Wotanorden "From The Storm Come The Wolves" Cassette

To correctly label Wotanorden's sound would be pretty difficult. To label it in it's most simplistic form would to just call it Viking Metal. Or even National Socialist Viking Metal. With the NSBM Polish and Greek scenes taking most of the credit for making the top NSBM albums, some forget that a few top bands are coming out of the states as well.
Overall it seems to still run in the vein of Black Metal, though. The vocals are probably the most diverse I've heard and maybe even unique at times. Most of the sounds are dominated by the standard black vocals with a bit of a rasp thrown in. Another form is a much deeper and bolder voice that is used as backup vocals. It's done well as it's not very droney. The third being the clean vocals much like that of Hammerheart-era Quorthon.
Dual vocals are common as well. Though, the lineup isn't quite offical, so I'm not sure if it's two vocalists singing or one singing with another recorded version of himself. Either way, it's very Gorerotted at times.
The intro is a bit long and almost predictable. Perhaps if they had shortened it, it wouldn't be quite as monotious.
The drumming, to say the least, is original. It seems at times that there isn't even a set rhythm and the drummer is improvising throughout each song. He tends to favor the crash/snare combo more so than anything else. The drumming has a hollow trashcan sound at times too. I think it's possible for it to grow on the listener. White Enlightenment would be the best example of the drums going toe to toe with the diversity of the vocals.
Taking a back seat to the drumming and vocals, are the guitars. Though played well, they tend to be forgotten due to the complexity of each song. They truly shine during the instrumental hidden track with a grinding repetitive riff. They even break through the musical chaos on What Once Was Shall Be Again and Mundilfari, and lead slightly, but still add a bit of atmosphere after taking the backseat once again.
And when I say complex and compicated, I don't mean technical. There are a lot of elements going on during each song and it doesn't really have alot of structure. The chaos is what is so appealing about it, though. Once a pattern has been set and everything seems about standard, Wotanorden change it entirely. Schwarzsonne shows off the more melodic side, and not quite as fast paced side of the album as well. Of course, this is NSBM. The interludes and speeches are to be expected. There's a speech, sounds of war, nationalistic singing in german, and the ever popular sounds of thunder. I don't believe that every listener can appreciate the clips, but I don't believe they're that overwhelming to ruin the entire album. Most are near the beginning or end of a track, so that they may be easily skipped.
The album overall is a breath of fresh air to U.S. NSBM. Maybe even innovative to some, but I believe the music alone can be appreciated by fans of Black/Viking Metal.

Sample: