Will Stronger than Death

Graveland is still going strong, despite the fact that Rob has made at lest ten albums and that he is alone making the music. Very few Viking/black metal bands or bands is general can compete with the polish act.
In the early days Graveland was a raw black metal band with highly developed national socialist ideas, but as time changes so does the will and minds of human beings, thus Graveland changed to.
Rob Darken rejected most of his Nazi ideas but he still believes in racial superiority as far as I know and his music became more epic and more Wotanism orientated.

The album starts with a really good song named “Fire dragon of black sun”. The song starts with a melody that is rather good and it continues for about 4 minutes. After that another melody that is slower approaches. This one is one of the best parts during the whole album, it is a shame that it only lasts for one and a half minute though. Afterwards the first melody starts again but now it is played a little faster and after about two minutes it suddenly stops.

The second song is “Throne of the Granite” and it is a really good track. It is a little heavier than the first song and it starts with a quite slow but heavy riff that is later played faster. The riffs shift constantly throughout the song from a slow riff to a faster version of it. Darkens voice and the keyboards comes and goes like the wind itself and despite the songs monotonous feel it never gets boring!

The third song, “ Battle of the Giantes” is one of the most heavy songs in the album. The first riff is a monotone and very heavy one. In the beginning of the song it almost feels as if an army of giant warriors marches towards you. After a short while the song riff changes and gets heavier while slowly accelerating. Later in the song the keyboards kick in and what a feeling they give to the music! If I close my eyes while listening I can see to armies running towards each other. The keyboards stop after a while and the heavy riff starts again. The battle has begun! This riff continues for the rest of the song but is from time to time improved with either keyboards or choir.

The fourth song is named “Fire and Snow” is according to me the whole album’s crowning moment. It starts of with a great riff that despite its speed is rather heavy. After about half a minute the keyboards play and I’m completely astonished! The riff structure is the same throughout the song but it is either played rather fast or improved by choir or keyboards. The song’s feeling differs from the others on the album because it is more desperate. It feels as if you are abandoned by someone that your survival depends on. Despite that it doesn’t feels like any suicidal black metal, but more like a march through an endless forest filled with enemies. It shares characteristics with the other songs though, the riff is rather simple and to make it sound more varied it is played in different speed.

The fifth song Apocalyptico and it is rather fast. The riff is as usual simple and monotonous but its speed is varied throughout the song and moments of choir and keyboards are not unusual. Despite that the riff doesn’t sound very different than the other songs it is still a worthy song. At first I thought that this song wasn’t good but now I do. It is very similar to the other songs because the style is the same and that makes this song easy mistaken for another.

The sixth song that is named “Victoria Divina” and that means divine victory. It starts with a heavy riff that is a typical Graveland riff. The riff stands out more than the riffs in the other songs and that is quite pleasant since the album itself isn’t very varied. The song itself doesn’t have a certain feeling but is despite that rather good. I think it is sad that the song doesn’t communicate with the listener and that is the reason why it is the “worst” song on this album. With worst I don’t mean that it isn’t good, but a man like Darken should be able to do better!

The seventh and the last song is named “Shadows from the Past”. It begins with a really heavy riff that has a rather threatening feeling but is at the same time a little mysterious. Darkens vocals are absolutely glorious on this song and the keyboard playing is also marvellous. The song is also more varied than the others because of the different riffs that are played throughout the song. All of the riffs are very epic but not as catchy. I also noticed that this song is heavier than any other song on the whole album. It is absolutely a worthy ending for the album.

Will stronger than death is a very special album because of its sound. All the instruments sort of melt into each other and create a completely unique feeling. The music itself feels like a calm lake. Nothing sticks out of the surface and that makes the music rather special. As with all Graveland albums the songs have a sort of battle feeling. I would say that this is a worthy Graveland album, but not the best! Fans of the older Graveland might complain because this release is neither as epic as “Creed of Iron” nor as Raw as “Thousand Swords”. I was actually a little surprised when I first listened to the album because I really enjoyed “Creed of Iron” and I have since then wondered why Rob doesn’t make another album in that style, since it is absolutely the best one he has ever made.