Slechtvalk (in English: duck hawk, peregrine) hail from the Netherlands. 'A Forlorn Throne' is their fourth release since they started in 2000. Fortunately it is their most mature and best one to date too. These Dutch play what is generally described as Viking Metal.

The songs have a black-metal base, but have clean singing parts too. These clean parts are almost folky, as we know it from another Dutch band, Heidevolk. On the other hand, they don't differ a lot from the general black Viking metal bands, but that is not a problem. The guitars are very thrashy, the production is well-balanced and the variable vocals finish it off. Of course there are similarities with for example Amon Amarth, but due to the clean atmospheric singing parts, they sound different enough not to become a cheap copy. I have to admit that I was positively surprised by this new release. An album that should find its ways to the metal fans.

A big step ahead for these Dutch, check it out!