Thorondir – ‘Aus Jenen Tagen’ (2011)
Rating: 10/10
Release: 3 June 2011
Label: CCP Records
Sometimes record-companies send us something which we don’t know already. We got a record from Thorondir last week, we thought we knew almost all folk-metalbands, but we were proved wrong. Two years ago this German pagan-metalband released their debut ‘Düsterwald’, but they though it was time for more.
Sounds of the sea, wind, and a keyboard, the opening-sound of ‘Aus jenen tag’. Drums are added and you have the recipe for ‘Ewige reise’ a nice way to begin your album with. Then a choir is also added and the drums drive up the speed, a scream and the first real song is a fact ‘Bündnis’, and I have to say for fans of German paganmetal, this sounds fun. Later in the track everything is turned of and only drums, acoustic guitar and a whispering voice remain. But after this they’re back with real metal ”Reich der Toten’. Again a very nice track and while I’m writing the review our editor is very busy adding Thorondir to Folk-metal.nl. Real German paganmetal, with probably as a weaker aspect, the resemblance with Equilibrium.
‘Fremdes land’ starts off with a weird acoustic guitar, and is slowly building up, but it doesn’t get as rough as the previous songs. ‘Weltenbaum’ is heavy like the first two tracks and has a nice intermezzo in it. ‘Tillenschatz’, is a much merrier song with which I can imagine a nice moshpit. ‘Middsommar’ is a nice song, but it could have been written by René Berthiaume or Andreas Völkl. A feeling which doesn’t go away with the next song. ‘Nebelhauch’ is the eighth track of this CD and I like it very much, no metal, but a nice folkloric piece in between. ‘Heymoar’ is a much darker compared to the rest of this album. ‘Weiße frau’ is another song just like the rest, but it has a nice folksauce. ‘Wodan’ is the final piece of this CD, the track starts off in a Tyr-like way. Fortunately this alters when the other instruments join in. Its much softer piece then we’re used to in the previous tracks, but it is a worthy end of ‘Aus jenen Tagen’ and it’s a very proud song to honour Wodan.
Dear reader, when you are a fan of German pagan-metal like Equilibrium, Varg, Kromlek or Wolfchant, this one fits perfectly in your collection. To me it’s just a mix of a lot of other German bands. Nevertheless it’s a very nice once and I think a lot of folk-metal fans will agree. I hope to see this bands live someday, I’m convinced that will end in a large moshpit.
Tracklist
- Ewige Reise 02:36
- Bündnis 06:08
- Reich der Toten 06:12
- Fremdes Land 06:57
- Weltenbaum 04:36
- Tillenschatz 04:14
- Middsommar 04:37
- Rauher Kulm 04:18
- Nebelhauch 01:18
- Heymoar 05:08
- Weiße Frau 06:27
- Wodan 06:07