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Release Date: April 5th, 2011
Review Date: April 4th, 2011
Record Label: Napalm
My rating points:
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Ever since their inception in 1994, pagan black metallers Kampfar have had a cult following in their home country of Norway and a few other places in Europe, but have largely remained a very underrated band. Now they are ready to release their fifth full-length album "Mare", and with this they've been successfully able to present something completely fresh and new to their fans, while still keeping their quintessential elements intact.
The title track gives the album a very atmospheric start that has by now become typical of Kampfar albums. Right from the outset, the dark guitar riffs and Dolk's screeching vocals create quite a force to be reckoned with. The drumming patterns ensure that the tune has a folk metal flavor added to it. "Ildstemmer" expands further on this start by introducing keyboards as part of the ambience. As a result, it's more of a symphonic track and consists passages of varying styles and tempo. This is the perfect example of what I meant when I said that the band has presented something new this time around. "Huldreland" gives Jon Bakker a chance to shine on bass as his instrument is prominent in the mix on this particular tune, along with the keyboard sound. The vocal arrangements give the song a very interesting twist, with spoken-word type segments interspersed between the Dolk's usually harsh vocals. This comes close to being the darkest tune on the entire album.
"Bergtatt" is more like the typical Kampfar pagan black metal song in terms of song structure. Just like every other song on the album, it goes through sufficient variations to ensure that it doesn't sound monotonous, keeping the listener interested throughout. "Trolldomspakt" is darker, slower, and much more ambient, having all the attributes of an instant success among listeners. The following track "Volvevers" again features some of Jon Bakker's solid bass play, excellently complementing the guitar and drum sound. This is largely an instrumental track, thus offering the listener complete insight into the music and for this reason it's my favorite track on the album.
Talking of favorite tracks, "Blitzwitch" isn't far behind either, as it's a niftily structured song that features some very well crafted guitar chord progressions. "Nattgang" is also a well structured song but has a rougher edge to it, mainly because of the drum fills that give tremendous depth to an otherwise typical black metal tune. A quiet little keyboard piece kicks off "Altergang", but once it gets into top gear it stays the same way throughout its duration, turning out to be the most consistent sounding track on the entire album, with a more or less constant tempo. This isn't a bad thing as it shows that the band has stuck with what came naturally to them, without trying to force tempo changes just to sound progressive and complex. The album ends with a bonus track, which is nothing but a different version of the song "Bergtatt", this time played in D Major. It provides an amusing twist to the tune, making it more of a folk metal tune as compared to the original version which is much darker.
On the whole, with this album Kampfar have proven themselves as versatile and intelligent musicians who are always willing to push the boundaries of their creative abilities. Peter Tagtgren has done a commendable job as producer, as he has been able to capture the raw energy of Kampfar while keeping it polished enough to make it a listenable record. This album should be in the good books of black metal fans, and to a lesser extent, folk metal fans. This will do no harm to the band's cult following, but I would encourage people who haven't heard of them to give this album a listen or two. You won't be disappointed with what you'd hear.
A tremendously dark, atmospheric and powerful composition.
Listen to "Volvevers" using our music player!
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