Svartsot – Vældet

[schema type=”review” name=”Svartsot – Vældet” description=”Label: Nail Records / Of Wood and Iron Productions” author=”Basak Günel” pubdate=”2015-02-20″ ]

Svartsot is a folk metal band from Denmark. Formed in 2005, the band has an interesting history with many line-up changes. Despite the ups and downs, they have been going strong. Their sound can be described as the mixture of metal and folk music with a bit of a medieval touch. Their latest album “Vældet” has been released earlier this year. The themes of the songs are based on the rituals associated with Midsummer Eve in Denmark in the Middle Ages.

As a person who has listened to the band and this record for the first time, I found the record catchy from the first spin! “Vældet” is melodic and has this medieval-vibe throughout the songs, which adds this perfect ‘let’s dance and headbang!’ atmosphere! At this point, I have to say that I found the sound of the band quite similar to the german pagan/folk metal sound; I even thought that the band is German before making my research about them (or before realizing that all of the lyrics are in Danish… oh well, silly me!). But this mixture of that pagan/folk sound with that medieval vibe is one of the big higlights of the record and I can imagine Svartsot being a great festival band; the sound is catchy and fun!

When we look at the album in more detail, we see many highlights. “Markerstid” is probably the most technical song of the record as it’s quite harsh and less melodic. But then, the song “Kilden – I Marker og i Lunde” was what I wanted to hear in the record as I had the feeling that those harsh vocals needed some diversity. It’s great that this song features clean vocals. Another highlight and one of my favorites along with “Kilden- I Marker og i Lunde” is the last song “Ved Vældets Vande” which features female vocals (reminded me of those female vocals in the latest Manegarm record) and which represents that Nordic side of the band pretty well! So generally, depending on what side of folk metal you like, you will definitely have a favorite from the album. More diversity (more acoustic songs for example) would have been even better for this album!

Vældet is definitely a must-have for the fans of folk and pagan metal. It takes time to appreciate the little highlights of the record but give it a few more spins and you will fall in love with it!

Line Up:
Thor Bager – vocals
Cris J.S. Frederiksen – lead guitars (acoustic guitars and mandolin on recordings)
Hans-Jørgen Martinus Hansen – whistles, swedish bagpipe and mandolin
James Atkin – bass
Frederik Uglebjerg – drums
Michael Alm – rhythm guitar

Guests:
Nanna Barslev – female vocals (Kilden – I Marker og i Lunde, Ved Vældets Vande)
Lasse Lammert – additional guitar (Kilden – I Marker og i Lunde)

Tracklist: 01. Midsommer 02. Urtekonen 03. Kilden – I Marker og i Lunde 04. Aller Kæresten min 05. Moder Hyld 06. Markedstid 07. I Mørkets Skær 08. Ved Vældets Vande

Links:
Svartsot Facebook
Svartsot Official