Band/Artist: Windir
Song: Arntor, Ein Windir
Album: Arntor
Style: Black/Folk/Viking Metal
country/location: Sogndal, Norway
release: 1998
So the black metal series comes to an end! Don't worry black metal fans, there'll be more in the future! What better way to end this series with one of the masters of the subgenre. The mighty Windir!
To those who are tr00, Windir needs no introduction, but to those who aren't familiar, Windir was one of the leading black metal bands back in the day. Led by mastermind Valfar, they took traditional extreme black metal and infused it with folk melodies and lyrical themes. Valfar utilized black metal elements like blast beats, high pitched extreme vocals and tremolo played guitars to their fullest, while using incredibly beautiful folk melodies to create a sound that is both traditional and modern. This song is a prime example of that merge. There's the feeling of it being an old song that has been passed down for generations, while still being an extreme black metal song from the 90s. Granted this track is based upon an old folk song, but still. The guitars here are full and reverbed quite a bit to highlight the folk melodies. The song is hugely infectious as a result of these melodies and the unusually jovial and grim feel. Some parts of the track are actually quite fun and lively, especially in the middle. Even Valfar isn't so grim that he isn't "uplifted" by these parts, in fact he throws in a couple "yee haws!" (admittedly these moments were kinda the reason I posted this track! hehe). It's such a tragedy that Valfar passed away in 2004, however his passing is quite possibly the most black metal death ever. He went for a walk towards his family's cabin and got caught in a snowstorm and died of hypothermia. As I said before there is no better way to conclude a black metal series/playlist then with Windir. (if there are better ways, I don't want to hear it! haha)
Windir - Arntor, Ein Windir
1 comments:
Who is Bob?!
Post a Comment