CD Odyssey Disc 1972: Einherjer

The dice gods that randomly determine my next review have once again chosen from the Ross Records (a selection of music obtained from my friend Ross when he divested his CD collection).

Also, since we’re now at Disc 1972, let’s continue or whimsical journey of exploring records from the year that matches! Here are three great ones.

• Black Sabbath, “Vol. IV” (Disc 6)
• Gordon Lightfoot, “Don Quixote” (Disc 110)
• Neil Young, “Harvest” (Disc 1877)

Two of those reviews are so old I wasn’t yet doing “What’s Up With the Cover?”

Disc 1972 is…Norwegian Native Art

Artist: Einherjer

Year of Release: 2000

What’s up with the Cover? Of note, my cover for this record is the 2005 re-issue. The original had a picture of the band looking like a bunch of undead creeps. This cover is the same, except it is a different picture of them as undead creeps.

Of course, this could just be depicting the band as actual “einherjer” the warriors that get to go to Valhalla after dying in battle. We always assume that being einherjer means you get to look all youthful in life, probably with your armour all shined up and your best fur cloak. Imagine the disappointment of these guys to find out that bleeding head wound is how you are now.

Or maybe these poor souls are Vikings that died of disease or old age or choking on a chicken bone. In any of those situations you don’t get Valhalla, you instead go abide with Hel down in Niflheim. It’s dreary and grey there, and there’s no central heating like in Odin’s Hall, but on the plus side you don’t have to spend every day of eternity fighting one another. That shit would get old quick.

How I Came To Know It: I obtained a clutch of Einherjer albums from my buddy Ross when he parted with his CD collection and gave me first pick. I ended up with four of their albums, and like them all.

How It Stacks Up: As noted, I have four Einherjer albums. Of those, “Norwegian Native Art” comes in third.

Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4

“Norwegian Native Art” is a dark record, with a whole lot of underworld and suffering. Odin’s spear wound as he seeks the knowledge of runes, a horror filled visit to the aforementioned land of Hel, and even the burning of Yggdrasil, the world tree (prime suspect: fire giant and known arsonist Surtr).

Heavy topics, but fortunately Einherjer are plenty heavy enough to meet these tales with some heaviness of their own, doubling down on thump and crunch that goes with songs about the afterworld, the end of the world, and sometimes both.

Einherjer’s brand of metal is a mix of traditional metal, some black metal and folk structures peppered throughout, as you might expect from the record’s title. They also venture to add no small amount of synthy organ sounds. This should not work, but it does, adding a symphonic element that balances nicely against the crunch of double guitar and the crash of drums.

There are songs where the symphonic elements are a bit heavy handed (notably “Crimson Rain” which can’t seem to match its soar with its plod), but these moments are rare and usually the mix of styles is well apportioned.

Lead vocals on Einherjer go through a few iterations across their career, and on this record we have lost Rune Bjelland but still not fully turned to Frode Glesnes. Lead vocals are listed as Ragnar Vikse, who occupies a strong space between death growl (more of a rasp here than the full growl) and a metal-infused folk vocal. Vikse and Glesnes do a bit of call and answer here and there and the two slightly different, but complementary styles are well matched to the middle ground the album occupies in metal’s many worlds.

The record’s opener, “Wyrd of the Dead” is as good as this style of music gets, with a powerful invocation of Odin in his darkest moments, hanging impaled on a spear seeking wisdom. With its deliberate rhythm and double guitar crunch, the song’s construction would serve well as marching music to a Dwarven army. If Odin’s your thing, then this is your song.

Other songs, like “Hugin’s Eyes” showcase drummer Gerhard Storesund, who has a nice mix of an old school dull thump reminiscent of Bill Ward as well as the more modern approaches like double bass, both blended nicely in a single song as the band bounces from unbounded fury to a more sedate guitar riff suitable for throwing your neck out to in the mosh pit.

Ere the end Einherjer drops a chill out track with “Regicide”, which features a guest duet with fellow Norwegian Hanne Andersen. This tune is a bit phantom of the opera with all the synth for my liking, but Andersen’s vocals (sung not growled) are a well-timed palate cleanser after all the stabbing and burning.

While the front half of “Norwegian Native Art” is better than the back, the whole record is solid and a worthy entry in the discography of a band that – other than being really into Viking folklore – refuses to be defined by genre or external expectation. That’s a good way to approach all art, Norwegian or otherwise.

Best tracks: Wyrd of the Dead, Hugin’s Eyes, Burning Yggdrasil 

CD Odyssey Disc 1968: Orange Goblin

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey. As we’ll be doing for the next 50 or so reviews, here’s a few records I recommend from the year corresponding to the review number.

• The Rolling Stones, “Beggar’s Banquet” (Disc 381)
• The Beatles, “The White Album” (Disc 593)
• The Byrds, “Sweethearts of the Rodeo” (Disc 1021)

Not exactly a very surprising list, and overall 1968 does not look to be shaping up as my favourite year in music.

And now…goblins!

Disc 1968 is…Frequencies from Planet Ten

Artist: Orange Goblin

Year of Release: 1997

What’s up with the Cover? There is a LOT going on with this cover. We have landed on an alien planet just in time to see a musical meet up. A giant intergalactic amp and speaker stacks are pumping out tunes to all the groovy guests.

The dude with the hookah may even be producing some sonic creations of his own with all those shoulder pipes. The cone-headed green dude has a squeeze box of sorts, if a squeeze box was a disembodied mouth that shrieked when you squeezed it.

As for the moon, he is the only one who appears distressed at the whole affair. Maybe he’s already had some noise complaints from the other planets, or maybe he’s just afraid of music. I admit I am also a little afraid of music that features a screaming mouth being squeezed by a disembodied hand.

That said I’ve got pretty varied tastes and would be willing to give it a go.

How I Came To Know It: I was introduced to Orange Goblin by my friend Chris, who played a record of theirs one day during a barbecue. It isn’t your usual fare for a barbecue, but it worked.

This particular album is part of a 2002 rerelease of Orange Goblin’s first two records (the other being 1998’s “Time Travelling Blues”) that I found used at the local record store and snapped up on the cheap.

How It Stacks Up: Orange Goblin has 10 studio albums, but I only have four. Of those four, I put “Frequencies from Planet Ten” at #2.

Ratings: 4 stars

“Frequencies from Planet Ten” is Orange Goblin’s first record, so it can be forgiven for wearing its inspirations on its sleeves. Fortunately, those influences are honoured and blended, not simply imitated. The result is a record that at different times can feel from a previous time and also strangely current, often alternating between these sentiments within a single song.

Orange Goblin is for the most part a psychedelic metal band, prone to groove-driven guitar riffs suitable for watching a pack of Harley Davidson’s drive by. They also liberally mix in garage rock and even a soupcon of KISS in the vocal delivery of lead singer Ben Ward.

Ward’s raspy tones are more Lemmy than Simmons/Stanley but the phrasing of the songs have a KISS groove to them in places that the more punk-flavoured Motorhead doesn’t explore.

I found the sound initially a bit too full and busy, but Orange Goblin is like a very hot bath – you’ve got to immerse yourself for a while before you decide if you like it. The longer I listened the more I started to pull the intricacies of time signatures, and internal melodic shifts.

When they do these well they hearken to greats like Black Sabbath; chugging riffs that made me want to swing what’s left of my hair in a mosh-fueled fury. Those riffs tend to sit forward in the pocket creating that urgent lean that had me thinking earlier of fat-bodied choppers and growling sword pipes.

There were also many occasions where they descended into a more experimental thrashing about. Sometimes these worked (and reminded me favourably of Deep Purple) and other times they got a bit too impressed with themselves (and reminded me of Cream).

You read that right, dear reader: I admire Cream’s contributions to hard rock, but I don’t like listening to an album full of it.

But I digress…

The band does a bit of all of this stuff – the groove, the psych, and the weird – on “Saruman’s Wish”, which is one of my favourites almost despite itself. You can enjoy this record just for the many different musical movements it explores across a little over six minutes, but the lyrics are also solid. They explore Saruman the White’s descent into madness (presumably with all that Palantir-staring he’s been getting up to). He sees a world lost, with the only escape to selfishly seize what power he can.

Later the band will do a short instrumental tune capturing the mysterious beauty of the forest of Lothlorien (which they misspell “Lothlorian”). It is a lovely palate cleanser halfway through the record’s otherwise furious pace.

Lord of the Rings fans, that bit was for you. IYKYK.

I actually found the back half of the record stronger than the front, but that could be because on each listen it took a while to sink in.

“Orange Goblin” (the song) is the crunchies track on the record, which is saying something. This is fist-pumping thump at its best. A lot of the lyrics on this record are overwrought and ridiculous, but it works well when paired with the bombastic beats and riffs on a song like “Orange Goblin”.

There are two bonus tracks on this re-issue, which are basically adding a two-song EP onto the back end. I don’t usually like when a band adds bonus tracks onto the same disc, but this EP is only two tracks (“Nuclear Guru” and a cover of “Hand of Doom”) also released in 1997, and is a good stylistic fit.

As for the cover of “Hand of Doom” it doesn’t add a lot to the Sabbath original other than 90 seconds of playing time, but it is well-played and any day I get a chance to hear “Hand of Doom” is a good day.

Overall, this record is very solid debut. There are places where they stray a bit too close to the edge of imitation (one track has Ward calling out a very Ozzie-like off-the-beat, “all right now!” which I thought unnecessary) but they are rare moments that I forgive as part of the recklessness of youth. For the most part this is a band exploring myriad off hard rock traditions and forging their own space in the process.

Best tracks: The Astral Project, Saruman’s Wish, Lothlorian (sic), Orange Goblin, Star Shaped Cloud

CD Odyssey Disc 1966: Ozzy Osbourne

I’ve decided to try something new where before I do the review of the day, where I list a few (no more than five) of my favourite records from a year with same number as what review I am on. Obviously once we are “in the future” this will cease, but it’ll be fun for a while.

So, without further ado, here are two great records from 1966:

·       Bob Dylan, “Blonde on Blonde” reviewed at Disc 306

·         Simon & Garfunkel, “Sounds of Silence” Disc 239 – where I wrongly labelled it’s release year as 1965 (in my defence it was January, 1966).

I also really dig the Supremes – “Supreme A’ Go-Go” but I don’t own it yet. That is going to change very soon.

“Wait a minute”, you may be saying, “did he just exclude both "Pet Sounds" and "Revolved"? Yeah, I did. I like both those records just fine, but these are some of my favourite albums from 1966, not someone else’s…

Disc 1966 is…No More Tears

Artist: Ozzy Osbourne

Year of Release: 1991

What’s up with the Cover? Ozzy, having doffed his shirt, is looking angsty and withdrawn. This is in contrast to early Ozzy covers that have him in full cosplay looking like a crazed maniac.

