Astrid has been having opinions on the internet since 2004, and started listening to metal sometime between 2000 and 2006, depending on how you count it. She was raised on classical music and Celtic folk, which has led to most of her favourite genres including “folk,” “melodic,” or “symphonic” somewhere in the descriptor alongside heavier elements.
Astrid’s interests include archaeology, history, mythology, and all forms of storytelling. She enjoys singing, dancing, and being in the forest.
She is a seamstress and designer by trade, based on the west coast of Canada. Capable of 347 tangential thoughts per minute.
It was a Sunday afternoon some time in the summer of 2006, during a break from band practice. Our guitarist gathered us around the computer to show us something funny on Youtube, as was...
Unleash the Archers have unleashed their sixth studio album, “Phantoma,” one of my most anticipated of the year. True to form, the album is a narrative concept piece. This time the setting is a...
Týr is back, baby. Exactly how long it has been will vary depending on who you ask, but most longterm Týr fans agree their last few albums have lacked a certain something. I have...
If I had a dollar for every album in my top ten which features morse code, I’d have two dollars. Which is not a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. This hints...
Metal and Christmas have an interesting relationship for a variety of reasons. The most obvious one is that the genre as a whole has a tense history with Christianity. Equally relevant is the fact...
2022 was a strange year for many reasons, as I’m sure most year end lists are noting. Personally, a large source of weirdness is how many of my most anticipated albums are not making...
German black metal outfit Firtan has been on my radar since a chance discovery of their “Innenwelt” EP in 2016. I was initially drawn in by the intense yet melodic sound, rooted in 90s...
I must admit I felt a certain amount of trepidation at the news that Sabaton’s 10th studio album would be a follow up to 2019’s “The Great War.” I don’t believe I was alone...
Swiss-American Zeal & Ardor began as an experiment in combining disparate musical styles, specifically black metal and African-American spirituals. The experiment has since escaped the petri dish, sprouted limbs, and is now walking, talking,...
Formed in 2003, Ereb Altor was established as a supplement to Tabletop RPG Drakar och Demoner, a Swedish sibling of the more well-known Dungeons and Dragons. Given this origin, they are surprisingly well realised...