Åsmund Frægdegjevar

Lumsk has sucked me in. Their flutes, violins, and euphonious female vocals are truly charming and beautiful, while their thick guitars and war-waging drums invigorate and have left me, mouth-gaping, in complete awe during my many listens of this very well produced album. The cd, itself, is a proper concept album that is based on a Norwegian folk tale of Åsmund Frægdegjeva (long live copy and paste!), which is completely in their native tongue. I will be the first to admit that if this was not an actual Norwegian folk tale, then I'd find the subject absolutely laughable. See, the story is about Åsmund Frægdegjeva and his adventure on the ship, the Ormin Lange, to battle the evil ogress Skomegyvri at her home of Trollebotten to rescue the king's daughter. Alright, now that we are over that, we can focus on the music itself and the way they present this Epic tale. The band remains pretty true to its deeply rooted Norwegian folk roots and incorporates violins, flutes, and multiple singers (including male and female) alongside modern day keyboards and a staple diet of crushing metal. I suppose that my two favorite elements of the band are their lead female singer (Stine-Mari Langstrand), who uses lends her lovely voice for both the male/female vocal points but is best represented when singing by herself (especially on "I Trollehender", "Slepp Meg", and "Fagran Fljotan Folen"); and their violinist (Siv Lena Waterloo Laugtug) who helps carry the bouncing melodies one second (see: "I Lytinne Tvaa") and then bring everything down for more somber, even sometimes creepy, atmosphere (see: "Skomegyvri"). Plus, female vocals and violins just sound really badass when put to metal. I have to be honest, this band comes extremely close to what I think of as my idealistic 'dream band'. I cannot find one thing that I dislike about this album. Even the 'questionable vocals' on "I Lytinne Tvaa" that would normally turn someone off, don't bother me at all because they're too damn funny. I have seen a couple of reviews speak of some mistakes that the band made while recording, but I have not yet heard these and I doubt it would do much to ruin the seductive aura that their music creates.

"Det var Irlands kongi bold" - This song is a little over two minutes long but it is quite an exciting, adventurous introductory instrumental. It sets the mood really well for the listener to be immediately swept away by the sails and sounds of the Ormin Lange. The mournful cries of the violins at the beginning give way to a jovial bouncing flute and drum combination, which add some wonderful foreshadowing of the adventure, sorrow, and conflict of the story.

"Ormin Lange" - In the story, the Ormin Lange is the King's legendary ship that he gives the hero. So, you can go into this song expecting it to have a pretty audacious feel to it since our hero is departing across the seas to battle the evil ogress. The song itself has a wonderful, energetic beginning but it gets a bit tiresome when the same thrashy guitar riff is played repeatedly towards the end. The vocals feel at tad awkward as well. The vocals are slowed down to a very usual temp and their sounds clash pretty heavily at points.

"Skip Under Lide" - Here's a better introduction to Lumsk's vocals than "Ormin Lange". The song starts off with a dual male vocal combination and then lead into an amazing female vocalist. The song starts off with a very original sound that is uniquely Lumsk. The violin, crunchy guitars and pauses to add a little extra effect or solo every now and then. The drum and bass part at 2:18 is particularly interesting. The particular riff played towards the middle, once again, gets repetitive after a while but the truly captivating female vocals (especially after 4:10) really save the day.

"I Trollehender" - Catchy as hell. The song kicks off with some killer singing by Langstrand (the lady singer) and some music that is pretty much guaranteed to make you bang your head a little. The song keeps with that same repetive riff that was in "Ship Under Lide" (let it die plz) but it doesn't stay this way for long. The song has some pretty powerful moments including the trademark pauses for a little violin work and then harder metal to start things off again.

"Haar Som Spunnid Gull" - Slower, more melodic song. The heavy usage of the flute is especially nice. It keeps everything from feeling hopeless when it dances joyfully in the listener's ears. The violin keeps everything in balance and Langstrand's voice really cuts to the core with it's sharp, clear celestial sound.

"Slepp Meg" - My favorite song up to this point, and probably my second of the album. This song is just plain atmospheric goodness with a good kick at 2:38. The start has some seriously badass flute work and sounds great when contrasted with the mournful violin. The guitar at the beginning also creates a very surreal, pleasant sound. The chorus on this song is extremely catchy and the duet of vocals before it and the heavy violin afterwards are both very pleasant and add to its greatness. The song really pics up nicely towards the end and keeps true to the song's unsettling atmosphere.

"Skomegyvri" - Somber from the start. The piano and violin seem to cry some sad tune and await a harder, more violent event that never seems to come in this song. Of course, this brutality sort of shows its head a bit around 1:45 but doesn't really 'pick up' as expected and gives way to some surprisingly wonderful singing. I would really like to see Langstrand sing like that more often, especially her first little bit in the song. The song has a couple of nicely done symphonic parts, via keyboards and violin, but the nice lead into an expected 'harder' part kinda disappoint me.

