Release date: November 28th
Record label: Napalm Records
By Ingrid
When I received the promo of this album, I was totally unfamiliar with The Flight of Sleipnir. But when I read that they were a mixture of Stoner Rock, Doom and Folk Metal I got interested because this is a rather unusual combination of metal genres. V is the fifth full length album being brought into this world by Colorado based band The Flight Of Sleipnir and the first to be released on Napalm Records.
I already soon found out that the Folk elements on this album are mainly lyrical, and I must say that I find this a relief. Now I don’t want to bash an entire metal genre, because there truly is a lot of good Folk Metal around, but I’m happy this isn’t the millionth typical ‘happy flute, bagpipe and way too loud violin band’.
The Flight Of Sleipnir definitely doesn’t follow the masses when it comes to Scandinavian Folklore inspired music, which make them truly stand out. Some folky influences can be found in the music though, but the Stoner/Doom sounds dominates this album. There is a lot of variation in this album going from a more Classic Rock all the way to a Melodic Death Metal sound, which make it hard for the listener to get bored.
Opening track ‘Headwinds’ immediately sets tune for most of the songs of the album. The song starts slowly and easily builds up to a climax that set your teeth on edge. The majority of the songs are build up like this, though all with different influences. Gullveig for example has a more psychedelic sound, where Archaic Rites has more folky influences.
The majority of the vocals on the album remind me of a garage recording of some underground Black Metal band; they’re very raw and dirty, which I like because it gives a nice touch to the music. The band perfectly balances different atmospheric settings; calm acoustic instrumental parts to blast beats, a calm atmospheric sound to raging guitars and soft clean vocals to dirty growls. Unfortunately the recording itself stays a little flat. The songs could have had a lot more depth, if the mix of the album had been better.
In the end, The Flight Of Sleipnir is a nice, fresh breeze through the world of Scandinavian folklore inspired metal and certainly stand out. Not your dime a dozen kind of band!
Rating: 8/10
Tracklist:
1. Headwinds 07:56
2. Sidereal Course 08:11
3. The Casting 06:45
4. Nothing Stands Obscured 06:55
5. Gullveig 08:49
6. Archaic Rites 09:08
7. Beacon in Black Horizon 11:26