Rating: 7.5/10
Release: 6 April 2019
Label: Independent

From Germany, we have the first full length from Tales of Ratatösk, a nice entrance to the Folk-metal scene. ‘Rise & Decay’ is a piece with diverse musicalization and great quality that starts with what is sought in a combination of folk and metal, but only if the songs are heard in order. The intro is a melodic warm welcome, while ‘Fire & Ice’ brings nice riffs, a great guitar solo, and enough growl to give us the characteristic energy of the Folk-Metal genre.

The melodies of bagpipes and violins are well constructed and contribute a lot to the sound of this album leaving it as a good representative of Pagan-Folk -Metal, although I think that its sound still have the possibility of improving with more robust melodies, especially on guitars and bass -that are already good for a debut album. One aspect that I think could be improved is the clear voice (I believe is from Maria Sergiou); in ‘We have no fear’ it sounds very beautiful but in ‘Tell your tale’ it does not feel so blended with the melody. This can be enhanced for future records, although maybe my mistake is the lack of listening to them live, which I hope to be able to do someday due to such an excellent beginning in the scene.

I liked ‘The traveler’s song’. It has very interesting melodic changes and a comforting sound. From the voice to the melody you can enjoy it from beginning to end, but my favorites were 2: ‘Jörmundar’ and ‘Battle of the Doomed Gods’. The first is wonderful in composition and excellently musicalized and arranged and I think it has a lot of chance to reach a lot of people. Here, all the instruments unite with great precision and should be an example for new bands. The second one is ‘Battle of the Doomed Gods’, it has all the above and a lot of energy as an addition.

‘Finbulwinter’ is good, it has a very good atmosphere taking us step by step through emotions from peace to an epic furor and leaving us again in tranquility. The entrance of the riff makes it more wonderful and ends placidly to leave us with what is coming in track 7 (previously commented). Already ending, we have a version of An-Dro very well executed with fresh energy despite being a song that can be heard in other bands versions.

Without a doubt, Rise & Decay is a good start for a band, which despite not being perfect leaves a very good first impression.

Tracklist

1. Intro 01:30
2. Fire & Ice 04:21
3. Tell Your Tale 04:37
4. The Traveller’s Song 04:28
5. We Have No Fear 04:27
6. Fimbulwinter 07:08
7. Jörmundar 04:33
8. Battle of the Doomed Gods 03:38
9. Andro 05:29