This may seem an odd departure, but don’t judge Ozzy. Every band not still in the denial of hair metal’s death spiral at this time was trading in for tarp-less angst.

Frankly, I think Ozzy wears it better than most. He’s even sprouting a small angel wing on his back, which would have made wearing a shirt itchy.

How I Came To Know It: This is yet another of my Ross records, obtained from my buddy Ross when he divested his CD collection. This is the seventh review of that bunch so far. Thanks, Ross!

How It Stacks Up: I currently have four Ozzy records (two via Ross, and two via my own devices). I don’t know any of them well enough yet, but I am confident “No More Tears” at least good enough to be third, and maybe even second. For now I’ll put it in third. Maybe it’ll finish second, but that’s the disadvantage of skating first…

Ratings:4 stars

Great artists tend to have later career classic records, and “No More Tears” is one of those for Ozzy Osbourne. More than a decade after he launched his solo career with the brilliant “Blizzard of Ozz” Ozzy returns with a record that is a bit more polished than what fans might expect but showcasing some of his strongest work.

While the record leans a bit more into hard rock ballads than pure metal, there’s no denying its edge, with Ozzy always willing to lean into the darker side of the human experience.

This is never truer than on the opening track, “Mr. Tinkertrain” a song told from the perspective of a child abuser, who has given himself the clownish alter ego of Mr. Tinkertrain, under which he hurts kids. Ozzy sings about madmen and werewolves without a second thought, but the deep dive into the terrifying and horrible Mr. Tinkertrain is as dark as he gets. It is genuinely creepy.

The record features two timeless earworms that would help define the decade for those with an ear for metal. The first of these is “Mama I’m Coming Home”, fueled by the inspired picking of guitarist Zakk Wylde. Wylde’s work here is like a pastoral folk song in places, then switching to pure metal magic in the inspired solo that – like all good solos - relies more on tone than speed.

“Mama, I’m Coming Home” has some of Ozzy’s best work as a vocalist as well, as he does what Ozzy always does – turns his performance deeply inward to his most vulnerable, and then lets that vulnerability blossom out to his audience. The ability to share the unseen storms in the depth of the human heart is a true art, and few do it as well as Ozzy.

The other big hit was “No More Tears” which is another metal classic. It has an odd bit of synth production at the front end that are very much a product of the time, but “No More Tears” makes that fuzzy production a feature not a bug. The song is a long one at 7:23 in playing time, but you never get bored.

While those are the radio hits (I assume) the whole record is great, and on successive listens I enjoyed this record more and more. In addition to freaking us out with “Mr. Tinkertrain” and making us feel the feels with “Mama…” Ozzy throws in a bunch of songs that are ground zero for metal conversation.

“Hellraiser” is a song about being on the road and rocking out. It’s simple message: “come to my concert, and I will blow you away”. “I Don’t Want to Change the World” is classic metal rebellion. A “screw you” for all those critics saying Ozzy is bad for your kids. Best lines:

“Tell me I'm a sinner, I've got news for you
I spoke to God this morning and he don't like you
You're telling all the people the original sin
He says, he knows you better than you'll ever know him”

“Zombie Stomp” is a weird Side Two offering that took me a while to love. It takes forever to get going and feels like more of an exploration of beat and rhythm than a full song. In the end it never became a favourite, but I started to appreciate it for what it was. Could the record (which approaches a full hour in length) live without the six-minute stretch of “Zombie Stomp”? Yeah, it could, but it is more weird and out of place than objectively bad.

The final track, “Road to Nowhere,” is a perfect summary of Ozzy’s ability to pull you in with deeply personal compositions. Here Ozzy is feeling a bit of regret across past years. He doesn’t wallow in mistakes once made, but he acknowledges them in a way that feels sincere and thoughtfully explored.

“The wreckage of my past keeps haunting me
It just won't leave me alone
I still find it all a mystery
Could it be a dream?
The road to nowhere leads to me”

Ozzy isn’t saying he’d change anything in this song, he’s just recognizing that he got here on his own. By internalizing his own road to nowhere, and sharing it with the audience, he invites us all to a little introspection.

Purists might say that some of these songs are too soft around the edges for an Ozzy record. I might have said the same in 1991 when it came out and was not yet a converted Ozzy fan. But those people (including me) were completely overlooking just how consistently ballsy Wylde’s guitar work is on this record. We were also overlooking that at their core these are just well-constructed songs, that would be bangers in any genre.

I’m so glad that through my friend Ross I had a chance to reacquaint myself with this record 25 years later and both recognize my initial error, and this record’s greatness.

Best tracks: I Don’t Want to Change the World, Mama I’m Coming Home, No More Tears, S.I.N., Hellraiser, Time After Time, Road to Nowhere

CD Odyssey Disc 1964: Sabaton

There is a special rule in the CD Odyssey that when I go see a band live in concert I can directly select their album, provided it is the album they are touring. That’s what’s happening here. So today it isn’t random, but don’t get used to it. We’ll be back to not knowing where our musical journey takes us in no time.

Also, if you like a bit of live concert review with your studio experience, I’ve provided exactly that following this review. Just keep scrollin’!

Disc 1964 is…Legends

Artist: Sabaton

Year of Release: 2025

What’s up with the Cover? Artwork that depicts the various characters you are going to encounter on the album. Looks like that rascal from the 12^th Dynasty Senusret III is getting centre stage on this one. Not my favourite song on the album but he does have a handsome visage and a resplendent headdress, so it’s an understandable choice.

