Customer Reviews

Ragnarok

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

 

 

I love Viking Metal, Black Metal, Progressive Rock, Thrash, and some Power Metal if it is over the top and Tyr is a cool mix of all those types of music. They bring a really blend of Progressive Rock and Metal, Epic Power metal meets James Hetfield vocals, Shredding riffs and tons of solos. All of their music is very melodic. The vocals never get screamy, but tend to stay between a melodic croon and a gruff shout and there are tons of power metal layered background vocals on the choruses. Tyr are a 4 piece band with 2 guitarists who both shred amazingly and instead of really fast riffs, opt for slower and mid paced progressive rock riffs and catchy folky epic leads that give them the black/viking metal feel even though they dont have the aggression or dark mood of that kind of music. The songs on Ragnarok are great, very catchy choruses, tons of changes, mellow breakdowns, folk interludes, sing-alongs, key changes, jazzy time signatures, etc...

The theme to all of the songs are Viking battles, epic journeys, the afterlife, death in battle, finding ones self and are based on ancient pagan myths and history. Did i mention that these guys are from the Faroe Islands, between northern Europe and Iceland.

Get this record if you like good catchy epic metal that isnt to aggressive or dark. If you like Metallica, Sonata Arctica, Amon Amarth, or Ensiferum, you will love this!!!

What a Band!!!!!!! I've been looking for a band that does Progressive/Epic Viking/Metal with "clean" vocals for sometime. I dig the harsh vocals, as Enslaved are my favorite band in this genre. Enslaved have done incredible "Viking" metal(Vikingligr Veldi, Frost and Eld) from a Black/metal persective. So, I wanted something from a heavy/epic approach. And Tyr fit the bill magnificently. The guitar work is brilliant(return of the skullgaffer, ride to hel just 2 examples) but, throughout this masterpiece the guitars are stunning, as is, the drummer and the bass playing. These guys are the complete package. Vocals are very well done, as they are sung in English and imo, the beautiful language of Faroese. Tyr tell an excellent story with this brilliant slab of Metal. I am ready to go into battle and die on the field, whenever I listen to this masterpiece. Just lay my sword by my side. And play "Ragnarok" at my Viking pyre. Get it or die.

it appears amazon lists items from sellers that are not the ltd edition digi one with the 2 bonus tracks so if you are not sure check first or just get it from amazon then pay a fortune and be stuck with the same the seller i got mine from never had the digi one yet it was listed as such TobyRagnarok

I learned about this band when Pandora played "Rage of the Skullgaffer" for me six months ago. After listening to the album for about four or five months, I have to say that this is one of the most "complete" bands I have heard--ever. The musicianship is amazing from all four members, and it is a joy to listen to on a superficial level. In other words, there is plenty of ear-candy.

I have always loved Norse, Old English and Irish folklore and myth, so the subject matter of Ragnarok is right down my ally. It is a "concept" album that tells of the final battle that shares it name with the album. Even if you are not necessarily into Scandinavian myth, the themes of lies, deceit, and apocalypse have resonance. There is an overall melancholy to the album I do not get from other "viking" metal. In fact, I think it a bit unfair to call this straight "viking" metal, because it transcends genre in a way. There is something almost spiritual about it--something mystical.

The decision to sing in English as well as Faroese is brilliant and courageous as well. When other bands are singing solely in English, this band chooses to sing in their native language with traditional folk songs. Language is such a big part of culture that I do not believe it can be fully separated. These artists are sharing their culture with a world that has forgotten it. Kudos!

That being said, musically, the traditional moorings lend complex melodies that seem too old for "heavy metal," but not too old for music. This makes the achievement of Ragnarok all the greater. It all fits together nicely. It's as if a medieval poet plugged up and started using electrical instruments to tell the stories that have been told for centuries. I had a professor who would recite (from memory) large pieces of The Wanderer and Beowulf in OE, and I was always in awe at the rhythms in that language's poetry. They were haunting and hard to grab in a way. It was as if I were listening to the bones of the language I had spoken all of my life, and the only thing I could recognize was the rhythm--as if it were already a part of me in some way. Faroese is rhythmically very similar, at least to my ear, and this album (with Eric the Red a close second) is the closest thing that I have ever heard in "pop" culture to those rhythms.

In fact, they treat the alliterative nature of Old Norse poetry using the traditional half-line feet in many songs. One half-line that comes to mind is in the song "Ragnarok": "With heavy hearts we head, on towards the end." This is a great example of translating the poetic language in a very old tradition into present-day English. The "h" and "w" alliteration in the first half-line and the vowel and "t" alliteration in the second half really stands out as tightly woven poetry. This is not an easy thing to accomplish (I've tried). It's made more impressive, I think, by adding the music that accompanies it.

If you like Norse mythology, great music, or great rhythmic poetry, you need to check this album out. I have nothing bad to say about it. I would give it more stars if I could.

1) "The Rage of the Skullgaffer" is THE coolest damn song title, ever. Did my heart good just to see it there on the song list. But hearing it--which I totally recommend for anyone who likes stellar guitar work, Bach, heavy metal and/or breathtaking musical mastery--made me sit in front of my speakers with my mouth hanging open. Still does, actually. The work is that clean, that dynamic, and that incredible. Seriously--someplace Bach is squirming in his grave, wishing he'd been born in the Faeroes and spent some time playing with an axe. I'd buy the CD again just for this track. It's that good, and that unprecedented.

2) Want 13 compelling reasons to read "The Poetic Edda"? Buy this CD. Much of the subject matter for the original pieces comes from the stories found there. "Ragnarok" is a fine concept album, really--running the cycle through Loki's need to come up with an impressive gift for Thor, through his hand in the death of Baldur, up to the meeting of his own fate. And more.

And the subject matter itself--while worthy enough--is not the only amazing and noteworthy point. The voice, hand and many layers with which these pieces were composed is stunning. The lyrics stand alone as examples of excellent poetry true to Viking-Age Norse subjects and style.

They also work just fine as metal lyrics, too.

How cool is that?

3) Just buy it. Really. If you're a fan of smart, powerful, accomplished heavy metal; if you're a vocalist, songwriter, guitarist, drummer, bassist on the prowl for some stellar examples of excellence in your art; if you like folk-modern fusions, Norse culture, the Faeroes and/or TYR themselves--you can't possibly be disappointed in this CD.

This is essentially a Metal album fusing post-Metallica black album vocals with grandiose chorals and Faroese and Irish folk music. Sounds a bit The highlights are Wings of Time and Lord of Lies. Both have this folk/metal mis at their core and take this out of the normal Norse metal, (if their is such a thing).
f you like riffs and power metal of-old then you'll love this!