September 2021 Feature Release – The North Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month’s feature release for The North has been nominated by Xephyr. It's the 2005 fourth album "Vredens tid" from Swedish folk/Viking metal outfit Månegarm.

https://metal.academy/releases/11728

I've just posted a review:

I've got to admit to not being the biggest fan of folk metal, outside of the odd Finntroll or Moonsorrow album. I feel it's too often the black metal world's answer to European power metal and has a correspondingly excessive cheese factor for my personal taste. In a perfect world any pre-existing personal bias shouldn't make any difference and each release would be judged objectively but, sadly, I am not that person and it explains my initial reticence as far as Vredens Tid goes, the upshot of which is that I wasn't especially engaged with it over the span of an initial listen. However, my disposition to Månegarm's fourth full-length improved over the course of subsequent listens and by the third or fourth spins I was genuinely beginning to enjoy aspects of it.

I think the primary reason for that is that the actual black metal side of Månegarm's folk metal equation, despite sitting quite firmly on the melodic side of the scale, is really well done and is pretty visceral. I don't think that the black metal savagery hits hard enough first time around, especially for someone like myself who doesn't listen to a whole lot of folk metal, but following subsequent listens when the folky trappings can be mentally stripped away it is apparent that a true black metal heart beats under the surface. This is most obvious in Erik Grawsiö's vocals as he delivers them with real blood-red aggression.

That said, there were aspects of the folkier side of things that I still struggled with. The album started quite strongly and the first two tracks proper after the intro are probably my favourites (although the eight-minute Hemfärd does come close). The violin work on opener Sigrblot in particular grabbed my attention and is the best iteration of the folk metal vibe on the record. On the downside the female vocals provided by Umer Mossige-Norheim didn't really do it for me and I found them a little bland to be honest, in fact they completely ruined the title track which is, in all other respects, a belter. The tendency for most of the tracks to end up sounding like a jig I also found grating after a while. Another annoying tendency in the small number of folk metal albums I've listened to is the "sound affects" tracks (Moonsorrow can be a little annoying in this respect), Preludium in Vredens Tid's case, which just adds nothing in my opinion and merely pads out the run time.

So a bit of a mixed bag for me, aspects both ridiculous and sublime feature during the album's eleven tracks. On the positive side, as far as folk metal is concerned it is one of the better albums I have heard and although I'm not likely to return to it much, tracks like Sigrblot, Vredens tid and Hemfärd may get an independent spin on Spotify as the mood strikes.

3.25/5

Manegarm’s fourth full-length has an accomplished sound to it. It truly blends the folk and black/Viking metal elements together well throughout its near fifty-minute run time in a solid display of powerful music. I find the inclusion of the female vocals to be a bit hit and miss but there are certainly a couple of occasions where I must admit they do add a real depth of ethereal beauty. The requisite inclusion of the cello and violin works well, and both compliment the riffs well without the sense that they are competing unnecessarily against the more aggressive elements of the album.

Structurally the album is a bit hard to follow I find though and as a result there is more of a sense of a series of similar sounding tracks being put together on a record instead of necessarily a flowing opus being delivered. I have no issue with the changing pace and tempos as they are usually done well and see the introduction of the more melodic classical strings or rumbling bassline to immediately hold the interest as the more frenetic pace ends.

When they hit their stride like on Hemfärd the band are unstoppable. Establishing a commanding tempo and stepping this down on a few occasions to let the song draw breath works well and re-energises proceedings on the longest track on offer here. I sense that overall, the album needs a couple more tracks like this to really make it shine though, instead it just feels like the true extent of the bands promise is not being fully showcased on Vredens Tid and there is some element of just going through the motions.

