King of Asgard - Fi'mbulvintr
Kategori: Albums
So what is it? It's some good old Folk/Viking Metal! Like mentioned earlier it's members from old Swedish band in the same genre, Mithotyn and they're quite experienced in this style... as some of them have also been in Falconer, Primordial and Dawn! So despite this being their first album they're no newbies, and it shows! This album has a very unified sound, where all songs stick together in a very nice way. You can tell they're from the same album, you know?
And their sound I would describe as a more refined version of Mithotyn. While Mithotyn were often quite raw and a bit chaotic you get a much smoother sound in King of Asgard. Probably it helps a lot that the production is just so much better (made by Andy LaRoque by the way)! There are very melodic guitars, with a really cold feel to them - which just makes sense since the theme of the album is the fimbulwinter, the coldest winter in memory! Especially in the title track (which is only instrumental) I think you can almost feel the cold wind on your face if you just concentrate hard enough. Then you combine this with the Viking lyrics and you get King of Asgard. And as I mentioned in my review of Stribog it just feels a lot more natural when bands sing about their own heritage!
I have to mention the cover as well, as I really love it. It's kind of cliché with the howling wolf, snow and raven... but it's so atmospheric!
In short you could just say that it doesn't really bring anything new to the genre, it's just one of those very well made albums. And it really grows on you I think. After first listen I just felt "well this is pretty nice", and then like I wrote it turned out to be one of the albums I put on the most! So if you're into this style you should definitely check it out!
http://www.kingofasgard.com/
http://www.myspace.com/kingofasgardsweden
1. Intro
2. Einharjar
3. Vamods Tale
4. The Last Journey
5. Never Will You Know Of Flesh Again
6. Wrath Of The Gods
7. Snake Tongue
8. Brethren Of The North
9. Day Of Sorrow
10. Lingering A Sacred Ground
11. Heroes Brigade
12. Strike Of The Hammer
13. Fi'mbulvintr
