Till alle heimsens endar (Untill the end of all worlds) is the second album from Norwegian Vikings Galar. If they continue in that vein they are one of the bands that are really worth watching in the future since this is a very good album in a rather crowded niche of metal right now.

The members of Galar count only two men, M. Kristiansen and A.B. Lauritzen, but put a lot of guest musicians to good use. That is also necessary since the album is filled with all sorts of unusual metal instruments like bassoon, cello, double bass, grand piano, viola and violin. Sometimes such an array of instruments gives an album a messy feel, but on “Till alle heimsens endar” they all fit in very nicely and balanced and really enhance the overall experience.

Lyric wise this is a concept album (hurrah!) but since all the singing is in Norwegian I guess a lot of our readers will not be able to appreciate this. The concept is taken from Snorri Sturlason’s “Heimskringla” and is centered on the kings of Vestfold, the very area the band hails from.

Back to the music I really think that the main strength of this album is a lot of factors that works together to create a higher unity. First of all the way the folk elements works together with the metal elements, not as “glued on” interludes but as parts of bigger compositions, secondly the way the clean vocals and the screams works very well together and finally the very good production that really enhances the album.

Fans of bands like Windir, early Ulver and early Enslaved should check this release out as should everybody who likes beautifully composed metal.