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Rating: Hello everyone, I'm new to debaser, so this is my first review, a review that I write with all my heart since the album I'm going to talk about is one that has truly remained in my heart.
2002 saw the release of one of the last albums by the great Bathory, I'm talking about "Nordland", an album with great expressive power, played with heart and written with soul; the good old Quorthon gives us yet another masterpiece of viking metal, entirely played and sung by himself... this could, for some, represent a major limitation since we all sort of know that Quorthon was never a great instrumentalist nor a great singer.
The album opens with "Prelude", an almost instrumental piece with soft background choirs that introduce us to what I consider the true masterpiece of the album: "Nordland", a song of considerable length, a full 9 minutes and 20 seconds, which fortunately pass by excellently: the melodies of this song, but also the rhythm (very measured to tell the truth) will make you fall in love instantly, I assure you! It continues with a couple of songs that perhaps could be defined as the "weak points" of the album, namely "Vinterblot" and "Dragons Breath", which although not mediocre songs (especially considering the poor quality viking available these days), end up being too similar to each other, thus losing some of the pleasure in listening. We then move on to another strong piece of the album: "Ring Of Gold", an entirely acoustic song that presents us with a Quorthon in great shape and emphasizes the theatricality of the vocals, with a very good guitar part that relaxes the listener's limbs. We return to a heavy pounding with "Foreverdark Woods", a piece with a strong auditory impact that heavily utilizes the speed of the drumming section in order to make the listening experience varied and, from a certain point of view, fun! The seventh track of the album, "Broken Sword", develops in a very similar manner to "Foreverdark Woods" although this time the result is even better thanks to the over a minute-long acoustic intro. The double bass drum patterns this time seem a bit repetitive, but maybe you won't even notice it given the overall beauty of the song. To close this beautiful album we have "Great Hall Awaits A Fallen Brother" and "Mother Earth Father Thunder" which, thanks to their beautiful riffs and, once again, almost cheerful well-constructed but above all particular atmospheres, will make us remember (or at least I hope so) this album forever.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
04 Dragons Breath (06:45)
Ride the Dragon's breath, mist of poison green
Come yee flemes, a burning death, face the unseen
Deep within the cave, lit p by the torch, a plae gleam
As told of in the ancient tales, the Sword of gold and steel
Eyes of ember, fangs and claws
Creature of fire
Jaws of death, walk through the haze
Crimson and dire
Engulfed in mist, the Sword of Gods
Onwards son and ride the Dragon's breath
Struch from mountain are, chilled in morning dew
Forged by hand of Gods, when the world was young, this land anew
Blade of shining steel, grip covered in gold
Carved into its blade, the legend unfold
Eyes of ember, fangs and claws
Creature of fire
Jaws of death, walk through the haze
Crimson and dire
Gods in the shy, the Sword is mine
Untouched I am by the mist of the Dragon's breath
06 Foreverdark Woods (08:06)
Evening is falling, all still around me
The old crow is calling, but the landscape is at peace
Down the trail through this forest, through thicket we ride
The unseen is watching from behind each stone and pine
Slowly the golden dise of the sun is setting
Beyond the rim of Nordland at the end of long day
Slowly the ominous dark descend upon all
Engulfing all land and heaven and the shore of Asa bay
Here lie the bones of our fathers long gone
Deep in the soil of these woods
Among these great trunks legends were born
Here many great battles stood
Trotting the trail, my stallion cautions
Present the spirits of foreverdark woods
We rest by the fire, the shadows come to life by its light
Three brothers, sons of white wolf, observed by the eyes of the night
Night is long where the sunlight is pale
The fear is strong when you ride in the dawn
Down foreverdark woods trail
Heavy the turf, bone meal and blood
Raise high you pine towards shy
Firm in the soil, tree trunks of gods
Like dragon ship masts straight and high
Reaching the glade, ride on to Asa bay
Watched by the spirits of foreverdark woods
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