Månegarm - Fornaldarsagor (2019)^{Release ID: 11733}

Closer to Valhalla

Although Månegarm partially returned to their roots with their aptly named self-titled release back in 2015, something still felt off to me. Much of the black metal influences of their earlier Vredens Tid material was lost and replaced with more folk melodies, ballads, and an overall cleaner and less raw sounding production. For a folk metal album, their self-titled was a step in the right direction after the stagnation of Legions of the North, but it didn't have any staying power for me, with the middle of the album dragging on for way too long and standout moments being few and far between.

Fornaldarsagor is another big step for Månegarm in their journey to win back their spot as one of my top Folk Metal bands. The guitar sound is rawer and much more dynamic than it was in Månegarm, the Black Metal tremolo picking makes its triumphant return without being overdone, and the melody riffs on "Hervors Arv" and "Spjutbädden" are catchy and powerful. All of these elements create a distincter and more varied performance, which is always a plus in this sort of genre. Even the vocals are pleasantly varied, with the standard Månegarm folk singing/yelling, even cleaner singing on tracks like "Dödskvädet" and "Ett Sista Farväl", and two or three different styles of harsh vocals. Månegarm liked flexing their myriad of vocal styles in their self-titled, but they've done a much better job of it here.

The overall feel of this album is also better and more cohesive than Månegarm, with Folk and Metal more properly married rather than having Folk take the spotlight. Thanks to better use of the two genres, a improved sense of atmosphere is creating taking you from a Nordic tavern in "Ett Sista Farväl", to a somber funeral in "Dödskvädet", to the heat of battle in "Sveablotet". Note that I don't understand Swedish so I'm going off of pure feel here, which isn't as accurate but can be just as important for a genre like Folk Metal.

Fornaldarsagor shows that Månegarm still has some juice left in them and hopefully their upward trend in quality continues. I think the straight-up Black Metal influenced Folk Metal days have come and gone, so expecting another album like Vredens Tid is out of the question, but this is a step closer for sure.

Although I enjoyed Fornaldarsagor even more with a few more listens, enough to bump it up another half-star, it can get a little bland in the middle. Maybe one too many ballads, maybe a little too much tremolo, and of course the Motörhead cover. I'm hoping that covers like these don't become a trend, especially when bands are putting them as the second to last track instead of the final track as a sort of addendum to the album. It really comes out of nowhere, messes with the flow of the album, and you're left confused at its inclusion during the final track since it sounds so different from everything else.

In any case, keep it up Månegarm, great Folk Metal release for 2019.