Rating: 8/10
Release: 4 September 2015
Label: Nail Records

Hungarian folk metallers Dalradia had us waiting three years for their newest album ‘Aldas’. A long time for a band that used to release an album almost every year. Has it been worth the wait? Yes, it has. Dalradia treats us to everything they are good at. That’s nice folk melodies, harmony singing, a variety of folk instruments, variety in tempo and vocals. All that is played in a way that you may have heard before and yet Dalriada is very much its own band. Every song is brought very convincingly. The band is mature and have made the right choices. Do what you are good at and improve with every year, tour and experience. I wouldn’t mind seeing them on stage to check out how they perform live. We just might have us a nice little party, me thinks.

The intro is a bit of fun. A scratching violin playing a happy folk melody. The bass joining in. Something to get you in the mood for the rest of the album.
Second song ‘Amit ad az eg’ is very much what makes Dalriada a band to love. On the light side of folk metal. Think Arkona, Kivimetsan Druidi. Clean female vocal, later joined with clean male vocals, flute, keyboards. The moderate tempo suits the song perfectly.

‘Dózsa rongyosa’ brings us a bit more speed. The counter rhythm immediately wants to make you grab your partner and swirl him/her around the place. Bring it all in: flutes, fast keyboards, sharp guitar melodies, bagpipes, noticeable bass. It works very well together. The best song of the album, as far as I am concerned.

Not every song is equally memorable. Title track ‘Aldas’ for instance is a bit too standard to stand out, but the overall standard is high. No fillers here. A song like ‘Moldvageddon’ brings a nice different touch to the album. That is one more thing to like about the band: they are not afraid of adding a little different elements in their music. In this case a peculiar rhythm, lots of different instruments, a bit of spoken (shouted) words. There is even a ballad, called ‘Hamu es gyasz’ which give the guitar a lot of room to shine, using lots of wahwah. Last song ‘Fele zivatar’ is rather moody and closes the journey we were on.

So, join hands with a few of the many Eastern Europe bands that are out there (can you say ‘Merkfolk’?) and show yourselves on stage. I have no doubt we’ll be having a great time.

Tracklist

1. Intro 01:43
2. Amit ad az ég (Álmos búcsúja) 04:41
3. Dózsa rongyosa 06:08
4. Úri toborzó 07:10
5. Áldás 04:52
6. Világfa 04:43
7. Zivatar 04:45
8. Moldvageddon 03:33
9. Hamu és gyász 05:51
10. Futóbetyár 05:50
11. Fele zivatar 04:20