Lindisfarne

Sons of Ragnar is your pretty typical Amon Amarth clone band, sort of like Poland's Valkenrag and Unleashed, only filtered through a set of American hands. What does this mean? Well, nothing really, other than the fact that the band feels marginally watered down and tries to play the stereotype for laughs. Generally, I couldn't care less because Amon Amarth's narrative is about as deep as the film of dust on my Fate of Norns disc, but Lindisfarne's got gusto where it counts - mostly. The first question that came to my mind was whether or not the band nailed the broiling, murky guitar sound required to sell the tremolo assault. Sons of Ragnar got this right, thankfully, and the album offers a sonic palate that falls closest to The Crusher, which is a pretty safe spot in all honesty and it works well in context. The riffs themselves are a bit spicier in the tempo department, with faster thrashing discord alongside the leaden stomp of the heavier, drawling fare more common for the style.

Leads are less interesting but do try a few Suidakra-esque folk-esque runs here or there, which is something you would never get from Amon Amarth. I noticed a few glaring mistakes that should have been caught in post-production, most notably the completely out of tune lead flourish on the pre-chorus of "Ascend to Valhalla." It is hard-panned and very obvious, giving the album a cheaper feel in one fell swoop. The lead guitarist is pretty sloppy overall, and the tone feels flat and disinterested in the remainder. The better tracks here offer a solid aesthetic impression and at least try to break free from the Swedish mold that brought the project to life in the first place. I was most impressed by the drummer, who is all over the kit, tossing in spastic blasting and enterprising fills. This ended up keeping some of the more faceless tunes interesting enough to sit through, because Sons of Ragnar don't have a whole lot to offer outside of the obvious. The band advertises this as some sort of landmark in melodic death, but aside from competently lampooning their forebears, am I missing something here? Lindisfarne is decidedly above average - but little more.

Summing all of this up, I do think that Sons of Ragnar would be a worthy purchase if you simply cannot get your fill of this style elsewhere. There are better bands out there like Valkenrag, but these guys have enough unique features to avoid coming off as a direct tribute act, which gives the album a bit more value. The leads need to be reworked somehow, either by finding a new guitarist or not having them so upfront and distracting in the mix. Tracks like "Horns and Haloes" feel like an energized, clutter mess at times, especially when the guitars start shredding all over the place without context or reason. Oh well, not a bad deal.