Other notables you’ll see include Hannibal, Napoleon and Miyamoto Musashi. And others! Collect all your historical favourites here on…Legends!

How I Came To Know It: This was just me buying the latest release from Sabaton – a band I have been following for about seven years now. This is not remotely from the beginning, so I claim no street cred, but I have been making up for lost time.

How It Stacks Up: I have ten Sabaton albums. “Legends” is a good record, but I must reluctantly rank it at #9.

Ratings: 3 stars

Sabaton is one of those bands that I call “ACDC bands”. Not because they sound like ACDC (they don’t) but because like ACDC their songs all sound very similar to one another. If you like the sound, you tend to like their albums and if you don’t then you really need to go find a new interest, because this is their thing, and the lads aren’t for turning.

That thing is a mix of power metal, folk metal, and New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal (NWOTM – yes, it’s a term, IYKYK), a galloping beat, power chords and the bombastic vocals of frontman Joakim Broden.

Despite 25 years in the bombast game, Broden hasn’t lost a step and his vocals still cut through the fog of war (and on a Sabaton record there is a lot of that) and tells tales of various characters and battles through the course of human history.

I’ve mentioned this on previous reviews but it bears repeating: Sabaton are a band that sings about historical events, almost exclusively of the military variety. Much like their style of music, if this appeals to you, you will tend to view their records favourably and if this does not appeal to you then it is going to be a very long and fitful 45-55 minutes, indeed.

“Legends” is no exception to both the musical and thematic rules of the band, and because I land nicely at that intersection of bias, I had no complaints on that front. In fact, there are a few standouts on the album.

The first of these is “Templars”, a classic full-tilt Sabaton galloper about the Knights Templar that has a first-rate guitar riff hooking your ears. Broden is particularly good here, as the song lends itself to his range well and as usual, makes everything the height of DRAMA. This despite lyrics that are literal to the highest degree (another Sabaton standard). Don’t look for a lot of metaphor on a Sabaton record – they are here to share some history they found interesting, and they’re sticking to the facts, ma’am.

Another winner is “Crossing the Rubicon” about the fateful decision made by Julius Caesar to bring his legions back to Italy and contest for the leadership of Rome. Again, the heavy riffs and the unison singing on the chorus encourage singing along and create a surge of energy. Sabaton captures the dread import of decision like the crossing of the Rubicon and transports those momentous events across time and space so a modern audience can feel the urgency. It ain’t exactly time travel, but it’s a cousin.

My last of three favourites is “Lightning at the Gates” the story of Hannibal surprising the Roman legions by invading Italy across the alps. A bold maneuver that didn’t ultimately win him the war, but an inspiring bit of generalship all the same. Also, this song has one of the better melodic structures on the record, capturing the shifts in elevation, the determined march of an army and even a bit of optimistic whimsy in the guitar solo, as befits such an unorthodox bit of strategy.

So why only ranked 9th? Because apart from these three songs a lot of “Legends” is just not up to the same standard of earlier Sabaton records. When you do the same thing a lot, you walk a thin line to avoid becoming an imitation of yourself, and there are songs on “Legends” that feel a little like they are trying to squeeze water out of a stone. Also, while I don’t expect Shakespearean prose, songs like “I, Emperor” (Napoleon) and “Maid of Steel” (Joan of Arc) land awkwardly in both lyrics and phrasing. “I, Emperor” in particular is a plodder.

But even with a couple of clunkers this is still a Sabaton record, and all the ingredients you like (if you like this sort of thing) are there. While I didn’t get the full rush of some of their truly great records, I still had a good time and unlike most of the stuff they sing about, no one got hurt in the process.

Best tracks: Templars, Crossing the Rubicon, Lightning at the Gates

The Concert: October 8, 2026 at the PNE Forum, Vancouver, BC

This concert was originally scheduled for April but one of the members of the band had a medical issue and the show had to be delayed. I decided to stick it out, and with the companionship of my buddy Spence, I took it in with several thousand other screaming metalheads.

The Venue:

If you haven’t been to the PNE Forum, it is pretty great to see a show. It is essentially a mid-sized hockey rink built in the early thirties with a big central floor for moshing/fist-pumping types with good backs and bleachers on either side for those with backs that are a bit dodgier. No good for moshing, but still plenty of room to pump a fist or two. My companion and I, being of the dodgy-back persuasion, chose this option.

Wings of Steel

The first of two opening acts was Wings of Steel, a traditional heavy metal band that went full in for the eighties metal vibe. The line between homage and imitation in this genre can be admittedly fuzzy, so I’ll just say Wings of Steel did not offer anything new. The singer had good vocals and the songs were well structured, if a bit obvious. The guitar player played fast, but his solos felt disconnected from the song. It wasn’t to my taste, but I will say that on aggregate, these five guys had the BEST metal hair I have seen in many a decade.

Pop Evil

The second opener was Pop Evil, which was a very different kind of metal entirely. More thrashy/nu-metal crossover with a bit of nineties alternative mixed in there. These guys had good thump, but this isn’t a style that I personally find enjoyable, and I admit I started to get fidgety in anticipation of the main act.

Sabaton

At last, the band we’d been waiting for took the stage. I turned with breathless excitement to my friend and warned him that I might “fanboy out a bit”. This did happen.

First of all, Sabaton have a great stage setup. As you can see from the photo, it features a full-scale model of a First World War tank that the drummer perches on. There’s also a model piece of artillery to the side. With such initial promise, would this show feature explosions and smoke? Reader, it did, and plenty of it.