"Olafs Belti" - What an odd song. It starts with some weird, almost childlike, tune but then turns into something completely different. The singing is dead on (as usual) and the drums are nice, but the guitar riffs leave something to be desired. The song picks up nicely when the male singer decides to make an appearance again at around 2:10.

"I Lytinne Tvaa" - Alright, this song is just great. As a buddy of mine so eloquently put it, the whole song feels like it's drunk. The violin is pretty slow and the drummer lazily bangs about on his instrument through out the song. I really recommend this one, just for shits and giggles. Plus, the singing at 2:58 is just wonderfully hilarious. I'm not going into detail because it'd ruin the surprise of the song..

"Langt Nord I Trolleboten" - Ah, now here's a good metal instrumental. It starts off modest enough with the usual Lumsk sound, but it all dies down at 1:25 to give way to a simplistic interesting guitar and drums that foreshadow some serious heaviness on the horizon. The violin joins in the brilliant reverie and, at 2:50, BOOM it all hits in a deep bassed, head banging Viking Metal blast and keeps on chugging. Orgasms ensue.

"Fagran Fljotan Folen" - My favorite track on this album. Great vocals, deep bass, and a genuinely charming feeling to its audio painted atmosphere. The slow, bouncy guitars/drums and the creepy violin play off each other splendidly. The song stays at about pretty much the same tempo until towards the end, whenever things speed up and become as musically redundant as ever. For what this song had that I liked, I really liked. This would be the song I'd recommend to everyone.

"Kampen Mot Bergetrolli" - Decent alternations between the guitar verse and chorus. Probably the best guitar work on the album, actually. They refrain from becoming the least bit repetitive and they still remain hard and chuggy. Other than that, the song remains pretty true to Lumsk except at the end where everything comes together for a lovely orgy of sounds.

"Der E Ingi Dag'e" - I swear this song reminds me of some odd mix between a church wedding hymn and "Blowin' in the Wind" by Joan Baez. For what is supposed to be presented, it does it well by spoonfeeding the 'getting married' ending to the listener by making it sound so churchy. I think the highlight of this song is the hidden track (I guess) that pretty much covers the whole album focusing mainly on the violin segments in "I Lytinne Tvaa". Not a bad song by any means and a nice song to finish off this great record.

Overall, this is a magnificent cd and you're certain to love it if Folk/Viking Metal is your thing or you have a particular affinity for violins and/or captivating female singing.

Viking metal band really are an interesting band. At some portions of their tracks include standard traditional metal influence. While on the other hand consumes itself in the most majestic and medieval folk type orchestration i have heard in a viking metal album. The vocals are perfectly executed. I'm not normally a fan of folk vocals, but it seems when lumsk, along with other folk metal bands use them it's perfectly done. The female/male aspects are always spectacularly done. Very choiristic in sound and really add elements and atmosphere to the album. The guitars can be intrusive as they combine old school metal riffs with a folkish melody through woodwind instruments and violins. I wish they would take out the metal parts to this release. It's very powerful and majestic. Overall a very powerfully orchestrated composition with a hybrid mix of metal every now and then resulting in a very powerful mixture for this unit!

Well... Let's begin by what's the album about. It is a True Folk Album, which adapts existing songs, written with a lot of other Folk legends from North, in some period between 1840 and 1960. This story, speacially, is about a warrior, Åsmund Fregdegjævar. It goes like that:
The King gathers all of his best men, and chooses the best between them to rescue his daughter in an ogre castle, which is located on another island. And guess who get to be appointed for that? Our friend Åsmund...! ;;)

Well, Åsmund is brave and honored, so he takes the orders and go on the famous ORMIN LANGE, the best ship the King had, with his brothers, to the journey across the sea. However, when they arrive the dark ogre's iland, his brothers refuse to enter the castle with him, and then he's on his own.

After walking inside infinite corridors, he finds the princess, and fall in deep love with her. Unfortunately, the princess is charmed, and she says she's fine there, and that the ogre is the love of her life. Åsmund decides the only way to take her out of there is by force.

A dark chilly feeling takes our hero's heart, and the ogre enters the room. Then, cursing each other, the warrior and the ogre begin a long and bloody battle, wich ends in Åsmund's victory. The legend ends with Åsmund return, with the beautiful princess and all the ogre's treasures.

Now, let's get to the Music. It's just stunning! Creative, very well done, with beautiful melodies and perfect feeling. It gets you in the story, just as Folk Metal is supposed to do. The guitar riffs are very well put inside the songs, catchy and following melodies dictated by the violin and the vocals. The violin parts get you to travel inside the songs. The drums are perfect for the songs, and it sounds perfectly Folkish ::) The vocals are very beautiful, the melodies are perfect, actually! There are male and female vocals, both clean. The interation with the lyrics, the melodies, voices and instruments is what makes of this album a piece of Folk Metal History. Even for those who only listen to Blackish Folk, it's a good try.

Give this album a try, you won't regret! It will echo inside your head until ragnarok! ::)