THYRFING - Vanagandr
Despotz Records
The last time I was listening to THYRFING was a few weeks ago when I pulled out their Hednaland early demo's compilation from 1999. Great stuff on that release which I didn't get until around a decade ago. Be that as it may I've been a fan of this Swedish Viking inspired black metal act since their self titled debut from 1998.
I followed their career as a fan up to 2005's Farsotstider. But after than my appreciation for em waned. When THYRFING released Hels vite in 2008 it was their subtle change album. The band had lost frontman Thomas Vaananen and guitarist Henrik Svegsjo. The big change was the introduction of new vocalist Jens Ryden (formerly of NAGLFAR) as well as a darker, moody sound. Although it was not bad I was still stuck in their past.
Fast forward to the here and now. This is the band's eighth full length. Their last one, De odeslosa, came out in 2013 and which I ignored. So I figured there's been plenty of time gone by and maybe my ignorance from years ago about em might have changed. After giving this a listen I went back to my copy of their Hels vite CD and compared. Of course if you're into the whole Viking influenced black metal genre you're main worry is the bands you like go into the whole prog route.
Thankfully THYRFING hasn't fallen to where their Norwegian peers have gone. Right from the opening track on here, "Dop dem i eld", it feels like I've come home to an old friend. Yes Viking black metal with some epic touches along with folk influence. The songs are simple but the keyboards make em feel majestic. The melodic song structures come over as inviting. I really do like Jens Ryden vocals on this one as opposed to years before.
In the end Vanagandr is pretty damm good. It's like the band took a step back to their roots and found a good way to make it new for most of the album. They combine the darker elements well with the melodic blackened atmosphere. That latter sentence deals mainly with the final cut on this album, "Jordafard". It's a fantastic as well as epic way an album of this kind.
LISTEN HERE:
https://thyrfing.bandcamp.com/
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