Ragnarok --- Tyr --- 2006 (Napalm)
I've always been interested and fascinated by Norse mythology --- Odin, Thor, Loki, all that lot --- so this band look like they could be right up my rainbow bridge. Stacey-Lynn already featured one of their tracks on her “Random track of the day” slot a while back, and I must say I liked what I heard, though the term “folk metal” seems somewhat incongruous. Nevertheless, it seems the two genres can live side by side, if only in uneasy truce, so let's have a listen and see how they get on.
This is the third album from Faroe Islands-based Tyr, and it may stretch the endurance a little, as some of the tracks are written in their native language, but really, a foreign tongue should not be a barrier to good music, as I've noted before, so let's crank this album up and see how it goes.
Appropriately titled, “The Beginning” opens on nice jangly guitar, certainly quite folky, but how long before it becomes metal, I wonder? Well, it would seem the answer to that is about one minute, as harder, electric guitar comes crashing in and the drums pound harder, getting into a rhythm, but with two minutes of a five-minute song gone and yet no singing I begin to wonder is this an instrumental? Certainly some great guitar work from Terji Skibenaes (let's just call him Terji, eh?) counterpointed by sort of introspective rhythm guitar from Heri Joensen, who also takes vocals, I believe, though at the moment he's letting his axework do the talking. Or singing.
Yeah, this has to be an instrumental: we're now less than a minute from the end, and it's a good opener, setting the scene well, before “The hammer of Thor” hits us, definitely more metal with little of the folk about it (unless it's “folk this!” --- sorry) and Joensen starts singing. Not a bad voice, not growly, not screaming, well suited to the music. The guitars chug away in the background as he sings, with some pretty good backing vocals helping. It's the longest track on the album, at six and a half minutes plus change, and tells the story of the forging of Mjollinir, Thor's legendary hammer. I would assume that the album is some sort of concept, with Norwegian legend at its core, as the title, the inclusion of Thor, plus tracks like “Brother's bane” and “The ride to Hel” all seem to point towards the epic “twilight of the gods” which is Ragnarok, the end of days.
I have to hand it to Heri Joensen: he doesn't fall into the trap of becoming a parody of himself, or of seeming either not to take the subject matter seriously enough, or taking it too seriously, striking a good balance between both. Similar bands who have undertaken classical myth as part of the reason that underpins their songs have either come across as cartoonish --- Manowar, at least on their first three albums --- or overindulgent and poe-faced, as in Virgin Steele's treatment of classical Greek myth. Tyr seem to be able to avoid both snares, and tread a comfortable middle path.
“Brother's bane” is what I think you might describe as a metal lay, and I don't mean a willing chick in leather! A lay was an ancient poem or song, usually in praise of some hero or other, and usually with a sad or bad ending. The song goes back to Tyr's folk metal, and while the guitars are hard and impressive, they're not as rocky as on the previous track, the song kind of swaying and flowing along rather than careening headlong. It's not in any way a ballad, but there are balladic elements in it. I assume it refers to Loki, Thor's evil half-brother, though which is the bane and which the brother I'm not sure (see? I told you I knew my Norse legend!); probably Loki is the bane of Thor. Nice fluid guitar solo from Terji, but the song really rides along on the powerful vocals of Heri, and it's really quite effective.
“The burning” is a nice little instrumental, which really shows what the two guys can do on the guitar, with epic overtones and a nice sort of laidback melody, then without the slightest warning we're into “The ride to Hel” (one “l”: this is the Norse underworld, not the Christian Hell), a hard heavy cruncher as Heri relates the credo of the viking warrior, that they fight on Earth in order to gain a place of honour in Valhalla, the halls of the brave, but know that the dark kingdom of Hel awaits those who do not achieve that glory. It's a powerful song, and again Heri's vocal is clear and distinct without ever going into overdrive; very controlled. Great guitar solos and the drumming from Kary Streymoy and bass from Gunnar H. Thomsen forms a rhythm section as tight as your boss when you ask for a raise.
Now here's where it gets a little harder. The next two tracks are in Faroese, the native language of the Faroe Islands, so I could not tell you what they're about, the moreso because even the titles are in Faroese. But the first one, “Torsteins Kvaeoi” (that spelling is not correct, but there are weird little characters that don't translate to English, so that's as close as I can get) is a sort of chest-beating chant, with chunky guitars leading the charge, and great backing vocals, even if I haven't a clue what they're singing. I would think --- and this is a really wild guess --- that it's some sort of warrior chant before battle, or maybe in a mead hall after, or before, battle. Really, your guess is as good as mine, unless you speak the language, and mine is not good at all.
