Heidevolk : "WederKeer"

The Dutch metal band's 7th album finds some lineup changes in place with Mat van Baest added as a lead guitarist, along with Awakening Sun Drummer Kevin van den Heiligenberg. Former Conorach vocalist Jacco de Wijs taking returns for his second album with the band. This makes the bass player the only original member. Their third album is my favorite, and it feels like this album is going to follow a similar path of applying traditional metal values and almost power metal like hooks to the epic odes to Vikings. Being that they are south of the Baltic, I am not going to call them Viking metal as that is a term reserved for Scandinavian bands, no matter who liberal scholars might seek to revise history for their narrative. I appreciate where they are coming from and the Germanic myths seem to be sung with sincerity, so this is not total LARPing. 

The more deliberate gallops combined with the bold layers of vocals give them a very Tyr like sound. They have more of a black metal influence and are not afraid to use harsher vocals and blast beats. They are not afraid to use cleaner guitar tones. The traditional metal sound factors into the riff that drives the second song, which I appreciate the dynamic balance. More time was put into the recording as this sounds like their more polished outing to date. They continue to defend the face as the album progresses even as they work in the more Renn Faire like folk sounds. I fully support the kinds of chugs they are attacking the mainland with here. Four songs in when they start going back to their old ways, seems a little less inspired in the song writing department. Nothing that is a deal breaker, it just plays it a little safe. This is remedied on "Oeros" which crunches in with a deliberate menace that is darker. 

The title track is more of folk ballad with a mournful feel. They are good at capturing the feel of the Middle Ages with little frolicking involved. They couple this with epic metal from the glory days of the genre with vocals sung in a similar folk cadence as the previous song. There is some introspective ebb and flow that works really well here. They continue to rally the head banging on "Raidho". The pace picks up in a manner that feels like most of the 90s power metal. The folk elements reach a crossroads with what these guys with varied measures of ethereal brooding as the album progresses. "Holda" stands amid this as one of the sole metal moments of the album's third act. The vocals are brighter as the music reaches more epic heights. The album ends with another rousing folk ditty, that sounds like a tavern of depressed bards lamenting together. I will give this album a 9.5, it has taken what they do and perfected it while doing metal proud by sticking to the truest form. Being released on Napalm Records