Now, just to put the obvious out there into the world, I don’t speak or understand German. And, without the lyrics in front of me to translate, I cannot really talk about them. However, I’d never heard of Varg before being sent this album through, so at least a completely fresh reaction to the sound and an honest review is what you’re going to get! If it’s anything like what I’m expecting, we’re in for a treat!
Opener ‘Immer Treu’ starts out in suitably epically; with a big piratey/power metal/Iron Maiden riff. It soon explodes into a massive, heavy riff with an amazing scream over the top. It feels very Amon Amarth, that kinda medieval death/power metal blend. The cleaner vocals throughout are also awesome, powerful and still filled with emotion and attitude. There’s also a higher, operatic vocal that comes in later on that is an amazing harmony to the others. It’s a HUGE track with some awesome catchiness in the chorus, packed out with massive riffs.
‘Schildmaid’ continues the same feeling with a similarly epic riff as the opener. The scream comes in over the top, sounding amazing, and it all builds into a huge first chorus. It’s catchy as anything and would go down so well live! Though the vocals are still screamed and heavy, the track as a whole feels lighter. The riffs aren’t as crushing, and feels more like 3 Inches of Blood than Amon Amarth. It’s not an issue at all as it’s a phenomenal track. The vocals and lead guitar in the choruses more than see to that. The female spoken word bit in the bridge was cool, especially as it builds into singing. This is an amazing track and easily makes our playlist!
‘Weltenfeind’ has more of an extreme metal vibe to it as the screams come in quickly over a quick, epic riff. It almost gives Dimmu Borgir vibes. I love that all three tracks so far are undoubtably the same band, yet all sound and feel pretty different. It’s refreshing and mighty impressive! Another great track!
‘Fylgja’ takes a sharp turn into somehow symphonic doom territory, with a slow, moody riff and feel but the soaring female vocal taking center stage. The harsh male vocals are also included still, but the chorus is clean and reminds me a lot of a Nightwish kinda sound. We also get a guitar solo in this which was amazing! It’s an interesting track with a lot of fun dynamics.
Tracks like ‘Tyr’ and ‘Hammer’ heavy the album back up again perfectly, again giving off that extreme, epic metal vibe. Both are full of huge riffs, massive screams and growls and plenty of awesomeness from their choruses. The band do the death metal thing pretty perfectly at this point, and again, while the tracks are similar in structure, they still feel different.
Meanwhile tracks like ‘Eisenseite’ and ‘Morgenrot’ again focus heavily on the female vocals. The former is awesome after being lead in by a brief intro track, setting it up perfectly. Meanwhile, the latter is one of my favourite tracks on the album as the vocals make it sound ripped right out The Witcher 3. The medieval feel to it won me over immediately and it’s another one that easily makes our playlist!
The final tracks, ‘Siegreiches Heer’ and the title track, are more of the same. Both are fantastic tracks for sure, but it’s hard to talk about how good the riffs and vocals are without repeating myself. It makes for a boring review and makes me come across very fanboy-like. The later is a more than fitting end to the epicness of the album, though. The duet poem to open was amazing, and the whole track utilises the duel vocals perfectly.
Overall: Given that I had no idea what to expect, I loved this. Every instrument, vocal and part fit perfectly together with each other and made for a very memorable sound. The whole album is full of amazing tracks that piece together to make an incredibly solid album. And it all sounds like it would translate into something truly special in a love setting. The band have a pretty big new fan in me and I can’t wait to go away and check out the rest of their back catalogue!
The Score: 8/10