Reviewed - 08/10/05
Auf
Einer Wanderung
[Christhunt Productions]
When I first saw the newest EP"...Auf Einer Wanderung" from the German band Ulfsdalir listed in the New Releases section of my favorite distro, I saw their description as being Pagan Metal, and the piqued my interest even though I had never heard of the band before. I did some research on them and found and read some reviews of their older albums and found out that they had a sound similar to Viking-era Bathory, but with some Folk influences. I am not a fan of any era Bathory, but I oddly do love bands that were influenced by them for some reason. Anyway, the Folk aspect made it so I just had to purchase this new EP, so I did. When it arrived and I played it, I was left wondering if the few reviews I read about their older material were written by morons, or if the band had just really changed its sound for the new E.P.. I can't be for sure because I still haven't heard any of their older stuff to check it out for myself. Either way, this EP has nothing to do with Bathory or Folk at all.
"...Auf Einer Wanderung" consists of one twenty minute track of pure raw and uncompromising Pagan Black Metal, and for what it is trying to accomplish, it is fairly good if nothing spectacular. It has a sound reminiscent of early raw Black Metal bands, but injected with traditional Pagan melodies. I wouldn't call the guitar melodies Folk at all, but they have a nice epic and proud ambiance about them. Once in a while things get speedy as hell, and when this happens the drums are out of time with the rest of the music. A majority of this album is mid-paced though, and at these times every instrument works well with each other. The best parts of the album though are the slower passages that seem to break up this one long song into a few different shorter songs. In these spots on the album the music is extremely repetitive and the same three or four melodies are played over and over which becomes hypnotizing after a while. There's even some nice acoustic guitar pieces in a few spots within these slower moments of the album! I just wish the acoustic guitar was a bit more prevalent. It should be noted here that Ulfsdalir is a one man project, and everything is taken care of by its lone member who simply calls himself R.U.. He does a good job at playing everything himself, aside from the drum issues I talked about. But hey, at least he plays a real drum kit and doesn't use a drum machine like most of these style of bands use. And if you're not a fan of keyboards, you're in luck because R.U. does not use them at all on this EP.
R.U.'s vocals are extremely abrasive and raw. They are almost "gurgly" in spots. The vocals are okay, but are rather mundane and lacking anything unique at all. I can't comment on the lyrics here as they are not printed in the booklet, but I can tell you they are all written and sung in German.
The production is the biggest gripe I have about the album. It suffers from that intentional low-fi sound so many bands seem to strive for. The drum sound is really all over the place because the bass drums are almost non existent while the cymbals and snare drums are way too loud. The guitars and vocals are a bit too out in the front too. Sadly, about the only thing seemingly recorded at the right level are the few acoustic guitar parts. If the production had been better, I'd have tacked on a few more points to the rating.
The cover art for the album is an excellent photo showing a forest in deep Winter scene. I love these kinds of scenes as I'm a nature lover myself. The Ulfsdalir logo is one of the better logos I've seen in a long time too, so this coupled with the forest imagery makes for a very pleasing to look at cover. Unfortunately, the inside of the booklet is lacking. There are some more excellent nature photos and a photo of R.U., but that's it!
Some Pagan Metal fans, and especially raw Black Metal fans will definitely find something worthwhile on "...Auf Einer Wanderung" to make it a worthwhile purchase. I recommend the album, but just barely. The musicianship and songwriting is definitely there, but the production detracts from the album a lot. If R.U. can increase the production values on his future releases and tighten up his drumming a bit, I can see Ulfsdalir going from a good band to a great band. If you want this EP, you better hurry as it is an extremely limited edition release of only three hundred copies!
[Christhunt Productions]
When I first saw the newest EP"...Auf Einer Wanderung" from the German band Ulfsdalir listed in the New Releases section of my favorite distro, I saw their description as being Pagan Metal, and the piqued my interest even though I had never heard of the band before. I did some research on them and found and read some reviews of their older albums and found out that they had a sound similar to Viking-era Bathory, but with some Folk influences. I am not a fan of any era Bathory, but I oddly do love bands that were influenced by them for some reason. Anyway, the Folk aspect made it so I just had to purchase this new EP, so I did. When it arrived and I played it, I was left wondering if the few reviews I read about their older material were written by morons, or if the band had just really changed its sound for the new E.P.. I can't be for sure because I still haven't heard any of their older stuff to check it out for myself. Either way, this EP has nothing to do with Bathory or Folk at all.
"...Auf Einer Wanderung" consists of one twenty minute track of pure raw and uncompromising Pagan Black Metal, and for what it is trying to accomplish, it is fairly good if nothing spectacular. It has a sound reminiscent of early raw Black Metal bands, but injected with traditional Pagan melodies. I wouldn't call the guitar melodies Folk at all, but they have a nice epic and proud ambiance about them. Once in a while things get speedy as hell, and when this happens the drums are out of time with the rest of the music. A majority of this album is mid-paced though, and at these times every instrument works well with each other. The best parts of the album though are the slower passages that seem to break up this one long song into a few different shorter songs. In these spots on the album the music is extremely repetitive and the same three or four melodies are played over and over which becomes hypnotizing after a while. There's even some nice acoustic guitar pieces in a few spots within these slower moments of the album! I just wish the acoustic guitar was a bit more prevalent. It should be noted here that Ulfsdalir is a one man project, and everything is taken care of by its lone member who simply calls himself R.U.. He does a good job at playing everything himself, aside from the drum issues I talked about. But hey, at least he plays a real drum kit and doesn't use a drum machine like most of these style of bands use. And if you're not a fan of keyboards, you're in luck because R.U. does not use them at all on this EP.
R.U.'s vocals are extremely abrasive and raw. They are almost "gurgly" in spots. The vocals are okay, but are rather mundane and lacking anything unique at all. I can't comment on the lyrics here as they are not printed in the booklet, but I can tell you they are all written and sung in German.
The production is the biggest gripe I have about the album. It suffers from that intentional low-fi sound so many bands seem to strive for. The drum sound is really all over the place because the bass drums are almost non existent while the cymbals and snare drums are way too loud. The guitars and vocals are a bit too out in the front too. Sadly, about the only thing seemingly recorded at the right level are the few acoustic guitar parts. If the production had been better, I'd have tacked on a few more points to the rating.
The cover art for the album is an excellent photo showing a forest in deep Winter scene. I love these kinds of scenes as I'm a nature lover myself. The Ulfsdalir logo is one of the better logos I've seen in a long time too, so this coupled with the forest imagery makes for a very pleasing to look at cover. Unfortunately, the inside of the booklet is lacking. There are some more excellent nature photos and a photo of R.U., but that's it!
Some Pagan Metal fans, and especially raw Black Metal fans will definitely find something worthwhile on "...Auf Einer Wanderung" to make it a worthwhile purchase. I recommend the album, but just barely. The musicianship and songwriting is definitely there, but the production detracts from the album a lot. If R.U. can increase the production values on his future releases and tighten up his drumming a bit, I can see Ulfsdalir going from a good band to a great band. If you want this EP, you better hurry as it is an extremely limited edition release of only three hundred copies!
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Tracklist:
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| Rating: 7/10 | |
| Release Date: 2005 | |
| Length: 20:08 | |
| Review By: Britton Dicks | |
| Total Reviews: (1) | |
| Bands Website: NONE | |
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