Jotunheim (swe) - Aldagautr demo I 1998
1) Färd till Valhall
2) Slaget vid Danariket
3) Bergslagsnatt
4) Lodbroks dödsvisa
5) Aldagautr
Mediafire / Rusfolder
Viking black metal again, this time we journey to Sweden so at least it is a valid Viking country. Another rip courtesy of Henu, thank you, and includes cover scans as it was made from an original copy. This is the first demo of the Swedish Jotunheim, not to be mixed with the more recent and a tad questionable Polish, Russian or US users of the name.
This is actually quite a natural item to continue from Helheim as the style present is rather similar, viking black metal with a raw sound. Which is enjoyable, somewhere between pagan black metal and norsecore. Another similarity to the second Helheim demo would be the very epic song durations, this tape runs almost 45 minutes with five songs to it. The screaming vocals are raw, occasionally very piercing shrieks, supported by "clean" vocals thankfully low in the mix. Various nature sounds serve mostly as intros and outros between the tracks, synths are used but with restraint which is nice. Tempos range from the rather fast second track to the more plodding, Burzumesque third song which is also the longest. Sort of reminds me of older Rautavaris, or I suppose it'd be the other way around. The general approach here seems to put more emphasis on black metal elements rather than viking/folk which some will approve while others might be driven away by it. I find myself enjoying this though I would make further cuts to the clean vocals. And perhaps trim the running times a little too. Recommended if anything above appeals to you at all, definitely preferable over stuff like Frostmoon.
2 kommenttia:
I typically have a soft spot for songs that use the nature sounds, windstorms, crashing waves and the like for intros. I like the organic-ness it evokes, and it presents a certain context that can make the listening experience a little richer.
"Norsecore, eh?". That must refer to the vaguely grindcore-ish buzz'n pummel bits that crop up here. I'm not as down on the clean vocals as our illustrious host, I like mixing the textures. Bring on the BM with bagpipes our oud or khora or whatever, if it's out there.
Pretty interesting stuff, thanks for the post.
@kingpossum:
Yeah, I'll have to give the clean-ish vocals do fit in decently enough, however I'm thankful they're as low as they are as they're not that great. Though enthusiasm can often trump technical perfection, I became very picky with clean vox in extreme metal in the late 90's. I blame it on all the demos I endured back then!
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