Customer Reviews

Sagas

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I picked up this album thinking, yeah it might be ok. Boy was i wrong, it's freaken awesome is what it is. It starts out awesome, and then in the second song you are thinking can this song be as awesome as the last? Yes it can, and as you listen through finding out that each song is as awesome as the last you will eventually come to the last song, Mana. This song is gigantic, a massive 16 minutes long, but it isnt repeditive, it keeps changing, like all that the band can do in one big song. The album is metal music of course, but its more than just guitars blasting out low bass raw with screaming, there is a large range of synthetic music too, orchestra sound, folk sound, old sound, pirate viking and all that is good in this world.

Some say that this is black metal, makes it sound dark, angry and perhaps depressing, but this is the most uplifting metal there is, sure there is still the screaming that we all love as well as brutal guitars, but you cant help but put a smile on your face and swing your flagon of mead about.

I've said it before, and I will say it again, this album is awesome, I'm not sure if I am getting that point across. You see if all the awesomeness of the universe minus the awesomeness generated by this album was rolled into one physical form, and that entity made its way to earth you know what it would do? It would buy this album, and you know what it would say? "God damn this is an awesome album" that is just how awesome it is.

I've heard it said that metal is like sex for the ears, well if that is true then the song Mana is the orgasm, and the rest of the album is the heart thumping, blood pumping, air gasping moment before.

If you like metal buy this album, if you dont buy this album, if you like music buy this album, if your ears still work and your brain can still understand music then buy this album. You will love it, and if you don't then go see a doctor asap, as there is either something wrong with your ears or your brain.

I stumbled on this band/album by accident. Simply put: WOW. Absolutely amazing.

Very melodic but also very fast, intense metal that combines some folk elements with anthemic passages and choruses - and lots and lots of heavy, fast guitar riffs and solos. Production is excellent and crystal-clear; the downloaded MP3 files are far better than the samples on Amazon.

(My) words cannot do this album justice. "Mana" especially is an absolute musical masterpiece.

If you like melodic, nordic-style or European-style metal, do yourself a favor and at least buy a couple of tracks, including "Mana".

Ok, I started listening to EQUILIBRIUM after discovering ENSIFERUM, SVARTSOT and KROMLEK a few years back...SAGAS is one of their best releases.....delivering heart-pumping action from beginning to end, and yes, they include many melodic elements that differentiate it from melodic death metal acts like arch enemy and dark tranquility.

I do not agree that all Viking metal comes from black metal or is a sub-genre of it (unless you are referring to their lyrics content), some Viking metal acts like Amon Amarth come from death metal....

Equilibrium may have black-metal-like-vocals but is what i would call a HYBRID band...with speedy quasi-power-metal-riffs, melodic death metal growls and other symphonic elements with an epic vibe that make it such a GREAT BAND!

This album is highly recommended for fans of Rhapsody of fire(Dawn of victory), Ensiferum and Wintersun... Can't wait to see them soon in concert...

NOT for fans of Slipknot, Korn, Marilyn Manson, etc (LOL - go back to downloading the latest Papa Roach & Limp Bizkit Album)

Vinyl discs are intended for serious collectors, yes everyone can have terabytes of music on their pc, etc., but vinyl is far superior! SUPPORT YOUR ARTISTS - Buy the real deal!

You will NOT be dissapointed!

God I love this album! An amazingly complex ochestral beautiful german epic metal journey. I can't get their music out of my head even when I'm not listening to the album it plays over in my head, and I brought the album like about 3 months ago. Flutes combine with fantastic arrangements while still heavy with a perfectly suited vocalist, it really is a 5 star album. Best enjoyed with good german beer.

I previewed this album many times, and always put off buying it. It just all sounded kinda the same. But I finally caved and decided to get it, because I needed some new european folk metal. Wow, was I glad I did. Every track is different in its own way, and the album as a whole is a masterpiece.

Dammerung and Verrat were the only tracks I gave lower than 4 stars. Snuffel is the highlight for me, along with Blut Im Auge. Both were instant classics in my library. (Also, you have to download the slow instrumental track, Heiderauche. It's haunting, sorrowful, and hopeful all at the same time. It's a great song to relax to.)

Overall, I'd say this album sounds much better in its entirety than the previews would make you think. Listen to it all on myspace music, if you want, but if you just decide to buy it, you won't be disappointed. In fact, this album is 2nd (right behind Eluveitie's "Slania") for the best european folk metal album I own. And I own a ton.

