Valaskjalf/Hrodvitnir - 2005 - Under the Ban ner of Vinlandic Heathen Might

Presented on this split effort are two American NS Black Metal bands. Each band contributes with four tracks.

Valaskjalf presents us with Black Metal ranging from slow to mid-paced, slightly melodic Black Metal in the vein of the real early '90ies bands, but with a melancholic sound rarely found. I find both Kvist, Beherit and Root influences here. Also presented on this release is a cover of Hellhammer's classic track "Euronymous".

The vocals mostly sound like a more guttural version of those done by Legion of Marduk and also somewhat like those done by Akhenaten of Judas Iscariot and Quorthon.

The soundquality is quite good, with all the instruments being audible in the mix.

Standout tracks are "Grove of the Neoliths" and  "Black Forest".

Hrodvitnir play a mid-paced to fast, more Viking / Folk themed Black Metal, and is the band I liked best on this release. Musically this sounds like a mix of Falkenbach and amore Black Metal oriented version of Borknagar, with vocals that mostly remind me of those done by Garm on the first Borknagar album. Some traces of Wyrd are also present in the overall sound here.

The soundquality on these four tracks varies a bit, which I found to be slightly annoying. You can hear the instruments and all, but the two last tracks have a murky, slightly distant sound to them, and the volume is lower.

Standout tracks are "Dawn of a New Aryan Empire" and "Hrodvitnir (The Wolf Unleashed)".

Quite a good split album, actually, with both bands being quite able to handle their instruments. This release is limited to 500 copies.

Friday December 2 2005, by :Vragh:

Muinainen Ruhtinas - 2006 - Tuskanvuorten Valtaistuin

Out of Finland comes this one man project. We are presented with three tracks of mid-paced Black Metal and an outro. There's some serious catchyness to this demo, without being too melodic, similar to the way Horna and Isvind can be quite catchy at times. This is a side project of Krimn V, the vocalist of Perisynti, another band well worth checking out.

The vocals remind me of those on the classic Kvist album For Kunsten Maa Vi Evig Vike, and a less raspy version of those on Isvind's album and of course Perisynti.

The music sounds like a finnish version of Isvind I would say. You have the finnish sound here, no question about that, but with a slightly Norwegian feel to it. Add to that a slight bit of Bathory and you have a quite interesting mix.

The soundquality is somewhat towards the murkier kind with a sound that really does remind me of Isvind's Dark Waters Stir album. The vocals are at the front of the mix followed by keyboard and guitar, with drums mostly slightly at the back, but still quite clear. The keyboard is used to set the mood, so this is not some symphonic kind of thing. Tape limited to 666 copies.

Standout tracks are "Henkien Helki" and "Korpit".

Sunday October 12 2008, by :Vragh: