Ελληνικά
Last Updated on 01:56 PM by Giorgos Tsekas
Genre: Viking / Folk / Black
Label: Trollzorn Records
Country: Germany
Year: 2017
To be truly honest I haven’t been into viking metal (or anything remotely epic) for a long time. It’s not that there aren’t great bands in the genre anymore, it’s just that I have evolved to different sounds and music styles. That doesn’t mean that I won’t have fun listening to something like that, it’s just that I usually don’t listen to that genres at home. So, it was only natural for me to receive “Walls of Vanaheim” by Black Messiah with mixed feelings.
The latest Black Messiah release is a concept album. Between some of the songs there are narrative tracks that work as a connection that advances the story. That’s not something new, they did it in the album “First War of the World” and we have also seen it from other bands. When it is done the way it should, this tactic helps the listener to achieve a deeper immersion to the story told. Thankfully Black Messiah use it in a successful way, though it made me think of Nightfall in Middle Earth, by Blind Guardian, at some points.
Of course any similarities with their compatriots end here, after all their sound is different. And that’s the most important aspect of this album, its sound, The German band succeeds in blending many different elements, creating their own musical identity, that is quite pleasant to the ear. The transition from each song is smooth and the “story” continues in a way similar to watching opera, something that in my opinion is exactly what the group wanted. The use of german in some songs adds to the story, especially for people like me who don’t speak german, it adds an element of mystery in the events that happen between the Viking gods who are, after all, the main characters of this album.
Maybe “Walls of Vanaheim” is not the most original album of the genre, after all the concept of Viking Metal is not something new anymore. At the same time I might not be the most qualified listened to judge it because, as I mentioned earlier, I haven’t been into that genre (or combination of genres) for ages. At the same time though that fact offers me the opportunity to listen to this album not as a fan of the genre but as a fan of extreme music in general. And from that point of view “Walls of Vanaheim” is a beautiful album, easily listened to, that manages to achieve its prime goal: to guide us to a trip in a different era and a different, full of fantasy, storyline.
4/6
