After having
released their, in my view, excellent debut album, 'Ravnenes Saga', most of the Danish folk metal crew Svartsot disbanded, rendering guitarist Cris the only original band member
left. New folk were recruited and the slightly less charming yet still
listen-worthy second effort, 'Mulmets Viser', was released last year.
Now, just over a year later, the third outing, 'Maledictus Eris' ['Cursed Thou
Shall Be'] is ready. The concept is a string of tales about the plague ridden
medieval Denmark and who more appropriate to tell this tale than Svartsot? None,
say I!
The basic recipe is the same as the two previous albums; a driving mixture of
melodic death metal and folk, heavy, distorted guitars, whistles and bagpipes.
What is different on this album is that it is simply better played and the
atmosphere is darker than ever before in the world of Svartsot. Everything
sounds a tad better than before, more whole, more mature and definitely more
ready for the big folk metal festivals out there in Europe.
If you liked 'Mulmets Viser' then I'll bet that you'll like this one even better.
If you're wondering what metal and folk together can be, then this is a fine
introduction to the genre!