3/5

OK, so this one was always going to take me well outside of my comfort zone & I experienced some significant struggles with it if I'm being honest. Don't get me wrong. It's a very well produced & executed example of the Folk Metal sound & you'll find that my score reflects that but I think it's fair to say that I find this subgenre to be tougher going than any of our regularly contributing members, so much so that if I was to rank each of the eleven tracks included here you'd likely find that my feelings are the polar opposite of the rest of you. It's really only the excellent ambient interludes & traditional folk pieces that enable "Vredens Tid" to achieve the score that I've awarded it & even then I was pretty close to going a touch lower to be honest. I simply can't get into cheesy folk melodies within the context of extreme metal & there are truck loads of examples included here along with those horrid fiddle gigs which are undeniably none of my business. You'll even find some of those God-awful rubber band sounds that Moonsorrow love so much. Thankfully though, we have some splendidly executed atmospheric pieces to balance them out a bit with the wonderful Viking-themed "Preludium" being my clear album highlight along with the relaxing traditional folk music of "Svunna minnen". Unlike some of our other members, I actually quite enjoy the female vocals which provide a nice juxtaposition to the harsh male screams of the front man. His Black metal style vocals are pretty decent but when he backs off the extremity a bit I find that he tends to further reduce the intensity of the music a touch.

Let's be clear that (despite what competitors sites my tell you) there is very little genuine Viking Metal included here. You won't find any rhythms that remind you of oars in the water or the galloping of steeds. You're also very unlikely to find any of the atmosphere of Melodic Black Metal. "Vredens tid" is a pure Folk Metal release in my opinion & for that reason it was always gonna be a stretch for me find enough enjoyment to award it a pass mark. As with Moonsorrow (who were probably their main inspiration here), this is undeniably a beautifully put together representation of what the band were trying to achieve & it sports a stellar guitar tone that perfectly balances clarity & extremity. I applaud Månegarm for that but unfortunately "Vredens tid" simply resides too far outside of my wheel house & you'll rarely find a finer example of why I struggle with the concept of returning to The North. I mean if my rating was to count against the clan rating for this record then it would see our whole beloved clans system breaking down. It's a quandary that I'm yet to come up with an answer for as this record is so clearly derived from black metal yet is almost the polar opposite in its atmosphere & aesthetics. With that said, I think I kindly hand "Vredens tid" back to you Folk Metal fans with a gentle smile & a knowing nod to say that I've given it a fair chance & I respect it for what it is but it's clearly not for me.

For fans of Moonsorrow, "Far Far North"-era Einherjer & the last couple of Falkenbach albums.

3/5

"I applaud Månegarm for that but unfortunately "Vredens tid" simply resides too far outside of my wheel house & you'll rarely find a finer example of why I struggle with the concept of returning to The North. I mean if my rating was to count against the clan rating for this record then it would see our whole beloved clans system breaking down. " quoted Daniel.

I think you're being a bit hard on yourself here Daniel. I gather you perveive my review as being positive yet I only scored it a quarter point higher than you and as the album rating system doesn't allow for quarter points we scored it the same essentially. Using the same argument, does my well-publicised dislike of gothic metal mean that I should be excluded from the Fallen or my reticence with groove metal exclude me from the Pit? Should the many folks who just don't get drone metal be disbarred from the Fallen? After all these are all niches within the clans, folk metal included and aren't on their own indicative of what the clans are about. I think it's unreasonable to expect someone to love everything under a specific clan umbrella and, to be honest, would we want them to. Does somebody rating everything 4.5 or 5 really serve a clan any better than someone who doesn't get on with a particular niche genre? Personally I don't think they do. It's all about balance surely. The problem arises when people troll-rate and downrate things without giving them a chance or even  not listening to them at all, an accusation no one would be justified in raising against yourself!

I certainly understand your point there Sonny & it's one that I've pondered over on many occasions over a long period now. If folk metal was the only subgenre in The North that I struggled with then I probably wouldn't hesitate in rejoining but of the thirteen subgenres contained by The North I'd suggest that I only really consider myself to be a big fan of three. Interestingly though, those three subgenres make up around 65% of the release base for the clan so there's an argument that many of those niche subgenres are pretty insignificant. Anyway... I'll have a think about it.

I think that having an aversion to Folk within Metal is rougher going than something like Gothic influence or, in my certain case, having Death Metal steer clear of grind influences. There are a good number of North albums that, although they aren't necessarily Folk Metal, tend to use folky tendencies as a natural progression of their sound even if they're playing a traditional style of Black Metal, which is why I agree in that it's a pretty tough deciding factor for The North in general. 

