I’m sure that by now many people in the metalscene have read or heard something about Týr, the only well-known band from the Faeroe Islands. Still, I can imagine not many people have the slightest idea what to expect from this band. Let me quote some lines from their biography: “Traditional music dating back to the Vikings, that is not preserved anywhere else in the world, not even in Iceland, is passed on in an oral tradition here and it is still alive and well. That is what we build our music on and draw great inspiration from”, explains vocalist/guitarist Heri Joensen. In short: Progressive Viking Metal. Quite something!

After a spoken poem by J.H.O. Djurhuus – who I’m sure you all know! – the music really kicks in. And I gotta tell you, this ain’t up-tempo stuff! What you can expect is not your average Folk Metal band, but more of a Folk/Viking band that doesn’t shy away from putting some progressive tunes in its music as well. This way the music gets a little extra, which keeps you focused on the album. So, an album you won’t get to hear that often and therefore might dislike – at first.

Things I’m more used to hear are for example the accelerations in some songs, to name one; ‘Ocean’. It’s a bit faster and heavier to me. Although there’s nothing wrong with the rest, the faster parts give me more of a metal feel. On the other hand it’s nice to sometimes hear some stuff you’re not that much used to. For example the vocals that are mostly in the native language of the band. They give a mystical touch to the songs. Dutch people will definitely recognize some sounds and the pronunciation is sometimes a bit alike too. But the funny thing is, you still don’t understand shit from what they’re singing about. The part that keeps triggering your imagination. Well, at least it triggers mine.

Furthermore there is some excellent guitar work on this album. Check for example ‘Valkyrjan’. There’s some damn fine solo work in there! Definitely something that makes you wanna air-guitar along. And yes, of course there’s enough typical folkish guitar stuff on the album as well. An obvious example being the riff in ‘Lokka Táttur’. But, most important and contrary to most folk metal albums, there’s enough to discover on Land. So, even though some songs are quite lengthy, it never gets boring. Which is definitely worth something! I’m not familiar with Týr’s previously released material but I’m quite sure their fans and other folk metal fans will definitely dig this stuff!