Released By : Stygian Crypt Production
Genre : Folk Metal/ Viking Metal
Links : http://www.myspace.com/folkearth
Tracklist:
1. Beasts from The Blizzard
2. Ragnarok
3. There Is No Death
4. Eternal City
5. Viking’s Anthem
6. To Avalon
7. A New Day Is Rising
8. Warrior Code
9. The Conquering Nightmare
10. Sets Sails To Conquer
11. Legacy Of Steel
In 2004 a shout-out went across the world wide web to find a collective of folk and Viking metal musicians to create a truly global band. This mission was successful and now FOLKEARTH features band members from eight different countries (Australia, France, Greece, Germany, Lithuania, Monaco, USA and Switzerland).
In itself this is a great achievement and an excellent example of just how far reaching music can be and how many barriers it can break down. Unfortunately the actual musical aspect of this album isn’t quite as amazing, it’s actually a little poor in places. There are certainly a lot of different sounds on the album and some of the musical instruments used are quite interesting. For example, we have a Cello, Violin, Recorder, Deger Pipe and a few other curios on top of the usual drums, bass, guitar and there is also a mix of male and female vocals.
While the base result of this album will be reasonably enjoyable for any folk/Viking metal fan the downfall in the inconsistency. See, while the band boasts a whopping fourteen members, they don’t all contribute to each song. Every track features a mixture of about five or six members from the band’s pool and certain songs have a totally different line up from other songs. So it can feel at times as though you are listening to a various artists compilation album rather than a single piece of work and sometimes it becomes evident that some of the band’s members are more technically skilled than others.
Even though it’s a little unbalanced, there is still plenty to like for Viking/folk fans and as a musician and a general fan of music, it’s great to know that there is universal projects like this connecting music fans around the world without barriers.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 7/10
