it’s the time of the year we’ll present our “Best of…” lists. Last year Idaslet was the winner of the title Best Debut Album.

This year we only had two debut-albums: Drunkelweizen and Mystbegotten. As you can see in a previous post we’re searching for some extra reviewers. We still have some 2024 to review and Mythbegottten is one of them. But can you create a Best Of list with only two condensors. We thought not. But we’ll give them the extra attention they deserve.

But first a little flashback:

1. Idaslet – ‘Nu Skrider Dagen Under’
And the Winner is… The Best Debut Album of 2023 is in our opinion made by Idaslet.
For none of our voting teammembers this was the best Debut of the year, but three of the four voters thought this was the second best. This resulted in a total of 31 points.
Mark wrote: “I’m never going to get tired of hearing different takes on the Norse and their mythos, and it’s great hearing this sung in Danish. It just feels really fitting. The album nails the required variety in tracks. There are three or four tracks that start with a bouncy accordion or acoustic guitar, sing-song style before going off into the metal realms. The album begins with a wintery and short folk-song intro track but gets into the meat and potatoes with “Ære Oder Dodt”. I couldn’t find a suitable translation, but it’s a banger. Melo-death tones in the beginning and middle, brings out our first taste of the chorus, and introduces us to the vibe and variety of the album. “Spirets Tone” (Spirit’s Tone) does more with the chorus and is the quintessence of their sound. It’s easily my favorite track.

It sets off the pattern for the next few tracks: rhythm-led openings, choruses, throw-the-horns style metal near the end. “I Gården sagte” (“In the farm softly”) slows the pattern down and adds a lovely, memorable chorus. “Kæmpens Ni Spørgsmål” (The Giant’s Nine Questions) is another fun track that starts off like an old folk song and turns into a banger. “Balders død” (Baldur’s Death) and “Ragnarok” are both heart-wrenchingly sad. It shows off Idaslet’s versatility and wraps up the album nicely.

I had a lot of fun listening to this album. It’s bouncy and lively, folky, fun, and heartfelt. 2023’s been a great year for albums, and Idaslet’s debut doesn’t disappoint.”