månegarm nattväsen

Released: 11 November 2009 Label: Regain Records

I have to admit that one of my guilty pleasures is how much, as a Thrash / Death metal fanatic and musician, I enjoy the whole Viking / Folk metal scene. So, seeing a previously unheard Viking Metal band on my review list for this month definitely brought a sly smile to my face... I like it when our esteemed commandant throws CDs my way that she knows I will bopping around my room to! It's good to enjoy oneself in between the beatings for late review submissions.

From the first song onwards, it's obvious that Manegarm are devotees of the rapid fire folk influenced approach to metal - instantly reminding me of luminaries of the genre such as Korpiklaani and Finntroll, with the nod more to the former (which meant his review was always going to go positively for them). On the last song of the album, they head over into what I tend think of Týr 's territory and do a damn good job of matching them on quality.

As readers of my reviews will no doubt have noticed, I particularly enjoy European bands who turn their back on English for their vocals when it is not their strongest language. Much, if not all, of this album is sung in Swedish and works all the better for that fact.

Ordinarily, when reviewing a CD, I listen through once or twice to pick out the high and low points of the recording. I was struck on first listen by the fact that what I was most critical of was the mastering, which was a little too bass heavy for my tastes. That's usually a good sign with me that I am failing to find any real focus for my criticism. I think that, for me, only one of the songs missed the mark and dropped down into "average metal song"  territory and even that was well written and recorded - just not very inspirational. The second half of the album was marginally less enjoyable for me than the first, but still worthy of repeated listens.

I get the feeling that this is a CD that I would put in the player for the first found songs and then decide whether to listen to the rest of the album depending on my mood. Definitely one for a Saturday night whilst getting ready for a mammoth drinking session in the Halls of Valhalla... or rather, The Salutation Inn (Nottingham), but you get the picture.

by Kev McCarthy