Månegarm - Vargstenen
76%
I still curse the day I was so critical on Månegarm. I wasn’t familiar with Viking metal and I wasn’t familiar with the band. Nowadays, Viking metal seems to be very popular, you could almost call it a trend. However, it was this band who’s been establishing the sound for more than 10 years, resulting in their 6th full length album.
Last time Månegarm, recorded a six-track acoustic EP but now there is another album called Vargstenen (The Wolf Stone). If you’re familiar yet with the Swedish folk formation with native lyrics, you know what to expect. Månegarm likes to put the music in an epical perspective, which means that the ambience of life in a castle with big battles and large eating feasts is created by combining both the strong aspects of heavy/speed metal and traditional instruments such as the flute or the violin. On top of that, deep grunts are sometimes replace by an imaginary big bearded guy who sings like he’s enjoying being loud.
However, the mixture of all those styles has been put in an excellent form. Just like modern rock bands, Månegarm understands that a sudden change in rhythm and a combination between fast and slow parts don’t necessarily guarantee success. It’s about the smooth changes such as in ‘En Fallen Fader’ (ever heard a Viking singing a love song?) and Nio Dagar, Nio Nätter’ which surprises in its complex rhythms. Music-wise there’s hardly anything better to find I guess. That is, if you close your eyes towards the vocals. The multi-dimensional music is harmed by the straight forward, sometimes a little unorganized vocal lines. It makes the album a lot tougher to listen to and after listening to it twice; I’d consider it enough for now.
A little shame, although this band has proven in the past that they’re certainly one of the leaders in the genre. Unfortunately, the less accessible sound makes it a tough album to really cherish.
