Well three guesses what this album is all about; with the title Asgard you know this isn’t going to win any awards in the originality stakes but then given it was originally released in 2000 before battle-mania kicked in I shall let it slide. Adorned Brood are a relatively new discovery for yours truly and if you scroll down a few months you will notice a review for their latest album Noor which I was most favourable of. I’ll admit I didn’t quite stick to my word when I said I intended to raid their back catalogue, and given that it looks like it’s all getting re-released I’m glad I didn’t, so this is the second album I have heard by these Germans and from what I have learned from others more versed in their works is their best to date. I had actually forgotten how good an album Noor was; somehow I remembered their jovial ‘Drunken Sailor’ romp and remembered them simply having a more sober sea-faring vibe to those children’s party favourites from Scotland (that’s what happens when you review an album at the same time as the new Alestorm) but having just returned to this album I can say that was a totally distorted view.
So Asgard. Well, it’s not quite as slick as the latest recording but the elements are generally the same. You can see the roots from which this band have sprouted and in 9 years they have certainly made progress. As that may suggest, this is quite a raw album and bears the characteristics of a band still finding their feet but that’s not to say this is un-enjoyable. The black metal influence is very apparent on tracks like ‘A God Ruled Time’ which bowls you over with its ferocity following a folky preamble. There’s a rural charm here in the fluttery flute-lead melodies that interject the heavier passages, and ‘The Ambush’ is a fine example; this one skips flightily through the forest of mystical wonder where faeries dance and create mischief until the mean, ugly trolls frighten them away and leave you to fight them off with your +21 sword of wrath.
The intertwining male and female vocals play off like a medieval romance as the longing feminine wails interact with harsh rasps on ‘Asgard’ and continue long into the following track ‘Black Beasts’ as Ingeborg draws me under her spell with her beguiling folksy and slightly forlorn wails while the drums patter along in a hypnotic trance, journeying through building up intensity as they are joined by some callous guitars and an intrusive bass. There’s a real strength to this album and a pounding undercurrent that sweeps everything along just nicely. The music gradually seems to wind down gradually before picking back up with blacked fury on track 6; ‘Pride Was My Desire.’ Again, there’s a balance between the bright and bewitching female vocals and the rasps of lead singer Frost which distort on this track. There is always that dark/light contrast between the raging battles such as on ‘Mighty Swords’ and the more melodious aspects; there’s always that hey-nonny-no vibe and going back to ‘A God Ruled Time’ the male vocals on the chorus are rather flighty and mellifluous and soar just high enough to catch a ride upon.
This album is definitely worth a listen if you like your metal with added battle, though if you’re new to the band I’d recommend hearing Noor before this one. Solid stuff.
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