Galar - Til Alle Heimsens Endar

January 27, 2011

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The Viking metal genre has undergone many changes since its original conception on Bathory’s Blood Fire Death, with many a band adopting a gung-ho Norseman image for onstage and CD. More often than not, Viking metal has become folly to its own trappings. A constant obsession has arisen with recreating idealised images of the past so much that such pictures reign supreme.

Yet for every sword-wielding, armour-clad band, there are those who avoid this trend. On their second album, Til Alle Heimsens Endar (Dark Essence, 2010), Galar do so with not only a lack of folky melodies, but also a different means of invoking the past. Like countrymen Enslaved, they treat it less like a folky epic than a string of progressively bleak episodes.

They do this through arrangements, such as starting with an orchestral piece, which continues on to second track “Ván”. The switch between classical symphony to contemporary black metal may seem jarring, especially with the transition between sound production. Yet on second listen, it clicks that this sets the blueprint for Til Alle Heimsens Endar – orchestral structures and angry, black metal blasts come together in a way which melds the two gracefully.

It’s tempting to draw comparisons to similar acts, but doing so would overlook what sets Galar apart. At its best, Viking metal is a lyrical genre, and they keep it that way. Certainly, there are moments of faux-folk chants, yet those detract little from the music’s foundation in modernity. Without mimicking their peers or romanticising the past, the band recreate the epic atmosphere of old while letting their metal side breathe.

— K. Ann Sulaiman

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– FULL ALBUM STREAM –

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“Ván”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otNyK3oAtc0

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“Det graa riket”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3ScI0qMQ2k

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