Review by Xephyr for Skálmöld - Sorgir (2018)

Exactly What I Came For

Maybe it's because this is the first full album I've listened to by Skálmöld, but Sorgir delivered exactly what I wanted out of a Viking Metal album from Iceland; aggressive and raw as hell, but still laden with layered and interesting riffs that are pretty creative compared to normal Viking Metal fare. Couple that with fast and furious solo sections and a burly man screaming Icelandic at me for 54 minutes and I call that a recipe for success.

I'm sure that for seasoned Skálmöld listeners some of the material on Sorgir is repetitive, since it's their 5th album now, but for me this is solid Viking Metal with just enough folk to give Skálmöld their own style. They flip-flop satisfyingly between folky, riff driven sections to crushing chug segments throughout the album, which is exactly what I look for with this genre. Not groundbreaking by any means and there are some issues with the harsh vocals being a little bit too much sometimes, but that's going to happen since I don't understand Icelandic. The harsh vocals are also balanced out pretty well by choir/chanting vocals as well, so all in all it's a fairly balanced experience.

Just a very solid outing from Skálmöld, definitely worth a few full listens. Especially "Skotta", "Móri", and "Mara" on the B side.