MÅNEGARM

Release Year: 2015
Artist Origin: SWE
Style: harmonious folk viking black metal

with the third full-length [2003], its title referring a journey through the valley of death, Swedish vikings discover their identity, naturally moving away from the fast, abrasive black metal of earlier releases towards more elaborate, harmony-rich sound, where aggressive riffs and explosive barrage of percussion form much closer union with memorable folk motifs, more prominent violin passages and clean vocal interludes; this creative shift was neither abrupt nor artificially orchestrated, but emerged organically through the search for a more distinctive expression, while contrasting arrangements vary between relentless fury, crushing riff assaults and more atmospheric, melancholic melodies, preserving pagan spirit of the North and solemnity of concept dedicated to the ancestors, making these eleven tracks a pivotal moment that defined subsequent evolution of Månegarm; recent Swedish edition comes with a remastered sound, two rare bonuses, recorded in 2000 as demo of their then side project Cthulhus Scorn, and booklet updated by vintage images and liner notes