If you were starting to think that the whole 'pagan folk metal' thing had reached its peak, better not blink cause the bands keep popping out of the woodwork. From The Netherlands comes Heidevolk, a six-piece band that has a good handle on the metal elements of their music, and throw in plenty of folk influences while also singing in their native tongue. Walhalla Wacht is a pretty interesting listen, the band not venturing too far from the Korpiklaani school of thought, putting together happy-go-lucky metal songs designed to hoist an ale (or four), dance the Dutch mosh, and party till you drop. Though Heidevolk are much heavier than Korpiklaani, they don't take the black metal approach of say, a Finntroll, instead you get plenty of Iron Maiden-styled arrangements, some of which are quite well put together, sliced with some violin, mouth harp, and blowing horn. The dual vocalists work more in a clean, folky style, which helps solidify the 'sing along' element here, though unless you speak the language, you'd be relegated to simply humming along to the melodies while banging your head to the heavy riffs. It's all pretty appealing, although after repeated spins it's easy to become disassociated due to the language barrier, but with crunchy, fist- raising tunes like "Wodan Heerst" it's hard not to really get into this at some level thanks to the overall fun factor involved. And, make no mistake about it, I'm sure Heidevolk had a blast making this album, which easily carries over to the listener.
Track Listing
1) Saksenland
2) Koning Radboud
3) Wodan Heerst
4) Hulde Aan De Kastelein
5) Walhalla Wacht
6) Opstand Der Bataven
7) Het Wilde Heer
8) Naan de Hal Der Devallenhen
9) Zwaarden Geheven
10) Dageraad
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