Helrunar is one of my favorite German Pagan/Black Metal act. Baldr Ok Iss still gets regular spins in my CD player after two years. Compositions like "Hûta and Boga" and "Winter" are remarkable pieces of Pagan arts. I actually indulge myself by learning how to play "Winter".
Gratr is not a new album, but actually the re-release of their 2003 debut, which was originally sold as a limited 500 copies edition. The defining aspects of Helrunar where already present on this earlier work. The listener/fan can hear and enjoy: crafty song writing, expressive and varied vocals, acoustic guitars, mouth harp, as well as furious Pagan paces filled with epic tremolo pickings and leads. Rarely can we witness a vocalist with a wide range of expressions like this. His epic choirs are great; his rasps are quite vicious and the spoken/narrative voice speaks of Pagan ideology. The guitar playing is, as always, superbly composed and executed. It remains excellent in all its manifestations, may it be those folksy acoustic parts, crushing riffs and those distorted tremolo picking lines. Not being a huge fan of furious tempos, I would have wished for more moderate times. This is the only complaint I have to say about Gratr, but I know these paces are often present in this type of metal. Being an acoustic guitar player, "Hornung" is my favorite composition on this album. There are quite a few good Pagan hymns as well, such as: "Raune mit der Tiefe", "Seelenwinter", "Gratr" and "Das Heilige Feuer".
I'm glad to see Gratr back in circulation, thus allowing the fans to discover the origin of one of the most influential German Pagan Black Metal horde.
Track Listing
1- Der Fährtensucher
2 - Raune mit der Tiefe
3 - Ich bin die Leere
4 - Seelenwinter
5 - Gratr
6 - Morket Under Verden
7 - Hornung
8 - Das heilige Feuer
9 - Kvasirs Blut
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