### Dyrathor: Sacred walcraft of Hel

#### 02/09/10 || Altmer

Pagan metal. Folk metal. Fucken bloody hippies… You need read no further than that to know just what you’re up for when you spin this genre – it’s gay, it’s melodic, it’s for fairies, it’s probably got either keyboards imitating “celtic” sounds or a violin or some shit to actually have the sounds themselves, and it’s probably got pretentious lyrics about nature, spirituality, and eco hippie style shit. There are a million of these bands specifically from the German-speaking lands so you might well know why this sells – apparently trying to be influenced by Wotan makes money with ze Germans. I guess that explains Wacken’s liking for bad power/folk metal then? It does for me, you know. The bad thing almost every band in this genre sounds like this, so will Dyrathor offer us something new ‘n’ varied?

No, there well bloody isn’t anything new to offer. The band is from a Germanic country, sings in German, has a few folk influences and some harsh bits, and tries very hard to be bands like Equilibrium or Ensiferum, but since they almost invariably lack any form of hooks, it sucks anyway. It’s folk metal, with some “black metal” influences to make it sound heavier (i.e. there are blastbeats), but to me it still mostly sounds like power metal. Like Ensiferum kinda power metal. Except with maybe three heavier riffs, and a violin. In fact most of this material is like Ensiferum, except they dont have the songwriting skills of that band. So it’s pretty much redundant, right?

Occasionally not, for there is a song where they do get it right, like on “Und ewig rinnt das Blut” (Bratwurst for “And the blood trickles forever”), but mostly there’s no need or reason to listen to this. It’s as gay as the rest of those bands, it’s mediocrily produced like the bands from that genre that have zero money, it has the songwriting skills of a turd, it has decent musicians and… that’s about it. The fucken hideous oompa oompa drum beats with the silly guitar solos completely kill some of the songs for me and I really wish they’d ban this shit forever. No, you’re not epic and joyous forest metal. It’s fucken disgraceful. Take it back with you to Germany.

There are 4000 bands like this playing gigs in mainland Europe that have exactly as much appeal as this band does (close to zero) and as much originality (close to zero), or as much innovation (fucken below zero). It’s well played enough, but there’s no reason to actually listen to this when you could go listen to better folk metal tunes, or better non-folk metal tunes, or better non-gay music. I don’t think it’s the worst shit on the planet, since I have some tolerance for folk metal, so I won’t score this super-lowly (since it’s not hideous as much as it is derivative), but if you don’t like folk/power with a hint of black – stay far away from this unit. If you do, go listen to Eluveitie or Summoning instead. They are better.

Recommendation: A silver spraypaint job on the mediocre raw production, and a few lessons in composition. This all done, isolated in the grim Schwarzwald of Germany. In other words, go back to worshiping Wotan there, you fucks.

- Information
- Released: 2010
- Label: Black Bards Entertainment
- Website: www.dyrathor.com
- Band
- Morgal: vocals
- Harja: vocals, violin
- Skrall: guitars
- Atrox: guitars
- Harigast: drums

- *Tracklist
- 01. Sacred Walcraft Of Hel
- 02. Memories in Frost
- 03. Im Auge des Sturms
- 04. Ariovist
- 05. und ewig rinnt das Blut
- 06. Ode an die Heimat
- 07. Kampf auf Samsey
- 08. Thumelicus Secutor
- 09. Entspringe den Fesseln
- 10. Wudana Wittekina Waigand