Band:	Various Artists
Album:	Metal Message Vol. V
Style:	Pagan folk metal
Release date:	December 2008

01. Fimbulvet - Helias Bann
02. Hromovlad - Slavia
03. Tumulus - Kochevonov
04. Dark Forest (CAN) - Journey To Ever-Eternal Skies
05. Tiwaz - The Battlelore
06. Dyrathor - Im Auge Des Sturms
07. Xerión - No Pazo Derruido Da Existencia
08. Adorned Brood - Sons Of The Damned
09. Waylander - As Deities Clash
10. Natan - Volkskracht
11. Andras - Miasma Track
12. Obscurity - Nach Asgard Wir Reiten
13. Vinternatt - De Zwarte Mis

Some of the older readers may remember that I once reviewed "Metal Message IV", a compilation that aims at showcasing the best of Viking, Folk, Pagan metal. The guys behind Metal Message are now back with a fifth issue, remarkably titled "V". I'm not going to write a paragraph on each and every band on this compilation, as it would be way too much work for me and much too boring for me, so I'll just try to cover them in a sentence or two.

The honour of kicking off this midnight campfire gathering of Vikings is for Fimbulvet with their guitar- and vocal-orientated sound. Hromovlad stands on the harsher side of Folk spectrum although they do add a lot of flute to their song. Tumulus is third, and they're a bit of an odd beast. Their vocals annoy the living daylight out of me and they have a couple of hideous sound effects, but they also do a couple of cool things. In the end they're not getting my recommendation either. Dark Forest's "Journey To Ever-Eternal Skies", which is probably no real surprise to anyone as it's a track with a lot of Black metal influence.

Dyrathor, Tiwaz and Waylander come to the party with rather forgettable tracks. They all have their stuff together but fail to create something that lingers longer than the second that's in between all tracks. Adorned Brood on the other hand isn't really forgettable as those incredibly annoying vocals and switches in style will surely haunt you for the rest of the week. Natan and Xerion dwell on the more Black metal side of the spectrum (damn, the first riff of Natans' track sounds like a second-rate De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas riff, which means it's still pretty good), with Natan earning the victory between the two for the acoustic interlude and the way it blends into the distortion again. It's a bit on the long side, though. Andras then does pretty much everything that I hate in Viking metal, which is 'epic' and a dime a dozen vocals, jumpy guitars and an overdose of keys in the background. But I got to admit, the song isn't bad at all. Obscurity then unfortunately doesn't do much for me, and Vinternatt isn't by power to change my mood at the very last moment.

"Metal Message V" doesn't come in a CD-case, but is packed in DVD box so extended album art is possible. Not really a great idea as the album art contains two really ugly trolls and Thor hammering away at them joyfully. Not really too bad, you may think right now, but the colours used are hideous. Ah well, no real harm done, it's the music that matters. I very much doubt that compilations still play an important role in the discovery of new bands in this day and age, but hey, if you're looking for new Viking/Folk/Pagan metal you will certainly find something to replenish your thirst. No doubt about that. And someone poured his heart and soul into the booklet, which looks amazing and has information on each band. Even if most of the songs weren't really up my alley, that's very much because of my criteria concerning this genre. I'm sure the average to die-hard Folk/Viking/Pagan metal fan will find a lot to his/her liking.

Click this link to go to the official website of "Metal Message".