I’ve been curious about this band for a while and finally ran across one of their CD’s in a shop in Las Vegas. The sound samples I’d heard on the net were from this album and I’m not sorry I bought it.

The music is definitely Viking metal and very well done. At first, I was wondering where all the clean vocals were supposed to be, as I was expecting more of them, but they finally showed more prominent later on. The harsh vocals are fine, but I would have liked a little more variety. However, that is not enough to knock down the five stars.

Another thing I really like about this album is that there are actually a few guitar solos! I find in so many bands today that real guitar solos are almost non-existent. The trend seems to be “anti-guitar” in that the instrument is always there, but is relegated to riffing.

This is a really great album and especially comes into its own toward the end with the more symphonic tracks. Highly recommended.