Betwixt and Between

Oakhelm
Betwixt and Between

Sporting a tough, raw edge, a mystical flair and epic songwriting, Oregon’s Oakhelm is one of the few bands to be recognized as a north american viking metal group. Oakhelm is a rather interesting group that has a lot going for them besides the american viking metal gimmick. Oakhelm plays a very heavy and strangely dynamic brand of metal, with very dirty riffing mixed with a powerful melodic element. The vocals range from a very unique-sounding growl or shout, and then the vocalist goes into very low-pitched clean vocal lines. The vocalist also plays bass, which sounds great and adds a very deep, thunderous tone to compliment the thick guitar sounds. The drumming is unrelenting, and very dynamic. There’s a very heavy double-bass element that goes with the rough guitars, but there is a very strong sense of flow and rhythm in the percussion, and the switches from double-time and half time feel in the songs are great. blastbeats are also very prevalent in this album. No keyboards, almost zero traditional instruments. Oakhelm is a four-piece group, and keep things real throughout the whole disk.

This album seems rather short as it only contains six songs, but each of the four metal songs range from eight minutes to ten minutes in length, plus the two acoustic folk songs sitting at around three minutes each. Speaking of which, the acoustic songs will definitely take listeners by surprise. They have no lyrics but feature female singing, and one song has an accordion part throughout. Otherwise, they are purely acoustic songs that are solely to create a dark, yet calm atmosphere. Besides the acoustic songs, this is unrelenting viking metal in a form that is more pure to the style than most european groups these days. The sound is crunchy, the sound is dark, the sound is epic, and the sound is great.

Oakhelm gets my recommendation for any folk/viking/pagan fan. They don’t quite sound like anyone else, which is a rare feat for this style of music. Still aren’t convinced? Check out ‘Immram’ on their myspace and see for yourself!

(Written for Valhalla Promotions)