Heimdalls Wacht: Ekte Westfäölske Svatte Metal (2012)

More Cowbell

Review by joanismylover, the third metal attorney.

Accompanying his referral of Heimdalls Wacht latest release, the right honorable Full Metal Attorney advised "I liked the last album I heard from these guys, so you might like this one too." I don't much like black metal, so I was not sanguine about his prediction. But duty calls - and I'll not shirk duty in the Full Metal Attorney Court - Internet Web Blog Division. Respectfully submitted, ladies and gentlemen of the metal jury:

The opening intro is, as with most of these types, a waste of time. Uninteresting and in furtherance of no purpose. Then the song which should've opened the album: an apparently typical black metal song "Ekte Westfäölske Svatte Metal" - screaming and noise without any discernable song or structure. On first listen. But then about a minute in the song starts to swagger. You should start to nod that head a little bit in here. We get a little hint of some of what's to come. Things get more interesting with "Unsiälige Kiär" which combines one of Slayer's most famous riffs with some Pink Floyd type choruses for an atypical but interesting aural experience. It isn't earth shattering but it invites further listening.


After another by the numbers BM song, things get even more interesting with "Geheimbund." This is Black Metal Accept plain and simple. And its as killer as that descriptor sounds. Suddenly the furious noise and screaming swirls into a maelstrom of stomp that should get even the most recalcitrant BM objector moving. By the end of the song you want be in the pit when this baby is played live. In a testament to the varied nature of the songs, Der verschüttete Grubenmann --next -- is an uplifting BM-toned metallica inspired metal instrumental - the only instrumental of four worthy of inclusion on the album. After another pointless and detracting instrumental, the swagger returns with a song about Martydom, and "Ein Ächzen im verlassenen Stollen" - which I'm pretty sure is the only BM song ever to have cowbell. Yes cowbell. We reach Primordial heights here and with the closer. This is good stuff. And lest any of you "Troo" BMers out there see the above as reason to avoid this release as not "Troo" - let the record reflect that Mrs. joanismylover* objected to "that noise" being played in our kitchen. The usual criticisms - too long, wasted intros, and pointless acoustical interludes -- apply. But there's more great than bad here. In short, Full Metal Attorney called it.

*First name is not "joan".

The Verdict: 4 out of 5 stars



Heidens Hart