The band played tight and energetically and had a very knowledgeable and willing crowd eating out of their hands throughout the show. We sang along, we pumped our fists on demand and joyously participated as Sabaton rocked out.

The band has been doing this for a couple of decades now and their resulting mastery of the stage was on full display. They played off each other (often kidding each other with sight gags during songs and self-deprecating banter between them). Broden is a natural showman and brings levity and excitement to songs that are sometimes about heavy topics.

Unison singing is a big part of many Sabaton songs, and everyone brought their A game. There was even a trio of sexy (and talented) backup singers lending some higher range to the tunes.

In terms of setlist, I got almost everything I wanted, with two of my three favourites from “Legends” (see above) being played. Sadly, they also played, “I, Emperor” but even though I still didn’t like this song, it was markedly better live.

Other standouts for me included rousing renditions of “Bismarck”, “Fields of Verdun”, and “Night Witches”. The only one I really wanted to hear that didn’t make the setlist was “Winged Hussars” but hey, you can’t have everything.

Weirdly, there was no encore but that was OK with the show naturally wrapping up with a crescendo of bangers and a very theatrical series of bows (the band, Broden alone, the band with the backup singers, etc.) followed by the very welcome tossing of drumsticks, guitar picks and even the setlist sheet into the crowd.

I am always a little leery of stadium shows with “older” bands, but there were no concerns here with either sound quality or energy levels, and it was a rollicking, fist-pumping good time. Well worth the trip.

CD Odyssey Disc 1959: Einherjer

It seems like every time I roll a record by this next band fate has me taking a long drive. Last time it was “Norron” reviewed back in June when I went to Sidney to go shopping and this time once again out to Sidney, but this time to the airport. Maybe listening to Viking metal dares the universe to send you on a journey, although neither of mine involved sailing in a longship or looting a monastery.

Disc 1959 is…Dragons of the North XX

Artist: Einherjer

Year of Release: 2016 (remake of the 1996 record “Dragons of the North”)

What’s up with the Cover? A depiction of a carved figurehead, presumably on the front of a Viking longship because, well, that’s where they go.

Why did Vikings adorn the front of their ships with these carvings? Presumably because they are scary and to show they meant business.

How I Came To Know It: This is part of the “Ross Records” collection that I got from my buddy Ross when he left CD technology behind. I secured a whole bunch of Einherjer records at the time. Thanks, Ross!

How It Stacks Up: I have four Einherjer albums, and I like them all. I think “Dragons of the North XX” is my favourite, but then I don’t own the original “Dragons of the North” from 1996 and it is pretty great.

Ratings: 4 stars

I don’t know what possessed Einjerjer to re-record their entire 1996 classic folk/Viking metal album “Dragons of the North” twenty years later. I suppose if you make such a classic record in the genre there’s no harm in making it twice. As for me, I like this record plenty – both times in fact.

The two biggest differences you will encounter is the XX version leans a bit further into metal and away from folk than its predecessor and the vocals of Rune Bjelland and Audun Wold are replaced by guitarist and singer Frode Glesnes. I’m not sure who I prefer better, but Frode is the voice I know on all my other Einherjer records and I like the sound of him.

Glesnes will not blow the doors off any singing contest, but he delivers the melodic rasp and a sinister tone that these songs require. The lyrics – which are almost universally about groups of Vikings killing and plundering about the place, or the perspective of an individual Viking doing the same thing.

The title track leads us off with a folksy guitar riff and the heavy thump of long-time drummer Gerhard Storesund (aka Ulvar) setting the stage. The song is notably heavier and crunchier than the 1996 version, with the ominous pounding of Storesund’s reminding me favourably of Black Sabbath’s Bill Ward. The song has a pulse to it that makes you feel the pull of the oars of a Viking longship as it climbs its way up a river in search of the aforenoted killing and plundering.

The album’s other standout is “Forever Empire” which has the same dread-filled heaviness to it, offset by the record’s best guitar solos. While a few of the lesser solos on “Dragons…” feel uninspired, there are more than a few that pull you in with both tone and construction. They also provide a good foil to the drum-heavy groove. The combo is like the flashes of sword and human struggle that punctuate the moment when the rowing stops and the fighting starts.

Lyrically the stories aren’t always clear, but there is a common thread of mania to the characters Frode gives voice to. These characters are warlord conquerors; an occupation that doesn’t lend itself to humility and circumspection. I have a friend who likes to remind me that with their “if you die while fighting you go to Valhalla” mythology Vikings were essentially a death cult, and Einherjer – a band that is literally named after those dead warriors feasting in Odin’s hall – double down on the mindset that would create.

The result is music that transports you to the nexus of menace, dread, and glory, which is entirely appropriate to the subject matter. Listening to “Dragons of the North XX” is a modern sonic experience that interprets the manic exhilaration of the raiders, and by extension I also found myself contemplating the terror of seeing these raiders inexorably advancing up a river to your town.

Capturing both those experiences across a thousand years of history on a modern heavy metal record is an impressive feat. Making that same record resonate essentially twice twenty years apart even more so.

Best tracks: Dragons of the North, Forever Empire, Slaget Ved Hafrsfjord

CD Odyssey Disc 1952: Moon Tooth

Before we get into today’s review, a quick word of love for the recently departed Dolly Parton. I’ve been a Dolly fan since I measured my years in single digits. I even had a poster of her on my wall growing up.

