Tyr
The Lay Of Thrim

The long wave of metal has reached countries and places you wouldn't expect, like the Faroe Islands, nestled in the cold northern sea, southeast of Iceland. From here come Tyr, a band now quite well-known within the European metal scene and beyond. Their journey began in 1998: after various demos and some hard work, they managed to release the first full length of their career in 2002, entitled "How far to Asgard." Since that debut, Tyr have expanded their reach, making a name for themselves globally and achieving an unthinkable notoriety for a nation with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants.

Successful albums like "Eric the Red" and "Ragnarok" have earned Tyr a good amount of critical acclaim: their light viking metal with strong power hues has seen increasing success over time. "The Lay of Thrym" is the latest effort from Tyr, which saw the light on May 27, 2011, two years after "By the Light of the Northern Star," a CD that did not fully convince. Here's the opportunity for vocalist Heri Joensen and his loyal companions to return to the battlefield and sing new hymns to the gods and the lost legends of their native islands.

The band's trademark remains unchanged: melody and sonic clarity, lyrics drawing heavily from Viking tradition and history, and catchy choruses. Two things came to mind immediately after listening to the CD, one positive and the other negative. Tyr possess a great ability, which is to make stereotypical music but always render it appealing and varied: the sounds and atmosphere of each piece are always meticulously crafted, and one cannot deny a certain quality in composing and presenting the listener with songs that are always cohesive and with a defined development, never pointless in themselves. In this sense, the most successful songs are those more tied to Viking metal and less to power, like the cadenced and splendid "Evening Star" and "Konning Hans", the latter along with the subsequent "Ellindur bondi a jadri" sung in Faroese. Yet, there's always the impression in this "The Lay of Thrym" that everything is overly calculated: the splendid sonic packaging is at the same time the strong point and the weak point of the album. A touch too much of mannerism has taken away the genuineness of the early days, when the group certainly had fewer resources and less notoriety than today.

Overall, however, "The Lay of Thrym" earns a full and absolute pass mark that could have been even more positive if the four band members had decided to be more genuine and less "technically cold." Still, one listens to good music, without particular overthinking and with a sincere and assured impact. A good release, though there's now a feeling that Tyr can never quite reach full artistic maturity.

1. "Flames Of The Free" (4:17)
2. "Shadow Of The Swastika" (4:23)
3. "Take Your Tyrant" (3:55)
4. "Evening Star" (5:04)
5. "Hall Of Freedom" (4:06)
6. "Fields Of The Fallen" (4:59)
7. "Konning Hans" (4:27)
8. "Ellindur Bondi A Jadri" (3:54)
9. "Nine Worlds Of Lore" (4:04)
10. "The Lay Of Thrym" (6:48)