De strijdlust is geboren

I adore folk music with clean vocals. Now Holland has it's own folk metal band with clean vocals! Not much bands has played this genre with the clean vocals (Otyg, Storm and Falkenbach are perhaps the biggest names). The band's name means 'folk from the heath land' and not 'heathen folk' like many people think.

Up to the music, I will describe the better songs on the album in detail. The CD kicks off with two midwinterhorns blowing and a folkish guitar riff. Then the bombastic drums fall into it and it immediately gives the listener a feeling of being in a battle. And that's where the song is about; 'Krijgsvolk' translates as 'warrior folk'. After the folkish couplets with the low clean vocals and chants in the background (HOÏ!), the tempo speeds up and the listener takes his place in battle with a black metal acceleration. Then the wilderness calms down in the same folk melody again.

Track 2 is 'Vale Ouwe', a hymn to the Netherland's most beatiful nature area called the Veluwe. This song also has a midtempo folk melody as main theme, a black metal acceleration. The low, clean vocals are great on the blast beat of the fantastic drummer. A bridge with mouth harp cannot be missed too.

Other highlights on the debut of this band are 'Het Gelders volkslied' (The anthem of Gelderland, the province where Heidevolk hails from) and 'Hengist en Horsa' (about a Frisian heathen duo). The first being a potential new official anthem of Gelderland which (when one can speak the Dutch language) really invites the listener to chant along. 'Hengist en Horsa' is overal a good black metal song with some brilliant happy folk melodies on guitar and a lot of very fast blast beats. Also here the clean vocals work very well on the fast drumming.

But Heidevolk isn't only folk metal, 'De strijdlust is geboren' also contains two acoustic folk songs. These are 'En wij stappen stevig voort' (And we walk firmly forth), a song about walking through the forests of Gelderland and 'Het bier zal weer vloeien' (The beer shall flow again). The latter song doesn't need further description. These songs are lead by acoustic guitars, strong clean vocals, flute and mouth harp. Only the seagulls in the beginning of 'Het bier...' are a little bit misplaced in my opinion. These two songs are pretty OK, but not very special.

Overal this album is worth 84% for the very clean and fine production (the guitars could have been a little bit more raw) and also the fast and bombastic drumming are a big plus. The clean vocals work very good in polyphony (the one singer can really hit low notes while the other can get very high), but the grunts (not that there are many, but listen to the acceleration in 'Krijgsvolk') doesn't sound great. The riffs get a little bit repetive in songs like 'Winteroorlog' and 'Furor Teutonicus'. The folkish guitar melodies are great, but simple (especially the acoustic songs). But folk music is about simplicity, isn't it?

This release isn't really metal, but more folk music (wíth the clean vocals) in a metal jacket. An original choiche in the endless abyss of so-called 'folk metal' bands which hail to Oðinn with a horn in their hands but musically don't really add something. Hail Heidevolk!