This Scandinavian quartet got their name from a fortress built about a thousand years ago in Denmark. It was raised during the war against the Anglo-Saxons. These young folks are releasing their debut on Stygian Crypt Productions.
When looking at the musicians, you get the feeling these young people are more related to Depeche Mode or Duran Duran than metal. Band leader, Lord Vollan (vocals, guitars, keyboards, words and music) could easily pass for someone doing modeling for instance. Anyways, the music here has nothing to do with techno stuff, but is well rooted in the Nordic tradition of the Viking world. Leaning more on the melodic side than the barbarian references sometimes heard, Lands of the Njord remains a pleasant disc to listen to. You do have the crunchy and distorted sound of electric guitars as well as the harsher vocals too, but there are more harmonies than that happening on this disc. The lead vocals are mainly of a clean and epic nature for example. A few samplings, mostly wind and waves, add a picturesque flavor to their sound. Most importantly though, the keyboards are hugely responsible for carrying that pompous and epic Viking vibe. Then you have the accordion work of lady Oksi popping in in quite a few places .This instrument just add a more folksy sound, and a bit of a humppa style too. I was more used to hear that style in German before, although it is pretty cool in this context. The compositions flow easily and many of them are worth mentioning. I've enjoyed the instrumentals like: "Metsanhumppa" and "Birth of Skerriz" as well as the epic "Tale of the Immortals". There are actually no bad tracks on this album by the way. I would have enjoyed perhaps a bit less keyboards and more organic/folksy instruments on the other hand. Trelleborg is a young band and the maturing act should bring even more interesting tonalities in the future.
I recommend this epic Scandinavian Viking opus.
Track listing:
1- Entering the Lands
2- Gunbjorn (Birth of Skerriz)
3- Against the Winds
4- Born Under Sign
5- Metsanhumppa!
6- At the Last
7- Sudden Arise
8- From the Seas
9- Spellful Cup
10- Tale of the Immortals
11- Birth of Skerriz
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