release. But have they reached their pinnacle? I can’t say, seeing as these guys probably have a lot of years left to prove us wrong in any position of the like, but even then, I just might see this little doozy hit my stereo plenty of times for equally plentiful amounts of enjoyment time and again, shown brightly with the likes of “Shadow of the Swastika”, “Evening Star” and “Hall of Freedom” blazing through speakers and ears alike.

In the end, Tyr really outdo themselves in terms of performance and energetic elegance, albeit with at a small price of simplicity. Still, they’re able to showcase said simplicity very well without losing any sense of credibility on my end. Highly recommended.

Continuing the more upbeat heavy/folk/power metal sound of "By the Light of the Northern Star", Týr have returned with their most accessible and energetic release to date. It sounds very fresh.

For those hoping for a return to the slower progressive folk metal of their earlier albums like "Eric the Red" and "Land" may be disappointed, but for the rest of us, from the soaring choruses of songs like "Hall of Freedom" to the soothing and gentle opening of the title track, this is one hell of a ride!

Týr is an unusual band. Their musical style is eclectic (folk +prog + heavy metal) and yet somehow they have forged this incredibly unique sound that permeates all their albums. This sound is easy to recognise but hard to describe. They use a very distinct heavy guitar tone with their mellow and atmospheric minor key melodies (this is not "happy" sounding folk). You won't find any keyboards or folk instruments here either as this is a very guitar orientated album. The song-writing is powerful and catchy. The emphasis is on rousing rhythm playing (bang your head!), strong harmonized vocals that lead the listener through the song (whether in English of Faroese), technically proficient shred-guitar solos, and memorable harmonised central melodies that tie all the other elements together. Clean guitar playing is sometimes heard in the calmer passages and adds to the flow of the music. I could almost swear the opening bars of "Evening Star" are Metallica influenced. The English lyrics are more appealing than on the previous album ("Shadow of the Swastika" has hilarious lyrics) and overall I think this is the more consistent album of the two. As expected, the content of the lyrics is mostly Norse mythology orientated though some songs are more ambiguous.

If you have hated Týr's music thus far, then this album will not change your mind. But if you are a fan of the band's back catalogue or energetic and melodic metal (folk or not) in general then you must own this splendid album! Highlights are ubiquitous and I almost didn't mention this, but as usual the production is flawless (Jacob Hansen studios, you know what to expect). With the volume high your blood should be throbbing in your veins as you hallucinate visions of glory and battle and Vikings with hairy beards!

P.S. For those who desperately miss those longer songs with odd time signatures, I suggest you check out Heri Joensen's side-project - the excellent and fast playing "Heljareyga".
The bonus tracks are also pretty fun and much heavier than the originals thanks to the modern production.

Time will tell but I prefer this to Amon Amarth's Surtur Rising (released 2 months before).

Tyr is one of those rare bands that has truly developed something of a unique sound that encompasses musically what they write about lyrically. Right from the moment you hear the plodding bombast on "Land," you get the musical equivalent of a band rocking along with the waves in search of the new world. The following album was Tyr making the leap to being a catchy band with bonafide chorus parts and melodies that were easier to follow, albeit still including plenty of the elements that made their previous records such intriguing excursions through Norse lore.

This new album sees them taking the template that was "By the Light of the Northern Star" and running with it. Right from the first song "Flames of the Free," this records hits you like a brick in the face as if to say "you WILL pay attention to me!" The riffing is something that immediately catches you and lets you know that riffing is not a lost art left behind in the days of thrash, albeit here it tends to take a much more power metal-esque path than even what the band has dished out on past releases. We even see an actual ballad (collective gasp!) appear here - the awesome "Evening Star" - that is a ballad in the only way that Tyr could perform one...melancholy as hell. The following track ("Hall of Freedom") is further rifftastic Tyr through and through, and even if the term "viking metal" throws you, this track will still get your head banging and draw you into what Tyr fans already know...that what you name a genre is moot so long as the end result kicks ass. Add to all this riffing, the fact that Heri and Terji have probably never been better guitarists and their solos are every bit as fluid as anything Tony Macalpine could throw out there, while still retaining a folksy influences that tends to make them that which helps complete a song, not necessarily stand out from them. And how about Kari's drumming?!? Never better...more intricate than on previous releases, but he never throws in anything that could take away from the tune. I think legitimately he might be this band's secret weapon.

A few other things to note is that like with all Tyr CDs, you get a few songs in the bands native tongue of Faroese, which put in a metal context such as this, is very percussive and serves the tunes very well. One thing that also sticks out is the lyrical subject matter of "Shadow of the Swastika," which essentially serves to say 'don't have a problem with our heritage just because of 1940s Germany;" very thought-provoking, indeed. Oh, and on the deluxe version, the Black Sabbath and Rainbow covers are absolutely phenomenal! This band really loves their Ronnie James Dio! "I" in particular, off Sabbath's oft-overlooked "Dehumanizer" album, is done fairly (read: not-completely) true to the original and yet it is made their own with this cover version. And "Stargazer" sans keyboards, and with some creative license on the riffs, is probably made even heavier than the awe-inspiring original.

All in all, this record serves as perfect exemplar that Tyr has something going on that belongs exclusively to them, and despite the similarities in terms of direction to the last album, nothing here sounds tired and forced. They have a lot more creatively to give and if they follow up what this reviewer believes is a perfect album ("By the Light of the Northern Star") with another perfect album, then I look forward to hearing more from them.