Wardruna
Skald

Einar is a rather typical and old-sounding Norwegian name, and he is the guy behind the moniker Wardruna and the one who does more or less everything on this album called Skald, Scald in the old Nordic tongue. Poetic ambient folk musical stuff in terms of the music, sung in old-Norse or something, I thought when first hearing it that it was sung in Icelandic but when hearing it more I heard that it wasn’t.

Old Norse styled folkish music is what we are given; the tempo is low and the voice massing. The production is good, the sound is dark and haunting, fairly exciting I think. You can describe it as fresh from the perspective that we don’t hear this kind of music very often, but it is not really unique from the perspective that folk music has been done for a long time and done by many. And I would also say that it isn’t the most varied album I have heard, the songs sound quite similar all the way through the album.

Epic is a word that can be used. But is it any good? Well, I am a bit ambivalent in that regard, I am not quite sure. It is really well done with strong melodies and the sense of adventure coming through the speakers; it is kind of like being transported back in time to the time of the Vikings. It is adventurous, dark and dramatic music that kind of hypnotise the listener through the album. I think that the conclusion can be that it is a good album.

So in the end I think that the ones with interest for Vikings, fantasy adventures, folk music and that sort of thing will find this album most appealing. I am not so sure when I will play it now that I am done with it and I don’t think those who enjoys heavier, faster and more catchy music will get too much from it. Perhaps it is a good choice for the one looking for something a little bit different.

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