Band:	Helrunar
Album:	Grátr
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	2003

Disc I
01. Der Fährtensucher
02. Raune Mit Der Tiefe
03. Ich Bin Die Leere
04. Seelenwinter
05. Grátr
06. Mørket Under Verden
07. Hornung
08. Das Heilige Feuer
09. Kvasirs Blut

Disc II [2009 Re-Release bonus]
01. Hauch Wird Sturm

The first demo of Helrunar was limited to 500 copies and I suppose that a lot of you simply missed the chance to get this release. Luckily, Lupus Lounge/Prophecy will re-release this album this year and that's great actually because this "album" is really cool actually and deserves to be known. If you didn't listen to it before today, your chance is finally arrived!

Even if Helrunar is principally labeled as a Black Metal band, you have to know that they're not a pure "old-school" pure Black Metal act. At the opposite the band is more into Pagan and Viking music and even if some riffs and the vocals are clearly Black the whole melodies are accessible in reason of those Pagan music influences. The thing here is that the album features really good melodies like on "Ich Bin Die Leere" which its excellent chorus. This is catchy as hell and work perfectly if you're into Pagan Black of course and if you're not looking for pure Black. Actually I think that Black Metal purists will maybe not like this album and that people who are not really into Black will like it. This is not a big problem, first because you know this important fact and also, because the music on "Grátr" is not bad at all, at the opposite.

Good riffs, good melodies and excellent ambiances compose the album. The performance of the musicians is also excellent and the recording which is limpid give a certain touch of professionalism to the record. But one more time, the ones who want true Black will regret this touch of conformity. I don't care personally because I don't really consider that Helrunar plays in this category anyway. Just be aware that Helrunar is a really good Pagan Black Metal combo but that their music is accessible (I'm not saying that in a pejorative way) and not the most underground one ever released.

For a first album, considerate like a demo, "Grátr" was a perfect shoot! This is a great idea to re-release this album really because it deserved to be available everywhere. Musically speaking, this is also a really good release with great songs and an excellent Pagan Fantasy ambiance. Now that you'll have the chance to find this release, I hope that you'll not miss it, especially if you're into this kind of music. Have a look at it, if you like melodic extreme music, you shouldn't be disappointed.