Vargaresa

Månegarm's first release, Vargaresa, is a rough sounding demo of raw pagan aggression. The music is more chaotic than later Månegarm releases and the production, while clear enough, sounds as though you’re listening to the band pound out these songs live in some dingy garage or basement.

While Månegarm are currently known for their melodic, upbeat approach to Viking metal, their roots were of a more blackened nature. With no violin or other folk instruments, the band relies on a more straight forward, hard-hitting style with this demo. Opener and title track is a mostly fast song, featuring excellent blast beats, ferocious vocals, and a pretty damn heavy guitar production to complete mix. Although Hymn Till Vinternatt opens with clean guitars, this moment of clarity is in fact a deception, as the song quickly bursts into a more vicious storm than the opener. The completely relentless shrieking vocals are the highlight for me, but maybe you’d prefer Eric Grawsio’s creative drunk work. Blod Pa Min Klinga is, more or less, in the same vein as the last track, however features some cool layered vocals throughout. Nattens Jungfru is the most “pagan” sounding song on the album (due to clean chanting sections dispersed throughout the song) and is perhaps the young Månegarm's answer to an epic closing track.

The winner, this time, is a two-way tie between vocalist, Svenne Rosendal, and drummer, Eric Grawsio. It’s a shame this is the only musical recording Rosendal ever took part in, because I’d say he’s packing an above average black metal style with a lot of energy and endurance. Eric Grawsio, who would ironically go on to replace Rosendal in vocal duties (and exceed him without question) is also most impressive on this recording. His skill separates him from many of his ilk and his performance is far better than one would expect from a demo of this kind. The guitar work is satisfactory, but this is something that would improve over time. The riffs are gruff and sloppy, which I like in recordings like this, and the production does nothing to make them sound more pretty.

Although primitive, Vargaresa is a great introduction to the creative spirit of Månegarm and, despite their flawless full lengths, should not be overlooked. This fierce, unrefined example of early pagan metal belongs in the collection of anyone who has an appreciation for the blackened roots of the genre.