The return of the fabulous Ereb Altor is a cause for true celebration, in every sense. With their wonderful last release, “By Honour” on the mighty Ihate Records label, the Swedish duo demonstrated that not everything that carries a “Viking” tag these days has to be clad in a cheap reproduction leather jerkin and feature some twat in ugg-boots farting around on a descant recorder.
Once more, the boys are ploughing a latter period Bathory furrow, only this time they’ve also brought the aggression to play as well. Much as I liked “By Honour” (which, by the way, scientifically measured on the like-o-meter as “a lot”), my main criticism of it would be that it was occasionally just a bit too meandering and pleasant. While there are also plenty of quiet, pastoral sections on “The End”, including some absolutely beautiful and quite sublime acoustic passages, among the choral chanting and oar-beating rhythm section, there is also a hefty dose of bite to the electric guitar that rumbles throughout. It’s entirely accurate to describe Ereb Altor as possessing a haunting hymn like quality. Mats and Ragnar put their powerful voices to full use here, and while the minor key guitar work does occasionally bring to mind the doomy tempo and downcast demeanour of their other, better known band, Isole, this is a much less sleepy proposition.
Epic is a term bandied around these days, seemingly for any band that can construct tracks that venture over the three minute mark. It’s a pretty hard tag to apply with any consistency, however. Perhaps it’s a term that just needs to be felt rather than scientifically constructed, and I guess that’s the point that I am grasping inarticulately towards. “The End” is Epic because it feels Epic. Yes, the songs are lengthy, but there is far much more to them than that. These are songs that make you “feel” the atmosphere; almost feel the spray of the North Sea being splashed over your skin. You can picture vast seascapes and the distant fjords as the music paints pictures in your mind. This is no mean feat, and while many other bands attempt to do the same thing, they often come across as trite and contrived. Authenticity cannot be constructed, it just is, and that is why it is so respected and strived for by fans of our music. Ereb Altor have it, with their big, heartfelt Viking hymns. You should have it too, because you deserve it.
http://www.myspace.com/erebaltor