I still have yet to revisit this one in full, although I can see my score dropping by a bit I think, but I also have to agree with Daniel's analysis that there isn't a whole lot of Viking Metal in this. It honestly got me thinking about whether Viking Metal even exists or not, considering Månegarm was one of my go-to "that's a Viking Metal band" bands. Obviously Hammerheart was the beginning of the genre, but Nordland I and II are the albums that I base around what Viking Metal should sound like and what characteristics it has. From what I can tell:

• Slower tempos with big, sweeping, simple riffs. Not a whole lot of complex percussion
• Storytelling-like vocals, not necessarily growls, accompanied by backing choir 
• If orchestration is used, it's used to create atmosphere and not necessarily take over the melody 
• Emphasis on a larger than life atmosphere

I can tell you that there aren't a lot of albums like this, with Moonsorrow seeming to have the most natural evolution of Bathory's sound and most other bands playing straight up Folk Metal like Ensiferum or just Melodic Death Metal like Obscurity and their new "Viking Metal" album. Maybe I should make a post like Daniel's Nintendocore post and see what discussion can come from it. That being said the closest that Vredens tid gets is either "Sigrblot" or "Vredens tid", but the moment the double bass comes in it's back into straight Folk territory. 

I think that having an aversion to Folk within Metal is rougher going than something like Gothic influence or, in my certain case, having Death Metal steer clear of grind influences. There are a good number of North albums that, although they aren't necessarily Folk Metal, tend to use folky tendencies as a natural progression of their sound even if they're playing a traditional style of Black Metal, which is why I agree in that it's a pretty tough deciding factor for The North in general. 

Quoted Xephyr

In fairness, I have no problem whatsoever with the inclusion of genuine folk music into metal. In fact, I quite enjoy the inclusion of acoustic folk songs or interludes to break up an extreme metal release. Where it creates a problem for me is when an artist elects to play jovial folk melodies over (or using) metal instrumentation & that rules a line through the a large portion of folk metal, medieval folk metal & Celtic metal as well as a percentage of Viking metal & Pagan folk metal. Some of the traditional folk instruments sound really wrong with extreme metal too in my opinion. On top of that, I generally find any subgenre that has the word melodic or symphonic in front of it's genre tag to be a little challenging & that includes a significant chunk of symphonic black metal & melodic black metal. Then you've got depressive black metal which I often find to work directly against the empowerment I like to receive from my black metal, blackgaze which is a bit too light-weight most of the time & black 'n' roll which is simply too rocky for my taste so I'm left with just black metal, atmospheric black metal & war metal that I can rely on to float my boat with a level of consistency. Is that enough to warrant a move back into The North? Perhaps it is given that it encompasses over two thirds of the overall clan releases. I dunno.

I'm in The Fallen, but have very little interest in Drone Metal or Sludge Metal. It's really only Death Doom and Funeral Doom that I'm that passionate about.

I'm in The Pit, but can't stand Crossover Thrash. I'm not all that keen on Groove Metal either.

I'm in The Horde, but find very little to enjoy in Grindcore. I struggle with a lot of Brutal and Slam Death Metal too, and despise Death 'n' Roll.

I'm in The North, but haven't discovered much that I like in Folk Metal. Viking Metal is just a confused genre, so hard to discuss.

I think it's rare that someone will connect with every style of metal related to each of their clans. I say don't overthink things, and just join the clans that you feel most connected to. The system was designed to work on a macro scale, and can't possibly capture every taste discrepancy that individual attendees have.

And you know my general rule of thumb. Why spend lots of time listening to styles of music you know you hate. Life's just too short to subject yourself to that sort of thing. Why bother listening to the latest Mägo de Oz (which you're clearly going to despise), when you can just crank up Dead Congregation or Akhlys instead? You might as well listen to Britney Spears.

Of course, each to their own though. 

All good points Ben. I agree with you that you are not well qualified for any of your four clans & should consider not having any. ;)

P.S. Please dump my ass back in The North when you get a minute. *runs off to review the latest Mago de Oz record*

All good points Ben. I agree with you that you are not well qualified for any of your four clans & should consider not having any. ;)

P.S. Please dump my ass back in The North when you get a minute. *runs off to review the latest Mago de Oz record*

Done! Welcome back brother of The North!