Manegarm "Dödsfärd" CD

Dodsfard is close to my heart. It's provided me with great drinking music for the past few years. So, you'll have to pardon my lack of rigid criticism as I slice into this one. It truly instills in me the untamable urge to raid, pillage, and hew the heads of mallcore kids with a hefty Viking battle axe.
The album opens with the wondrous tones of a fiddle with a phaser, playing fancifully. Leading into the classic I Evig Tid. Despite it being in pure Swedish, I still sing along to this robust Viking classic.
The same goes for the rest of the album - somehow I manage to sing along despite hardly knowing a lick of Swedish. And how could one help but wish to sing along? The insatiable fiddle melodies, the crushing yet melodious guitar barrage, the storming drums, and of course, the burly Viking singing.
The amount of textures and moods this band can go through, brings a sense of renewal. They never miss a beat, flowing from one into the next. When listening to this for the first time, I’d imagine one would never know what to expect next. Not from track to track, nor riff to riff. Where the crushing track Ravenous opens with a riff that demands you bang your head relentlessly, the interlude in the middle melts away to a more atmospheric tone, but eventually touches on black metal as well. Fimbutrollet enters with an almost rustic folky part that invites cheer. Vrede fades from malicious death tinged black metal to soothing folk. Ursjalens Visdom is a gorgeous meloncholy track that puts the listener in a trance state. They touch on everything but never let it feel like they’re reaching beyond their abilities.
This is probably the Manegarm album with the least black metal feel and riffs. The songs are to the point, with all but one being under 4 minutes. Apparently, three minutes is all you need to raid a village.
This was the first album I heard by the band, and it is indeed a great place to start with them. Despite my less than serious introduction to this review, Manegarm is a band I hold in the highest regard, and my sentiments toward them are indeed very stern. I felt a profound attachment to this music when I first heard it, and it only gets stronger with time. And that, is truly the essence of a classic.

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...