Heimdalls Wacht – Ut de graute olle Tied (Deel II) – Land der Nebel

[schema type=”review” name=”Heimdalls Wacht – Ut de graute olle Tied (Deel II) – Land der Nebel ” description=”Label: Black Skull Records” author=”Basak Günel” pubdate=”2015-10-09″]

Heimdalls Wacht is a German pagan black metal band formed in 2004. The band’s music, lyrics and the overall concept is all about deep-rooted uneasiness, a discomfort in the face of an empty zeitgeist and the monotony of the masses, dealing with contempt today’s consumer society that venerates hollow idols and cannot reach true spiritual wisdom. The band has released 5 full-length albums so far and the latest one, “Ut de graute olle Tied (Deel II) – Land der Nebel” has been released this month.

The band’s sound is all about a mixture of black and pagan metal. In this sense, we see more of the melodic side of black metal in this album; I can even say that I saw less black metal and more pagan metal influences. One good highlight of the album is definitely the harmony of that atmospheric sound and the riffs; the guitar riffs are quite catchy (especially in the first two songs) and of course it’s hard not to get carried away by the instrumental/acoustic parts of the songs. I even wanted to hear more of those acoustic parts rather than the harsh sound of the album; I think it would have created a perfect balance to hear acoustic as well as harsh songs in an album like this. But then again, those melodies were impressive enough and they were definitely the highlights of the record for me.

Apart from the harsh riffs,  both harsh and clean vocals are featured throughout the album. Now I have to say that they did not impress me as much as those catchy riffs. When listening to the songs, I had the feeling that the clean vocals did not fit to the songs somehow and that the harsh vocals reflected the whole atmosphere of the record much better. In this sense, that balance and harmony between the two vocal styles were somehow missing. Another downside of the record is the length of the songs; for the fans who do not know the language, the songs might get a bit too repetitive but if you like the melodies and the riffs more in a song, then I am sure you won’t mind the length of the album.

“Ut de graute olle Tied (Deel II) – Land der Nebel” might not be the best record of the year but it’s surely worth listening to if you like the mixture of black/pagan metal. It’s especially recommended for the lovers of the melodic side of black metal and pagan/viking metal in general.

Line up:
Saruman – vocals
Narhemoth – vocals
Herjann – guitar
Teja – guitar
Winterheart – drums

01. Indiculus paganiarum 02. Die fallenden Blätter der Irminsul 03. Conspiratio Barbarica 04. Auf roter Erde erblüht … (Ursprung Teil I) 05. Schwarzmondritual 06. (Leben) Im Zeichen der Todesrune 07. Seelenstaub 08. Des Wolfes zottiges Fell

Links:
Heimdalls Wacht Official