I have always loved her music, but as years went by I also came to love the person. In addition to being one of country music’s greatest singer-songwriters, Dolly was the personification of grace, acceptance and love. The world will be a colder place in her absence, but I like to think that somewhere out there at some metaphysical version of “Two Doors Down” she’s ‘laughin’ and drinkin’ and havin’ a party.’

Heaven should be so lucky.

Disc 1952 is…Crux

Artist: Moon Tooth

Year of Release: 2019

What’s up with the Cover? It looks like a collapsed temple of some kind, although it has fallen apart in a remarkably symmetrical manner. I ascribe this to the power of the glowing rune etched on that big stone altar.

How I Came To Know It: The usual way – I read a review and decided to check it out. I recall the reviews others did for this record were fairly effusive in their praise. Mine will be less so.

How It Stacks Up: Moon Tooth have at least three studio albums that I know of, but I only have this one, so it can’t stack up.

Ratings: 2 stars

Something can be good and just not good for you. Therein lies the mystery that is Moon Tooth’s “Crux” and the lowly two stars you see assigned above. Could this band be better than two stars? Quite possibly yes, but not for me.

For those of you not familiar with Moon Tooth, they are a progressive metal band with a sound somewhere halfway between late-era Soundgarden and late-era Rush. That’s some solid parentage from a genre perspective, and given the many kind words I’ve expressed for both those bands, you’d expect some of that love to rub off.

Some does. Starting most notably with the drumming of Ray Marte, which for me is hands-down the best part of this record. Marte is a true technician in the Neil Peart style. While he isn’t the godlike talent that Peart is, he is damned fine at his craft, dealing out complicated rhythms that account for the lion’s share of the record’s frenetic energy.

Vocalist John Carbone edges more toward the deep thrum of Chris Cornell rather than the high-pitched peal of Geddy Lee. Like Peart on the drums, any comparison with Chris Cornell on vocals is bound to come up short, and Carbone is no exception. He has good tone, and great phrasing, but he isn’t going to blow any doors off. It’s solid, but not a star on its own.

The songs are proggy, so if you want some simple thumpers in 4/4 time you are going to be disappointed. This stuff jumps around rather unpredictably. Despite all the complexity the songs are surprisingly catchy, which is always the baseline for progressive rock. At the end of the day, it has to be listenable, and “Crux” is all of that.

But despite the thoughtful composition and the solid musicianship (the guitar and bass are also first-rate), I found it all a bit boring and emotionally unengaging. Worse, it tends to have a self-consciousness that makes the songs feel overblown. In this way it had me thinking of Them Crooked Vultures (reviewed way back at Disc 750) who are similarly technically gifted but left me empty. “Crux” has a better separation of sound than TCV, but it wasn’t enough to make up for something that felt more clever than heartfelt.

Is part of the problem that my range of interest in progressive metal a bit narrow? Undoubtedly, yes. This record is well constructed, well played and worth the price of admission for Marte’s drumming alone. If you are a big fan of progressive rock or metal, you should definitely check these guys out.

But at the end of the day I did not feel the feels, which for me is a dealbreaker. The songs have plenty of dynamic range, but I couldn’t really separate one from the other, and it felt like a series of well thought out musical experiments, as likely to have me staring quizzically as drawing me into a fist-pumping moment of triumph.

So I shall bid Moon Tooth a fond farewell; a puzzle I either couldn’t solve or that didn’t inspire me to try very hard, depending on how you want to see it.

Best tracks: Musketeers, Rhythm and Roar

CD Odyssey Disc 1951: Finsterforst

This next album comes to you slightly delayed, as I have been on a road trip to visit family. This particular road trip’s length calls for about eight albums worth of music, and tradition dictates Sheila gets to pick four and I pick the other four. We’ve been doing this for years and have established some etiquette to ensure we pick records we’ll both enjoy while driving.

This trip the albums were: Black Sabbath - Master of Reality, Boston – Boston, Grace Cummings – Storm Queen, Dick Dale – Mr. Eliminator, Frank Turner – Tape Deck Heart, U2 – All That You Can’t Leave Behind, Wailin’ Jennys – Firecracker, and Jennifer Warnes – Famous Blue Raincoat.

As for the CD Odyssey, it has decided to stick with more metal from the early 2010s.

Disc 1951 is…Rastlos

Artist: Finsterforst

Year of Release: 2012

What’s up with the Cover? An intrepid (and bedraggled) traveler looks out upon a craggy landscape of deep river valleys and majestic peaks.

This looks like it would be one hell of a day hike, and I hope that guy packed a lunch.

How I Came To Know It: This is one of my recently acquired Ross Records, aka albums that I picked up from my friend Ross when he got rid of his CD collection recently.

How It Stacks Up: I snagged a bunch of Finsterforst from Ross, and while the more detailed exploration across multiple listens have yielded mixed results, this is my favourite of the bunch so far. I rank it first or maybe even…forst!

Ratings: 4 stars

The experience of “Rastlos” is that of taking a long, warm, angry bath. You might get in ready to thrash and splash about but you’ll quickly find just lying there simmering with a low-key fury can be surprisingly therapeutic.

You’ll have time to make the adjustment, too. Like all Finsterforst albums, “Rastlos” is long – over 75 minutes of music, spread across a mere seven songs. It’s the kind of music that requires a bit of surrender to enjoy. Don’t meet it head-on, let it come at you like the tide, slow and inexorable, and submerge you.

