Customer Reviews

King of the Distant Forest

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Throughout the years there have been many "Black Metal" bands, many immitating the pre-established greats, ex. Emperor, Satyricon.... Needless to say, much of the Black Metal scene has become a stagnate pool of talentless musicians, all scraping for a shred of what made their predecessors great. Mithotyn, on the other hand are masters of songcraft. With "King of a Distant Forrest", Mithotyn has developed memorable, melodic moments that transition smoothly from one musical idea to another.

The predominant theme within the bands genre of musical "style" is that of pure VikingMetal. The band implements many facets throughout their songs, which help them develope their Viking tone. An example of a few implents used are, sounds of warriors battleing, anvils clinging, and bold viking choirs.

To say the least, Mithotyn is a highly talented band that will likely become a houshold name among all fans of metal. Anyone who desires a band with new and intriuging musical concepts will love "King of a Distant Forrest" (also, checkout, "In the Sign of the Ravens"). Mithotyn has definitely coined there very own musical style. Hail Mithotyn!

I think Mithotyn is right up there with Enslaved as the masters of this genre, despite their lack of popularity. The riffs are very melodic and the atmosphere conveys the feeling of the Vikings that rule the dark seas. "King of the Distant Forest" features high pitch shrieks that fit the music very well. There isn't very many bands that play this style so the music is very fresh. Karl is a musical genious as he has come up with some of the most interesting ideas i've heard on this album. The music is very technical and well executed. Some of my favorite tracks are the title track, "From the Frozen Plains", which features very catchy melodic guitar riffs, and "Trollvisa", which is a nice instrumental piece. The atmosphere on this cd is top notch. These guys have very distinct sound but I'm sure most black metal, melodic death, or viking metal fans would love it. HAIL MITHOTYN!

between death and black, there is viking metal. mithotyn, amon amarth, god dethroned, gates of ishtar, defleshed, and prophanity ought to be on the same ship because they all craft one thing and that one thing is great kick-a** viking metal. mithotyn, the band getting this review, crafts 5- star music. it's like a just-right glass of lemon- ade which you are probably going to drink while listening to this fine band. long live the vikings and long live mithotyn.

none of the reviewers below exaggerated in the least in praising this viking metal monument. all the songs are brimmed with crushing leads, creative breaks and wonderful melodies. no track is ever too long. clear voiced choruses invoke images of fearless viking warriors with booming, merry voices, setting their drakkars' sails and leaving the fjords waters to conquer europe.
hell i feel like plundering and pillaging a small village with my 'horde' of friends every time i give this cd a spin.

the standard black metal vocals are clear, searing shrieks that mutate into guttural growls whenever it's needed.
an undeniable aura of strength emanates from every song,
giving the album a very strong direction and focus on its
main theme of viking lore. as a result, 'king of a distant forest' comes off as a demonically epic album.
productionwise, this album gets an excellent sound and no
instrument suffers in the mix. it sound better and louder than most black metal albums out there.

there's really nothing bad i can say about this cd; it's amazingly memorable music which i very highly
recommend as it's worth the hard time you'll have, in order to find it.
fans of einherjer, thyrfing, finntroll, 'starfire'-era Bal Sagoth,
or vintersorg, will be playing that album to death.

Mithotyn was a great band who excelled in producing some high quality, fast Viking metal that one could imagine themselves listening to while plundering a faraway village in some Norse land. the musicianship is excellent and full of tasty double guitar work and creative bass and drumwork. the melodic aspect of the band's music comes shining through with some very very catchy hooks, but things never get too sugary sweet thanks to the blackened vocals. a few of the songs begin to blend into each other after repeated listens and i always seem to notice the same thumping bassline used in many of these songs. but when Mithotyn is at their peak, they sound truly unstoppable!!!...well...(ahem)...until they broke up and formed Falconer. but, oh well...King Of The Distant Forest is a very cool album.

The combination of two or three very different genres of music is always a recipe for greatness...or disaster. Emo and metal...not a good combination. But combining power and viking metal (which kind of go hand and hand anyway) with black metal vocals is a stroke of genius. It is what bands like Korpiklaani lack and what bands like Finntroll and Mithotyn have. Personally (though many probably disagree) I prefer this album to anything Finntroll has done. I haven't heard anything else by Mithotyn, but after listening to this release, I am very eager to.

This is the only album containing black metal vocals that I would give five stars to. In general, black metal has always seemed a step behind death metal to me. For the most part, it's about playing the instruments as fast as possible while not really carrying a melody. Mithotyn surprises me in that regard because they manage to do both, and do both well. A good example of this, and my personal favorite on the album, is the title track, which starts out with a typical fast black metal riff that quickly becomes a melodic Viking metal riff. Then the power metal influence comes through in "Hail Me" with its driving chorus.

These two tracks stand out, but the rest of the album is almost just as good with no major flaws. The production is surprisingly good for this almost unheard-of band. If Mithotyn's other two albums are anything like this, they could well end up as one of my favorite bands of all time.