Tyr
By The Light Of The Northern Star

It can truly be said that I have always defended Tyr to the hilt. Never was a saying more apt for this group, a healthy purveyor, at least in two albums which I consider the peaks of their discography so far ("Eric The Red" and especially my beloved "Ragnarok") of really well-crafted and, importantly, recognizable viking/epic/folk metal. The singer's voice (strictly clean) combined with the choruses that the band is accustomed to weaving in all their pieces, the tradition of their island (but generally of the Nordic peoples) revived through ancient songs (in the original language), and a technique generally superior to many other bands made me fall in love with the aforementioned "Ragnarok", which, in my opinion, had a particular characteristic. Quoting from the review I wrote for the aforementioned 2006 album, "it almost seems that they wanted to sketch the moments of waiting between battles, the rest, the hugs with loved ones and comrades, the mourning and the surrender to thoughts of death and the afterlife, in short, the before and after of any battle."

The problem arises right here: the moments of calm, of atmosphere, the mood that had so captivated me in that album is gone. The epic abounds: the warlike, belligerent tones of the band come out with great force through tight rhythms, bold melodies (yet captivating), but, alas, lacking in creativity and technique, unfortunately, often pointless. The Nordic grandchildren of Manowar? It makes me a little squeamish to think about it, yet Tyr seems to have taken this path.

"Hold The Heathen Hammer High", the first track of the album, seems to start well but then immediately gets overwhelmed by outbursts between epic and power. Despite this, the song still retains a certain pathos, thanks to an engaging and battle-ready drumline and an overall guitar line that still echoes some of the beautiful things already done by the band.

While the balance is still fairly safeguarded in this first track, the same cannot be said for the last four on the list: excellent hyper-technical and fast exercises, but a bit too manneristic and cold.

Episodes like "Tróndur í Gøtu" and especially "Turid Torkilsóttir" help to counter this decline of interest, two moments in the original language that owe a lot to the band's past. It's true, in both the execution speed is always high (in line with the standards of the entire work), but they are still two tracks that convey a bit more emotion. Generally speaking, "Into The Storm" and "Northern Gate" can also be noted, inspired songs, a notch more solemn than the others and at times melancholic.

From this analysis emerges a significant qualitative split in this "By The Light Of The Northern Star", which still takes home a well-deserved pass. After all, five tracks out of nine are more than worthy of being remembered, and in general, many bands of the same genre as Tyr would pay to have the artistic qualities of the Faroese. The second part is concerning, those songs so damnably too epic and power, so predictable and performed almost hastily, cold and unable to convey any scrap of emotion.

Those who love Tyr will surely make this album their own, and like me, in the end, they will appreciate it, with the faint hope that it is just a passing moment, waiting to return to the glories of "Eric The Red" and "Ragnarok", albums that to this day I feel I can recommend to those who are approaching the Faroese band for the first time.