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Pagan Fire is a compilation highlighting the best
in pagan, folk and Viking metal. For those of you shut off
from the outside world, let's explain. Of course, there's
death, black, thrash, speed, grindcore, goregrind, gothic
and countless other subgenres of heavy metal in this day and
age. But for years now, bands have embraced the culture, history,
ideals and beliefs of their respective countries and put this
into their music. Most of these bands hail from Scandinavia,
Finland and Germany. Themes of Norse mythology, triumph and
conquest are the backdrop for this style closely related to
black and folk metal. Bands tell tales of epic battles, death,
blood and myth. Pagan Fire not only features a newer
age of bands like Finntroll and Turisas but also such legendary
and influential acts as Bathory, Unleashed and Amon Amarth.
The album begins with Bathory's “Song to Hall Up High.”
The song isn't necessarily a metal song, but it serves as
a harbinger of the doom that awaits the listener. It's also
a tribute to Bathory guitarist, vocalist and mastermind Quorthon,
who passed way in 2004 from heart failure. From here, Enslaved
starts the attack with sickening vocals in their track “Isa.”
Enslaved is a long-running Norwegian black metal band. Much
like their peers, they've begun experimenting in recent years
and the slower, brooding tempo of “Isa” is
an example of this. Unleashed is one of my favorite bands
of this genre and is true Viking metal. “The Longships
Are Coming”(Sworn Allegiance, 2004) is just
brutal. The longships were the famed Viking ships used to
raid coastal and inland settlements during the Middle Ages
and the song is both a warning and battlecry. Amon Amarth
is well known throughout metal circles and proudly marketed
in all their Viking glory. “Victorious March”
is here from Amon Amarth's 1998 album, Once Sent from
the Golden Hall. The band also has Viking-themed albums
named Versus the World, Fate of Norns and
With Oden on Our Side. Germany's Equilibrium's “Blut
Im Auge” is a mind-blowing, sword-wielding blend of
Viking and black metal. Speaking of sword wielding, the sound
of clashing blades is heard amongst the thunderous guitar
riffs of Finland's Moonsorrow. Their folk-metal melodies are
in ancient form on “Kylän Päässä,”
a song fit for Medieval times. Ireland is represented here
with Primordial's “Empire Falls.” The song has
a soulful, yet triumphant sound and comes from their album
To the Nameless Dead. Switzerland's Eluveitie plays
pagan folk and death metal with bagpipes leading a catchy
Celtic melody in “Inis Mona.” Ensiferum is a Viking/folk
metal band from Helsinki, Finland. They have been active since
1995 and will be headlining “Paganfest” in Europe
and the United States in 2008. Their song “Deathbringer
from the Sky” features galloping rhythms and furious
blasts of speed but also allows for epic melody. This is one
of the strongest songs on the compilation. Last but not least,
we cannot leave out the over-the-top theatrics of Finland's
Turisas. Their desire to rape, pillage and plunder is heard
on the Viking metal anthem “Battle Metal.” This
is fitting for a band named after an ancient Finnish god of
war. The triumphant sound of the symphonic keyboards in this
song make me want to storm my neighborhood, clad in chainmail,
wielding a battle axe, forging my way to victory. OK, so maybe
that's a bit overboard, but, hey, it's the truth.
The bands featured on Pagan Fire are here to
take on the world. Not literally, of course, but the
Vikings took matters of the world into their own hands long
ago, much like these bands are doing now. Embracing their
heritage and spirits of their ancestors, Viking and folk metal
bands do and play what they want and feel. This style of metal
might be the most interesting, even more so than black metal
perhaps. Nuclear Blast has compiled an excellent group of
bands, young and old, for this compilation. So get ready.
Sharpen those blades, hide your women and children, and prepare
for blood. Like it or not, the Viking metal ship has set its
course and the longships are coming.
®2008 Live-Metal.net
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