“Rastlos” is Finsterforst’s third album, and for me the record where they finally get the mix of folk and metal right. It is a bit more black than death to my ear (although I am not and expert in the intricacies of these modern divisions). On previous records the folksy elements clashed with that heavy wall of sound, but here they thread a melodic structure that provides growth and transformation – something I absolutely need to survive songs that routinely surpass 10 minutes’ playing time.

“Rastlos” is the first record with Ollie Berlin taking over the death growl portion of the singing from departed vocalist Marco Schomas. When I reviewed 2009’s “…zum Tode hin” (Disc 1937) I wondered if switching the vocalist would turn the switch for me to liking this band better, and it turns out it has. Berlin’s growl is richer and more melodic and while I can’t say that’s a better experience for others, it was a better experience for me.

The folk elements of the arrangements are well timed as well, providing multiple palate cleanser moments within the epically long songs and keeping things as mysterious as they are aggressive. The guitar riffs are epic and not overused although they could have easily added more without complaint from me.

The songs also feature “clean” vocals courtesy of continuing band member Johannes Joseph, as we all as Viking-chant style chorus moments from a group of fellers called the “Black Forest Choir” which looks to be composed half of regular band members and half guests. All of this gives texture and layers to Finsterforst in a way I didn’t experience on their first two records.

Finsterforst are German and they sing in their native tongue, so I have no idea what they are going on about, but with the help of translation of the titles that range from “Nothing but Ashes (Nichts als Asche)” to “Rush of Flame (Flammenrausch)” I got the impression there was fire involved. I also got the sense of epic journeys across landscapes, but that could just be me projecting from the album cover.

As for the album title, it translates roughly as “restless” and “Rastlos” does have that quality. It isn’t a fidgety restlessness though, but more of a wanderlust and a vision that is big and broad and always reaching outward. These songs are expansive and variably evoked the ocean, fire, or even the thunder of heavy cavalry. Anything that rolls unhindered across a landscape. It makes the listener feel small, but still significant – a witness to something more powerful than yourself.

On earlier records it felt like Finsterforst was just going to go hard to goal and lose the plot along the way. By rounding out their sound and using the length of their songs as a feature to let them properly develop, they’ve landed on something special.

Make no mistake, though. This isn’t easily accessible stuff. It is heavy and intricate, and not friendly to the casual radio listener. But if you can surrender to the heaviness of “Rastlos” it will submerge you into soundscapes of subtlety and power that’ll make that initial shock and shortness of breath all worth it.

Best tracks: Nichts als Asche, Fremd, Stirbt Zuletzt, Ein Lichtstein

CD Odyssey Disc 1950: Sabaton

Welcome back to the CD Odyssey where we have had a month of reviews without metal, but that dismaying trend ends here.

Disc 1950 is…Attero Dominatus

Artist: Sabaton

Year of Release: 2006

What’s up with the Cover? “Hey, mister - looking for a gate to a fantastical alternate dimension?”

“Um…I’ll take the next one thanks. This one looks dangerous and frankly, the entryway is a bit pokey.”

How I Came To Know It: I’ve been a late-blooming but ardent Sabaton fan since 2019. This album was just me digging ferociously through their back catalogue.

How It Stacks Up: I now have ten Sabaton albums. I like them all, and “Attero Dominatus” is better than most – I rank it at #3.

Ratings: 4 stars

Behold the majesty and the ferocity of Sabaton, masters of Battle Metal!

Although there are many sub-genres of metal “Battle Metal” is not one of them, but if it were, Sabaton would be its patron saint. This Swedish power metal band like powerful riffs, crashing drums, bombastic vocals and tying it all together, lyrics about history and battles. A lot.

If you can get over that, you won’t like this record. Sabaton’s obsession with historical events (particularly events involving armed conflict) is intrinsic to who they are as a band. If you are listening through gritted teeth hoping for some other topic to arise, you’re just hurting yourself.

If stories about battles are OK with you, then “Attero Dominatus” is some of Sabaton’s best work, and well worth your time. Only their second record, they are already well established in their sound, with every song thundering down on you like an anthem. It is my favourite record featuring the original twin lead guitars of Oskar Montelius and Rikard Sunden and drummer Daniel Mullback (all of whom left after 2012). Like Sabaton’s neutral stance to history, I like both the original and later lineups.

Some power metal bands are obsessed with playing fast and technical. Sabaton are incredibly polished and tight, but they have a thump that is the envy of their peers. A big part of this is the vocals of Joakim Broden. His voice is low and powerful, eschewing head-voice contortions for a big booming vocal that lends gravitas to lyrics that, in lesser hands, could come off stilted and overly literal.

This album also consistently delivers some the finest guitar riffs in Sabaton’s impressive catalogue. Even the songs I liked slightly less still featured killer fist-pumping guitar bits.

Sabaton don't shy away from any conflict, but World War Two is an oft-visited theme.  "Rise of Evil” is particularly grim as it recounts the story of the rise of Nazism in thirties Germany. Choosing a more ponderous tempo than many other songs on the record, there is a deliberateness to the song, fed by Mullback’s heavy drum hits and a double guitar riff. It evokes an army on the move, a society in upheaval, and a descent into darkness. It is intentionally discomfiting and the track’s title frames the moment for what it was – the rise of evil.

Fortunately, the album’s title track provides a welcome thematic bookend to “Rise of Evil”, as it tells of the last days of Nazi reign as Berlin falls.  Here, Mullback’s drumming switches from deliberate thump to a fast-paced and front-end loaded roll, providing a sense of urgency as the long and violent conflict finally finds an end.

