Scythia-...Of Exile

Their isn't enough good folk metal in this world. A lot of it just seems to be the product of posers and people who simply don't understand the trve path of folk metal mastery. Yet every once in a while I come across a new band who seek to breathe life in the genre. Scythia is one of those bands. Their new record ...Of Exile is a powerful effort with some cool ideas and lots of promising parts. A concept album in the nerdiest form (Telling the story of some medieval warriors on an epic quest) this album is great fun, yet clearly showcases a lot of stunning technical chops.

What really makes these guys stand out for me is the way they seemingly fuse Wintersun and Dream Theater and are not afraid to toss in elements of Blind Guardian for flavor. The end result seems like a natural progression upon the power/folk metal genre. The folk-loric nature of the lyrics adds a lot of flavor to the sound. It gives the music a certain ancient power and keeps things fresh and fun. The introduction to the ultimate track Hobarts Inn is a great example of this, as the warriors complete their quest they realize it's time for a drink. When I heard this I was simply shocked, here is a folk metal band who can capture both the fun loving nature of Alestorm and the more serious compositions of Wintersun, in other words, it's pretty darn awesome.

In short, this is a powerful folk metal release with a fun side to it. While the essence of the album may be rather epic their are still moments of hilarity that poke through the facade of power metal glory. Very well executed and much better than the original mix I would recommend ...Of Exile to any folk or power metaller looking for something fun and new to blast them away. With elegant melodies and sing a long choruses I could see these guys going far, suffice to say, it should be exciting seeing them live next spring on their European tour!

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