Scythia-For the Bear

I have long believed that their is a horrific lack of excellent epic folk metal from America. Scythia seem to be here to remedy that. Their EP For the Bear is a seven track masterwork showing off all of the chops of Dream Theater and the fun loving spirit of Sabaton. At last folk metal that is both lighthearted while mindblowing technical. What makes this record special is the sheer fusion of technicality and earthy magic, it's like what would happen if you smashed Wintersun and Symphony X together, highly technical and very folk oriented heavy metal mastery, in a phrase, its simply magnificent.

This technicality often gives the music a very explosive Malmsteen type edge, the emphasis on shredding is glorious and makes the songs tasty and fun. The vocal stylings are pretty straightforward and rather powerful, they remind me quite a bit of the singer from Blind Guardian. This groups vocalist guides the listener on epic folk tales (many of the songs do in fact tell a story) and lead you into some really excellent choruses, most notably on the simply stellar Fierce Riders of Scythia. Add this in with the excellent keyboard melody lines and dazzling solos and you have something that is truly special.

In conclusion, if you're looking for an easy album to fall in love with then For the Bear is for you. Happy and a blast to listen too the high powered solos and crazy riffs will capture even the most pvre metallers heart. I'd also like to quickly mention the excellent mix which really allows the melodies to shine and takes the music to a whole new level. The glorious fusion of crazy guitars, ancient melodies and viking majesty is not something you easily forget. So if you're looking for one of the best American Folk Metal records from recent years then For the Bear is something that you need to check out!

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