American Viking Metal bands are often
criticized by the Europeans for not having the “true viking blood”
that is apparently so key to being a god of the genre. Personally,
I've always thought that was a ridiculous idea and Aether Realms
debut further serves to upend that notion. Their new album filled
with Ensiferum like riffs and melodies to shame Norther Aether Realms
is a fokl metal legend in the making. Rarely am I so blown away by
the sheer majesty of a band, yet Aether Realms manages to do just
that.
The epic keys add a taste of Wintersun
into the mix. The songs are overall fairly short, with the longest
capping out at a bit more than 7 minutes. This means that the tracks
are able to stay dynamic and interesting with no real dull moments.
Instead Aether Realms drives ever forward pushing the record to new
levels of northern magic. I really like this bands approach to the
genre. It seems to me at least that heavier viking metal bands like
Amon Amarth are starting to dominate the scene so its awesome to see
a band with more emphasis (but not too much) on the folkier side of
things.
To finish, One Chosen by the Gods is an
album that manages to make an artistic statement and show that the
genre is far from dead. Instead we have a thriving new band who will
come forth and bring the glorious pagan bands of yore back to their
former glory. Aether Realms is here to stay, their music is
passionate and bold and filled with the true blood that makes the
genre so good. Just because their ancestors are not “Pureblood
Europeans” aether Realms is still trve. They understand folk metal
and will fight for it until the end.
These and Brymir are showing the old guard how it should be done.
ReplyDelete