Isgarde/Den Sista Vilobadden/2018 Full Length Review

  Sweden's  solo  project  Isgarde  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  continues  his  atmospheric  style  of  pagan  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  release  2018  album  "Den  Sista  Vilobadden".

  A  very  dark  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  which  also  introduces  grim  black  metal  screams  onto  the  recording  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  style  along  with  some  atmospheric  sounding keyboards  also  being  utilized  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  clear  vocals  fives  the  songs  more  of  a  pagan  metal  feeling  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  the  acoustic  guitars  also  adding  in  elements  of  folk  music  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  music  also  mixes  in  a  good  amount  of  mid  90's  influences  along  with  the  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  when  they  are  utilized  in  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  On  this  recording  Isgarde  remains  true  to  the  atmospheric  and  melodic  style  of  pagan  black  metal  from  previous  releases,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Swedish  and  cover  solitude  and  nature  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Isgarde  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  pagan  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Klatt  i  frostens  nalar"  "Time  For  the  Ages" and  "Begravd".  8 out  of  10.

Bandcamp

Facebook

  

Isgarde/Eowlandsvintr/Fila Sophiae/2018 Compilation Album Review

  Isgarde  are  a  solo  project  from  Sweden  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  these  recordings  plays  more  of  a  folk  inspired  form  of  pagan  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2018  compilation  album  "Eowlandsvintr"  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Fila  Sophiae  and consists  of  his  2017  ep's  "Olandsvinter"  and  "Olandscinter  II".

  Ambient  style  soundscapes  start  off  the  compilation  along  with  some  atmospheric  sounding  synths  before  going  into  a  heavier  pagan  metal  direction  which  also  introduces  melodic  guitar  leads  onto  the  recording  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  When  tremolo  picking  is  utilized  it  gives  the  songs  a  more  raw  feeling  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams  along  with  the  songs  also  bringing  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  when  acoustic  guitars  are  utilized  they  bring  in  elements  of  folk  music.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  compilation  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  riffs  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  atmospheric  and  heavy  parts  also  being  mixed  together  at  times  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  pagan  chants  and  as  the  compilation  progresses  a  brief  instrumental  can  be  heard  before  returning  back  to  a  heavier  direction.

  On  both  of  these  ep's  Isgarde  plays  a  style  of  pagan  black  metal  that  is  very  melodic,  raw,  atmospheric  and  epic sounding  while  also  mixing  in  elements  of  folk  music  at  times,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Swedish  and  cover  paganism  and  nature  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  collection  from  Isgarde  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw,  epic,  melodic  and  atmospheric  pagan  black  metal  with  a  touch  of  folk,  you  should  check  out  this  compilation.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Skedemosse"  "Harski"  and  "Doluft".  8  out  of  10.

Bandcamp

Facebook

    

Isgarde Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?

Not much to tell. I am Somath of ISGÄRDE and I live on the island Öland in Sweden and find a great outlet in my life in solitude to compose music that celebrates nature basically and living a life far from the modern world.

2.So far you have released one album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?

Majestic, raw, violent, atmospheric.

3.You refer to your music as 'Olandsk black metal' can you tell us a little bit more about this term?

As I dedicate this whole project to where I live, the life on an island, I call my music Öländsk black metal because it is really what inspire me and I am probably the only on ever using that term. It is what separates me from the rest.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with your music?

Nature, life on an island, mystery, magic, solitude and especially melancholy. If melancholy wasn't rooted so hard in my soul ISGÄRDE wouldn't exist.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Isgarde'?

Isgärde is actually a place on Öland. I find the name very intriguing and as soon as I thought about it it clicked for me. This music will go under that name. That's really it.

6.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?

Yes I do perform and produce everything myself. I used my friend Emil (Yxmarder) of the black metal band Blodsrit to master it. I did have to guest musicians on the album making the intro and outro. The intro was made by Filip Lönnqvist of Rave the Reqviem and the outro by Lord Aganaroth of Sapfhier/WAN. But for the main songs I doubt having any one else involved except for live performances, if that would ever happen. I just don't see the point in working with anyone else because I have my vision clear.

7.The new album was released on both Symbol Of Domination Productions and Black plague Records, are you happy with the support they have given you so far?

Yes, very so. Everything seems to work well.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black metal?

All reviews I've seen so far has been very positive and supportive. That's pleasant.

9.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

I do not plan intellectually when I write music. It has to be all on feel. I hardly think when I record and I do everything very fast because I want to capture the moment. It is almost psychedelic. Hard to explain.

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

This is often surprising for some, but I do not listen a lot to music. Hardly any black metal for example. I like to write and listen to my own music. Of course occasionally i listen to music but seldom metal to be honest. It could be really any genre. Music is music to me. I dislike labeling.

11.Does Paganism or Occultism play any role in your music?

In a way yes but I see things my way so I can not say that paganism or occultism by those terms and meanings to someone else apply for me. Many times people are pleased by word games. I am not.

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

I will be working with new material probably this fall or winter. Thanks for the interest in ISGÄRDE.

Bandcamp

Facebook

Isgarde/Jag Enslig Skall Ga/Symbol Of Domination Productions/Black Plague Records/2016 CD Review

  Isgarde  are  a  solo  project  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  raw,  epic,  and  atmospheric  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2016  album "Jag  Enslig  Skall  Ga"  which  was  released  as  a  joint  effort  between  Symbol  Of  Domination Productions  and  Black  Plague  Records.

  Thunder  and  wind  sounds  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  soundscapes  that  are  very  atmospheric  and  the  music  also  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  synths  and  programmed  beats  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  after  the  intro  the  music  gets  heavier  while  also  keeping  the  atmospheric  elements.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  it  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling  along  with  some  grim  screams  and  the  songs  also  bring  in  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

   Acoustic  guitars  as  well  as  some  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  and  as  the  album  progresses  flutes  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  tracks.  while  on  later  songs  some  psychedelic  elements  and  clean  yet  distorted  singing  can  be  heard  briefly  and  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  medieval  atmosphere  and  the  last  track  is  all  instrumental.

  Isgarde  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  raw  in  the Nordic  tradition  of  the  genre  while  also  having  its  epic,  melodic  and  atmospheric  moments,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  yet  powerful  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  a  mixture  of  Swedish  and  English  and  cover  darkness,  paganism  and  occultism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Isgarde  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw,  epic  and  atmospheric  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Battle  of  Bornghom"  "Ancient  Forest  Of  Witchery"  "Dungeons  Of  the  Devil"  and  "At  Gettlinge  Gravalt".  8  out  of  10.

Bandcamp

Facebook