Skald : "Ørlǫg"

 This album sounds great, but there is some weirdness going on as this is a French bandd playing Nordic music. If you know history, you might be aware that the French and what became Norway didn't have the best relations during the Viking years, so cosplaying Vikings is an odd choice, but ok. When it comes to songwriting for this sort of thing it can be a mixed bag the second song finds things clicking more, though there is a bit of frolicking going on. Once again this album sounds great, so from that angle they have everything covered, but we already have more legit acts doing thiss sort of thing, so they need to put some distance between themselves and those or this is going to sound like something I have already heard. 

The female vocals take the lead on "Ratatoskr". It is more atmospheric. It goes off in a more hypnotically droning direction that is a little darker. "Dokksalir" is both more solemn and has a little more dance in its boots. "Utgard" is also heavy on the ambiance, as the female vocals continue to be the main voice of this album. The male throat singing follows in and trades places, but not as a call-and-response as you might expect; instead, it transitions into what feels more like another song. It works well enough for what this is, but the songs are beginning to have a similar feel.

"Ek Skal Rida" carries a more ambient, ritualistic feel, with spoken-word vocals serving as the narrative. This would also make this feel more like an interlude, except for the fact that this track is six and a half minutes; they do chime in with a chanted vocal just before the midway point. Sometimes they build to a more rhythmic chant that creates more of a groove. It sounds good, but when it comes to songwriting just riding chanted drones is not much to work with. This does not build off of something that would set them apart as it's what they need.

Heiemo" is a little more haunting, with a primitive pulse to it. But it is also not doing anything new, which is the swamp these 'vikings" find themselves in. Sure, Heilung got huge for what they do, but that does not mean we need more of that. "Veit barni" finds the fiddle setting the tone; hell, they might even get a hurdy-gurdy in the mix. It's the darker ambiance at the periphery of the song that makes it interesting. But as a two-minute instrumental, there is only so much they can do. There is a more cinematic feel to the last song. There is some chanting and growled muttering as they keep a steady thump with their hand drums. I will give this album an 8. It works for what they are doing, but what they are doing has been done by more authentic sources. I guess Napalm Records felt the need to have a band like this on the roster, so here we are, as it's the band's first album for them and drops September 25th.

10/11