Today’s review is of Catalan Melodic Death Metal band Icestorm’s new album.
This release is a highly historically informative concept album about the Northern Crusades, and especially about the Battle on the Ice. Musically, the full-length takes the Melodic Death Metal-oriented approach to Pagan Metal, though it isn’t completely purist in this direction neither. Instead, it feels like a Black Metal-tinted version of Amon Amarth.
As a result, it may be enjoyed by fans of many different subgenres of Extreme Metal with an interest in history. It has the more accessible sound of Melodic Death Metal, but this is imbued with extra heaviness that can appeal to different kinds of listeners, although some may find some of the last songs repetitive. This album is full of hard-hitting riffs, and it has an epic cohesive element in the form of a narrator that brings to mind Christopher Lee’s “Charlemagne: By The Sword And The Cross”, even if the music is completely different. My personal highlights are “Across The Baltic Sea (Ascent Of The Northern Campaigns)” and “Triumph Of The Pagan Warriors (Lament For The Fallen Ones)”.
I recommend this album to fans of Melodic Death Metal and Pagan Metal. My rating is of 9/10.
VARG THE MIGHTY
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