Equilibrium is a viking metal band from Germany mostly doing songs about epic battles and as [] would say, Germanic Tales. They are one of the most unique metal bands I've probably ever heard, sticking with the usual brand of guitars,bass,drums, keyboards that you'd expect from an atmospheric Viking Metal band, but creating an epic, fantastical and soaring sound that can only be best described as Epic Folk Viking Metal. Yes, also Folk metal, not so much in vocals, but mostly just in atmosphere.

Sagas is only their second album and truth be told it does not differ all too much from their first. Vocals are a mix of rasp growls as well as death growls, guitars and bass are mostly to the fast and fist-pumping pummeling nature (this band has yet to write any sort of slow ballet, and I doubt they ever will considering they can't seem to do clean vocals, but more on that in a bit), and drums follow suit. Keyboards are mostly the main star of Equilibrium's sound, and I mean that they go beyond guitars and even vocals. Equilibrium has a completely unmatched atmospheric keyboard tone that is always on play, creating atmospheres reminding you of vast terrains and epic landscapes, as well as going into sometimes danceable and "tropical" realms. This is almost a mix between metal and soundscape music, and it's not like anything I've ever heard from any atmospheric metal band. To many the keyboard lines may come off as somewhat goofy and playful at first (I can most closely describe them as a modernized version of Fintroll), but at the very least the band is experimenting, but also coming away with very dream-like keyboard overtones... although I should admit that this keyboarding technique is mostly utilized in their first album, but on the second the band seems to tone it down for a more streamlined metal sound (although the atmosphere I'm speaking of is definitely apparent). At times they also give off a more Celtic vibe, which is a great welcome, mostly considering that they're just plain creative and sound GREAT. Lots of it isn't just headbang inducing but also dance inducing, if you can believe that.

As good of an album I think this is, there was one thing that disturbed me both about this one as well as their last - the complete absence of clean and/or female vocals which, if done well, could make these bands one of the greatest in underground metal. The tone of the music itelf almost BEGS for it, but unfortunately, the continuous rasps and growls at times seem to be somewhat overdone, and to the casual metal fan, can come off as rather annoying on a few songs. If this band is reading this review, I would STRONGLY recommend injecting some clean vocals, as they not only would increase the epicness of their already profound sound, but also give them a more balanced and thematic presence. If this album had that, it would most likely be a 5 star review all the way.

Either way, this is a great and unique band that absolutely must be heard!

Something new in the burgeoning epic metal scene. Very synth heavy, but the guitarwork is just as intricate.

It's not often you come across a band like Equilibrium. They easily blend black metal and folk metal in this album, without it even leaning toward either genre more than the other genre. This is actually quite a unique band; every song is different than the last. I'd recommend this for both black metal and folk metal fans (particularly folk metal fans that are trying to stay away from folk metal mixed with power metal). I'll be looking forward to seeing more of these guys in the future.

This is for sure one of my favorite releases of 2008- high quality blackened epic folk metal that I would highly recommend for anyone interested in the genre

it's as good as they say it is. i gotta admit that i was skeptical but i finally broke down a grabbed a copy of Sagas. i can't speak for anyone else's personal opinion, but objectively in the metal community this is getting hailed as the album of the year (at least until the upcoming Wintersun album drops)... i mean, Encyclopaedia Metallum has it rated at 100% and there's not many albums on there that get perfect ratings across the board.

Mind you, it's not Enslaved and it's not viking-era Bathory (who created the whole viking metal sub-genre of black metal); it's modern with good, clean production and keyboards, but it also has folk/traditional instrumentation.

The technicality and immersion of the music are pretty mind-blowing, and the vocals are varied and are on par with the rest of the music. there are moments as varied in imagery as possible: feasting and banquet in the mead hall, battle, honor/pride, conquest/exploration... everything you would expect. I would even say it focuses less on battle/war/warrior-ism than any other Viking metal i've heard, which is weird considering i thought i would dislike this aspect. but once i listened it became irrelevant. the longer you listen, the more you get into it and love it for what it is and not what other things are or whatever. oh... and you DEFINATELY get your brutality and aggression, blast beats and black vocals. Remember that viking metal is still a SUB-GENRE of Black Metal, despite how progressive, power-y, or whatever other people may say [like this other dude that reviewed this album calling it Blackened Epic Folk Viking Some-such... Viking metal IS Black Metal so it can't very well be Blackened... that would be like serving up a steak cooked in an incinerator?].

Sagas runs the whole gamut. Don't have any reservations. this album WILL get you pumped. i suggest drinking beer while listening \m/