The music is great though, very powerful and dramatic, and does give you the impression of something on the horizon, as I say perhaps a battle or confrontation of some sort which is due to happen soon. The next one is also in Faroese, only a minute long (well, a few seconds short of that), and is absolutely a chant, this time acapella with only dull drums (which could be someone banging an axe-haft on the floor) as accompaniment, then to make things even weirder, “Wings of time” has the verses in English with the chorus, it would seem, in Faroese. This makes it possible to get an idea of what the song is about, but not being able to interpret the possibly all-important chorus makes it hard to confirm that idea. At its heart though, “Wings of time” seems to be another warriors' chant, a song of the brave, and in ways mirrors the first all-Faroese song above (I'm not writing that bloody name again!) in melody and construction.
“The rage of the Skullgaffer” (what a great name!) is another workout on the guitar, an instrumental where Heri and Terji show us the breadth and reach of their expertise on their chosen instrument. There's no drumming at all, it's simply guitars all the way through the two minutes, and very impressive, then “The hunt” ramps everything up again with a fast rocker, this time all in English, with a pretty lengthy instrumental section on --- you guessed it --- guitar, which then slows down in the middle to allow for a sort of bluesy, moody piece before it speeds right up again as the song approaches its end. “Victory” is a short intermission which starts off with the sound of horses galloping and then doors opening into what must be an ale-house of some sort, with flutes and bass creating the indoor ambience, and very cleverly Tyr use this melody to take us directly --- and I mean segue seamlessly --- into “Lord of lies”.
A rocky, uptempo folk metal trip, this is led by guitar and is almost a boogie in its rhythm, with a little bit of Farose in the lyric which is mostly in English. It would appear to be the song of Loki as he waits gleefully for the day when he will destroy the gods with all his dread allies as the time of Ragnarok approaches. Another short instrumental then in “Gjallahornia” (no, I don't know what it means) and then the title track comes in, opening on Faroese but later settling into English lyric, as the Twilight of the Gods is seen from the perspective of the good folk of Asgard, it being a time they dread but know is to come, and cannot avoid. In ways, they look forward to it, as it is to be the battle to end all battles, but they also know that prophecy has foretold that they will be beaten, and that the mighty Rainbow Bridge will be shattered, the gods cast down forever.
It's a slow, doom-laden piece with chiming guitar and steady, measured drumming, creating the proper atmosphere as the gods of Asgard face their nemesis, knowing they can never win. The story of Ragnarok is not a happy one, and has not a happy ending, though there is hope, for at the end of the huge battle the last two humans will survive, and rebuild the race of men, who will continue without the interference of the gods in their lives. The passing of one dynasty leads to the creation of another, which will last longer and, arguably, do more mischief than the gods of Asgard ever did in their time.
It's a powerful climax to the album, with a great vocal performance from Heri, who still refuses to give in to the temptation to roar or scream, perfectly happy with the strength of his voice, and so he should be, for it's clearly audible above the guitars and the drums. The album then ends on one more short instrumental, rather fittingly and possibly bleakly titled, “The end”. It's only forty seconds long, and really is nothing more than a continuation of the guitar theme from the title track, but it places a nice sort of coda on the album.
I would have of course been happier if the album had been all in English, or if I had some way to translate the Faroese lyrics, particularly as this definitely seems to be a concept album based on the Norse legend of the Twilight of the Gods, but that aside this is one hell of a great album (or should I say, one Hel of a great album?), being the first time I have encountered metal and folk elements so expertly and compatibly interwoven. The theme of the Norse gods sold me on “Ragnarok” from the beginning, but I did wonder if the album would live up to my expectations. It did.
TRACKLISTING
1. The Beginning
2. Hammer of Thor
3. Envy
4. Brother's bane
5. The burning
6. The ride to Hel
7. Torsteins Kvaeoi
8. Grimur A mioalnesi
9. Wings of time
10. The rage of the Skullgaffer
11. The hunt
12. Victory
13. Lord of lies
14. Gjallahornia
15. Ragnarok
16. The end