Windir - Arntor - guest review
Windir - Arntor - guest review
Tracklist
01. Byrjing02. Arntor, Ein Windir
03. Kong Hydnes Haug
04. Svartesmeden Og Lundamyrstrollet
05. Kampen
06. Saknet
07. Ending
Guest review by
Carl Berg May 31, 2010
Arntor is an album that cannot be described easily. Through it's chilly, cold guitar riffs and glassy, harmonized melodies it delivers an ensemble of feelings and emotions that is yet to be rivaled in the world of metal. The album guides you through dense forests, snowy landscapes, frozen fjords, and bare frostbitten prairies, with a contrast of fast riffs and drumming, and slow melodies, causing one to enter a sort of trance that transports them to a place where they have only dared to dream about. The melodies on this album are simply extraordinary. Combined with the epic choruses and catchy synths, you will be frozen in your seat while listening to the grandeur of certain passages, hoping you had discovered this album earlier.
On to the technical part, this album has been done by one single person, Valfar, who played all instruments on this album. Listening to the record, it is pretty impressive to hear such a high level of musicianship done by a single individual. The level of creativity is very high in this album: a number of songs have become instant classics among metal fans - "Arntor Ein Windir", "Svartesmeden Og Ludamyrstrollet", "Saknet", and "Ending...".
I must say that this album contains a lot of keyboards, which is uncommon for traditional metal. This gives a weird, but folky atmosphere to the album, sometimes lifting it to extreme heights. The guitars are predominant in this record, as well as the keyboards and drums. The bass cannot be heard that much, but in the whole it gives quite a unique feeling. Fast tremolo picking can be heard throughout the songs, balanced by slow melodies that give a "dreamy" feeling.
In conclusion, I would say that this album is among those who had made a lasting impact on the world of metal. If you haven't heard this album yet, you should not be wasting your time reading this review, you should buy it immediately, and one thing that I can guarantee is that you will not regret it. The wonder that is Arntor will forever lie deep in the vaults of metal music. I would personally rate it amongst my all-time favorite metal albums.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 10 |
| Songwriting: | 10 |
| Originality: | 10 |
| Production: | 9 |
Written by Carl Berg | May 31, 2010
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Comments
Comments:
14
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239 users
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Posts: 146  |
Posts: 146
Whoops, you posted this review for the wrong album. Other than that, it's good.
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Posts: 21306 Written by patrickmetal12 on 31.05.2010 at 14:13 Written by Until the End on 31.05.2010 at 13:38 That was my mistake - I changed the ID during the editing process but it looks like it didn't go through. Anyway, the review is now matched up to the right album. 
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| !J.O.O.E.!
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Posts: 8700 Written by Troy Killjoy on 31.05.2010 at 15:15 only then topic in "Updated topics" is still entitled "Windir - 1184"
---- My rest seems now calm and deep Finally I got my dead man sleep 
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Posts: 2531 Written by [user id=4365] on 01.06.2010 at 00:18 Arntor is even better - the best ony by Windir. A MUST LISTEN album.
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This surely is an epic album. If you know Valfar's story, listening to makes it even more epic. Although it is a great album, I still would give it 9. This is because I'm not a huge fan of synth parts on the album. But that's just a minor thing. Just listen to "Svartesmeden Og Lundamyrstrollet" and experience something chilly. Oh yeah, Valfar played all instruments expect drums =P Drums were done by Steingrim.
---- Coffee for power Music for creativity Sarcasm for fun
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Posts: 3493
That began all folk metal? Lol no.
---- Licensed under the GPLv3. Relinquish proprietary software for a greater GNU/America.
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Posts: 589 Written by vezzy on 05.08.2010 at 14:15 Point taken. Of course, the mighty Skyclad began it all, but Windir is the band who influenced the most of today's folk metal scene : Manegarm, Finntroll, Ensiferum, Moonsorrow.
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| BeastOfMetal456
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BeastOfMetal456
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Epic album. Everything works fine, the harsh vocals are great, as are the clean vocals. We hear some great Black metal riffage that is viking influenced. Drums are mighty. Symphonic effects do not sound cheesy. I'll rate this after another spin. KONG HYDNES HAUG!!!! 
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| Fredd
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One of the few keyboard heavy albums that doesnt make wanna throw my stereo out of the window. such a majestic and medievil sounding album, insane that it was all recorded just by valfar.
---- In a sane world as it should be, and it wont be for a while, we'll do away with capital and pay for things with smiles. In a sane world as it should be, however slim the chances, we'll do away with capital and pay for things with dances.
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Posts: 220 Written by Carl Berg on 22.10.2010 at 00:48 I don't think so...Windir didn't do nothing about folk metal genre....good black metal still.
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Wise words about this, this album are not so known, only few old school people who likes dig deeper and understands true meaning of how you describe nature and cold into your reviev. Its amaizng album, its sad Valfar died, but good is we have one man atmo BM bands what sounds as roots but are original
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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