Tag Árstíðir Lífsins
Árstíðir lífsins is bleakly grandiose pagan metal inspired by skaldic writings of the past. An altogether different league to the hordes of Viking metal bands that have swamped us in the past two or three decades. This is metal as… Continue Reading →
Without a shadow of a doubt Kampfar are one of the leading Scandinavian pagan black metal bands with a hugely respected output of releases going back to 1995. Perhaps we had been taking them for granted just a little too… Continue Reading →
Let’s get a few things straight before we skin the boar (not a euphemism, smut fans – this is pagan black metal and therefore entirely serious), light the smoky fires and ready our tales of legend and times long past… Continue Reading →
We are not here to be amused or entertained by mere whimsy. No sir. So wipe that smirk off your face and pay attention because this is Helrunar – brooding and heavy as a pile of scrap metal falling from… Continue Reading →
Icelandic black metal outfit, Carpe Noctem deliver their second long player, “Vitrun” five years on from debut release “In Terra Profugus”. Their homeland has proved to be a haven for extreme metal of the highest quality and this disc finds… Continue Reading →
Marcel Dreckmann has become a bit of an institution over the past decade and his latest project Wöljager is destined to do the growing legend no harm whatsoever. Dreckmann, aka Skald Draugir, is better known for his main band the… Continue Reading →
Helrunar have always stood out from the black metal crowd with their unique atmosphere and Germanic vibe. Rather than relying on the rapid fire blasts and tremolo riffs, the band has increasingly preferred to bludgeon with heavy riffs and hammer-like… Continue Reading →
I once read somewhere that the storytellers and magic practitioners of the pagan dark ages would use a range of different voices to create different effects and atmospheres. Given the range of sounds metal vocalists can produce these days, the… Continue Reading →
Pagan metal is a tricky business so its always a surprise that, when so many bands fall so short of what is possible, bands like Gandreid can appear out of nowhere with the light from their blackened torches burning so… Continue Reading →
Nhor has arrived just in time. Summer is on the wane and there are some long, dark nights ahead of us on this Sceptred Isle. There will be few better accompaniments to the bleak midwinter than this. Within The Darkness…… Continue Reading →
Iceland’s Carpe Noctem thoroughly impressed me with their self titled EP in 2009, a resolute affirmation of how black metal should be played throughout its blistering four track offensive. A demo subsequently came out but now we have the proper… Continue Reading →