The cover of this album pretty much says all you can expect when listening to By The Light Of The Northern Star. There’s a huge Viking with a long beard and a sword in his hand, standing on rocks close to the sea, next to a smashed down cross. The cross being the symbol for the mythical parts in the music, the Viking being the symbol for the folk music. It’s a mixture that works out fine, just like it did on Týr’s previous albums.

 

Expect sing-along “whohohohos”, typical mid-tempo folky tunes and songs sung in a foreign language that triggers your curiosity throughout the entire album. Especially ‘Tróndur í Gøtu’ is such a song. If you like folk music you only need to listen to this song to know that you will like Týr. Just like on their last album, there’s again some space for the guitarists to give away a solo here and there, for example in ‘Turid Torkilsdóttir’. This makes for a nice mixture between the more standard riffing and the typical metal parts.

 

I think fans of the band were already convinced of the fact that this band is never gonna let them down as long as they stick to their own sound. That is immediately a point of criticism from my side, ‘cause the music on this album tends to bore after a while. It just makes you feel like you’ve heard it all after a couple of songs. I guess it has something to do with the mood you’re in as well. Anyway, people into folk metal who still don’t know any Týr material, check this out. You’ll dig it. Now swing around that sword you bearded people!