Nordheim – Lost In the North

as far as the strictly musical component of this release is concerned, NORDHEIM have released one of the best folk metal albums of the last few years. But I...

Released By : Self Released

Genre : Folk Metal, Viking Metal

Links : http://www.myspace.com/nordheimband


Tracklist:

1. Lost In The North

2. Nightborn

3. Far Away

4. Beer, Metal, Trolls And Vomit!

5. Promise To The Gods

6. Glorious March

7. Sailing The Drakkar

8. Old Crazy Man

9. Beyond The Howling North

10. Blessing From the Stars


After spending quite some time with LOST IN THE NORTH, I must say I am a little bit confused. Don’t get me wrong though, as far as the strictly musical component of this release is concerned, NORDHEIM have released one of the best folk metal albums of the last few years. But I still can’t tell if they take themselves seriously or not. The excellent musicianship and stellar songwriting says that they do, but the almost comically designed cover artwork, the picture on the albums inner sleeve of the band drinking booze around a wheelbarrow in somebody’s backyard, the myspace profile pic of the band in the bathroom complete with one member pants down and the satire styled titled of the track BEER, METAL, TROLLS AND VOMIT say otherwise.

From the pictures it’s obvious that the members of NORDHEIM are all still quite young, which is very surprising when you consider how good the album actually is and shows that they could give some of the big guns of the genre a real run for their money. Maybe it’s due to youth that the band still can’t quite decide whether to go all out serious or keep taking the piss, but whatever the reason hopefully by the next album they will have made a choice either way to stop the general confusion. I for one, hope that all of the positive comments about the musicality of this album inspires the band to get a little more serious as I genuinely think they have the ability to really be a force in the folk metal scene, but I know for a fact that most of the actual hardcore folk/Viking metal fans take their music pretty serious and don’t really like being parodied by any stretch.

Tracks like LOST IN THE NORTH, FAR AWAY and SAILING THE DRAKKEN show the band in full strength and really could have been written and performed by anyone in the folk metal scene they’re that good.The obligatory black metal elements which also includes most of the vocals are all done well here and while devastating enough to satisfy fans of the more extreme, the singer still holds a certain element of approachability that should help them gain a decent and varied audience. The riffing is fast and furious when the song demands for it but also very intricate and moody when the song requires something a little slower. The bass is full and actually sounds very good for a self-released album. As with any folk metal band the drums here are pretty awesome throughout and really pound out of the speakers in an aggressive manner.

I for one will be keeping a keen eye out for anything this band does in the future and if they can find it in themselves to be a little bit more serious, maybe not quite the level of say EQUILIBRIUM or FINNTROLL, but just serious enough as to not thank things like farts, porn, wrestling and duct tape in their liner notes (all of which are thanked in the back page of this album).

Written By ZeeZee

Rating : 8/10

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