The first full-length studio release from Trøndelag Folk act Gåte since they represented their country at the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, Sigil (Season of Mist) finds the band in familiar territory, drawing on ancient Norwegian myths, stories, and legends.
Greek heavy rockers (for that’s what the press release dubs them) Villagers of Ioannina City deliver a ten-minute journey (I’d have said “Odyssey” but come on, even I’ve got standards) of epic breadth, from the gentle Folk guitar opener, to swooping Heavy Metal with enough distortion to run for office as the opening song to Venceremos (Napalm Records). The only really important other thing the press kit gave me was “folk”. Really important, like, “pretty much every track is infused with generalized Folk Rock during the slow moments” important. I like the mix. Even the occasional use of hurdy-gurdy feels more “tonal landscape” than “folk.” Continue reading
Created nearly twenty-five years ago, the Melodic Folk Metal band has a literal laundry list of former members and only has one musician who has been there since day one. Yet despite these factors usually causing the act to fizzle out, it instead enabled Eluveitie to constantly reinvent themselves while also somehow retaining a very clear and very likeable common thread. Continue reading