Unholy Black Metal
  • Gallery
  • Contact

“Forvist” by Angantyr: an amazing black metal album

14/12/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Angantyr is a Danish one man band that exists since 1997 and has a unique style, but unfortunately still unknown to most of the black metal audience. Their sound is mainly rooted in the harshness of the old Norwegian school, but maybe the melodic, polyphonic riffs in tremolo are an element of Swedish derivation. But above all, the music of Angantyr has a feeling, a mood that is unique in the whole black metal scene. Their music is gripping, evocative, has an intense, dramatic tension; all this in a typically Nordic, Scandinavian and at the same time brutal and icy sound.

The Danish band had previously released four albums, each of which is very beautiful: Hævn (2007), their third album, is a masterpiece; Svig (2010) is a pearl. After Svig Ynleborgaz, the man behind Angantyr, moved to Sweden and gave birth to his new creation.

The last album Forvist (‘Banished’, 2012) is another wonderful album to be added to the art collection of this band that never disappoints. It contains all the typical elements of their sound: the album begins and ends with the sound of the sea and with the music leads us on the journey symbolized by the ship on the cover. And then sumptuous, polyphonic riffs in tremolo picking, sometimes accompanied by blast beats, sometimes in mid-tempo, create an epic and engaging atmosphere, while the arrangements are perfect. The music and the atmosphere are based on the guitar lines, although not technically complicated, while the bass and the drums have simpler lines and are limited to a filler role. But the structure of the songs is quite complex, the tracks are quite long (lasting the shortest as much as six minutes) but involve the listener and slip by easily, on the contrary you cannot help but nod all the time transported by the music. The singing is also very intense and expressive and conveys a big amount of passion, but at the same time it is harsh and contributes to the epic atmosphere.

I'm not able to point out the most beautiful songs because the album is all beautiful in its entirety; instead I point out some a bit special moments, such as the beautiful acoustic introduction; another beautiful acoustic arpeggio is at the end of “Stille skarpe knive”; the title track begins with a bridge riff which then evolves into a riff on blast beats; but above all so many dramatically melodic, intense riffs throughout the album. Perhaps the most outstanding moment is the closing song “Skovens egne våben” which is simply wonderful and engrossing.
 
The lyrics are as usual in Danish and continue the story of Angrimr that had already been begun in Hævn; Angrimr is a legendary Scandinavian hero mentioned in several Old Norse sources and he was the father of Angantyr. The lyrics of the album relate his departure from his homeland to seek revenge on the Christian invaders who murdered his family (hævn means ‘revenge’ in Danish).

I think it's  remarkable to point out that Ynleborgaz really played and  recorded all instruments. Maybe a little flaw of this album is that there is variation but not so very much; an album like Hævn perhaps has more variation, but Forvist is and remains a wonderful black metal album.

Notes:
Forvist was released on November 16, 2012 through Northern Silence Productions. A digi-pack limited edition was also released in only 999 copies worldwide. Angantyr is the name of a mythic Norse hero, son of Angrimr, mentioned in several Norse sagas according to which he was given the magic sword Tyrfingr by his father Angrimr.

Tracklist:
1. “Lænket” 11:28
2. “I forfædres fodspor” 06:07
3. “Vemods hjemstavn” 07:40
4. “Thinking Below the Ocean” 06:30
5. “Fælles fjende” 07:08
6. “Stille skarpe knive” 09:06
7. “Skovens egne våben” 09:15

Personnel:
Ynleborgaz – all instruments and vocals.

Text by Herjann
herjann@unholyblackmetal.com
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

Unholy Black Metal zine