Galar released their third album on March 16, 2015 from Dark Essence Records, entitled ‘De gjenlevende’ it in the true sense of melodic black metal with Nordic folk themes such as mythology, history and of course battles. Once more their music carries through epic length tracks, complete with more strings and strong compositions, reminiscent on the previous album 7-years ago, Til alle heimsens endar.
Even though the album shows only 6-songs, fret not, the shortest clocks in at 3:33-minutes an instrumental called “Ljós” a very folkish tune, the rest average over 7-minutes with classical influences pouring through on repeated listens. However, the sound of Black Metal rips open after an acoustic beginning of the first track, ‘De gjenlevende’ fulling forceful notes throughout the song with rising intense drums, frenzied guitars and the typical vocals. Those unfamiliar with the band, A.B. Lauritzen perform the duties on the piano and bassoon (yes!) providing the clean vocals while M. Kristiansen for the guitars, bass and the harsher vocals, as well as several guest musicians for French horn, cello, violin, viola and Phobos delivering on the drums.
A soft opening proceeds with “Bøkens hymne” before switching to the madding pace of the music, it is something, which fans of Black Metal, switch their opinions greatly on, the classical moments or the folkish elements replacing the natural sounds often found within genre itself. This is not raw black, it contain substance, and elevates the music with melodies and scream filled vocals. Nevertheless, the close out track “Tusen kall til solsang ny” delivers the typical black metal that the fans long for often, a subtle change from the somber tone on other songs and but keeping with long winding lyric passages.
Track Listing:
1 – De Gjenlevende – 9:07
2 – Natt … Og Taust Et Forglemt Liv – 7:20
3 – Bøkens Hymne – 9:30
4 – Ljós – 3:33
5 – Gjeternes Tunge Steg – 9:41
6 – Tusen Kall Til Solsang Ny – 10:17
Simply stated Galar might not please every black metal fan, but those who enjoy Norweign epic tracks, with more than the standard instruments and wanting to explore atmospheric elements than this gain your appreciation. This review based from the actual CD of this album.
Baron’s Rating: 8/10 – screams
Band’s Links:
https://soundcloud.com/galarofficial
https://www.facebook.com/galarofficial/
Label’s Links:
http://www.darkessencerecords.no/
https://www.reverbnation.com/darkessencerecords
https://soundcloud.com/dark-essence-records