This being only the second record from Sabaton, they are not 100% converted to historical songs. The record’s final track, “Metal Crue” is a lighthearted celebration of heavy metal bands. The lyrics work overtime to include reference to a long list of metal band names that came before (I think there are about 20 dropped names in just 3:45 of running time). Technically this is a sort of history of metal, so maybe the boys stay on theme after all. Not the record’s best song by any stretch, and admittedly a bit silly, but also quite a lot of fun.

My copy of “Attero Dominatus” is the “re-armed” release, which has five bonus tracks, most of which I was glad to have. The highlight is a cover of Warlock’s “Fur Immer” which is majestic and masterful (and has me wanting to check out vintage Warlock records as well). The other bonus content isn’t as good, but good enough to not wreck the original record’s energy.

Overall, this is easily my favourite of Sabaton’s early work, and stands equal alongside some of my perennial favourites released later in their career. If you are a fan of Battle Metal, then this record is a must have. If you aren’t, congratulations on getting to the end of the review, but here your journey is likely to end.

Best tracks: Attero Dominatus, Rise of Evil, In the Name of God, Back in Control

CD Odyssey Disc 1941: Amon Amarth

I’ve fallen hard for this next band in a short period of time. So hard I was still sorting out how I felt about the eight albums in my collection when I bought this one – their ninth.

As habits go, there are worse ones.

Disc 1941 is… …Versus the World

Artist: Amon Amarth

Year of Release: 2002

What’s up with the Cover? A warrior in full-on “D&D action figure” pose faces down his opponent: the world!

Yes, this intrepid adventurer has decided to fight…planet earth. This cover reminds me of that Monty Python skit of the guy who plans to jump the English Channel, dig to China and eat Westminster Abbey: you don’t like his odds, but you have to admire his moxie.

As for this particular warrior’s quest, I would just caution him that objects in space are larger than they appear.

How I Came To Know It: I learned about Amon Amarth way late – 2019 – through a friend. Since then I’ve learned they don’t make bad records, so when I saw this gap in my collection at the local record store, I snapped it up.

How It Stacks Up: I have nine Amon Amarth albums. I have more every time I write a review of them it feels like (when I reviewed “Twilight of the Thunder God” back in 2022 (Disc 1538) I only had five). Anyway, it is hard to stack against a moving target, but on balance “Versus the World” is…eighth, but that’s no shame with a band this good.

Ratings: 3 stars

Amon Amarth – the band that consistently reminds me that death metal is legitimately awesome when played at a high level and infused with a little melody. Plenty of death metal is too harsh for my tastes, but Amon Amarth is engaging and catchy, while being just as intense and dangerous as anything else in the genre.

“Versus the World” is the earliest record by Amon Amarth I’ve experienced so far, and served to educate me on the evolution of their sound. Later records have crisper production values and a bit more separation of sound. “Versus the World” is muddier and raw around the edges while retaining all the qualities that make for a great Amon Amarth record. It almost has a hardcore vibe, until that precision drumming of Fredrik Andersson kicks you in the side of the temple, practically yelling “metal” at your delicate Eustachian tubes. Daring you to be a wimp and put in ear plugs.

Just kidding. There is nothing wimpy about putting in ear plugs at a metal show, if you want to be able to hear music later in life. Safety first, kids.

But I digress…

Back to the record. With “Versus the World”’s thick crunch I was tempted to call it “wall of sound” but it isn’t – Amon Amarth are so tight in their playing, and so grounded in the tasty pocket of rhythm guitar player Johan Soderberg that it is more like a symphony than a smash.

As with most (all?) Amon Amarth records, the lads like to sing about Vikings and the shit Vikings get up to. Rowin’, raidin’, lootin’, killin’ and eventually crossin’ over into Valhalla for more of the same (Viking heaven was pretty much all the same stuff from Viking life, minus the ability to die).

They’ve also got a song (“Thousand Years of Oppression”) about Christianity which is not…er…complimentary. In the lyrics the band rejects the “kind God” for Odin, and pine for the return of the “wrath of the Norseman”. While those ships have – quite literally – sailed, the song is one of the record’s best, featuring some precision drumming from Andersson and a powerful inexorable build to climax.

When I first heard “For the Stabwounds in Our Backs” I was convinced it was about the Viking response to the St. Brice’s Day Massacre of 1002 (history buffs: look it up) but according to the liner notes it’s just a bunch of Viking warriors returning from the dead and doing what Vikings like to do most. Still, there’s no clarity on who the backstabbers are and for this reason I like my (incorrect) narrative better.

As ever, the powerful and highly emotive death growl of lead singer Johan Hegg underpins every song on the record. Hegg is, quite simply, the best death growl I have ever heard. He is able to enunciate his words, infuse just the right amount of melodic phrasing, all while losing none of the visceral aggression the genre demands.

“Versus the World” lacks the thump of the classics that would follow it, (“Fate of Norns” in 2004 and “With Oden on Our Side” in 2006) and the songs don’t have the same dynamic differences of later classics like “Jomsviking” (2016) (Disc 1542) but it makes up for this with a purity of vision.

It is also a great tether-point to start to better understand the band’s sound, vision, and evolution through the years. Has Amon Amarth changed in subtle ways through their 25+ year journey? Of course, and hearing early records is just a reminder that change or no-change, they’ve always been a force.

Best tracks: For the Stabwounds in Our Backs, Where the Silent Gods Stand Guard, Thousand Years of Oppression, Bloodshed