Ereb Altor - Fire Meets Ice - review
Ereb Altor - Fire Meets Ice - review
Tracklist
01. Fire Meets Ice02. The Chosen Ones
03. Nifelheim
04. My Raven's
05. Sacrifice
06. Helheimsfard
07. The Deceiver Shall Repent
08. Post Ragnarok
09. Our Legacy
A review by
Auntie Sahar August 17, 2013
Fire Meets Ice kicks off with the title track, a 9 minute opener with nice little piano intro, an excellent blend of clean and black metal vocals, and a very good deal of? doom? Yes, doom. The overall tempos and riffage on Fire Meets Ice follow along a very steady, epic pace, and in many ways this helps to better reinforce the whole Viking theme. Indeed, the rhythms of many of the tracks can often give the listener the impression of a 10th-century Norse legion marching off to war ("The Chosen Ones," the middle of "Nifelheim," and "Sacrifice," in particular). There's a very masculine (though somehow not too cheesy) vibe that follows along this theme throughout Fire And Ice, as if the tracks are all ceremonial battle tunes of some sort: perfect for having a few ales with your buddies before embarking on a crusade to dispel those annoying Jehovah's Witnesses from your front doorstep.
In addition, Ereb Altor's 2013 effort strikes a very commendable balance of sound throughout its duration. Aside from the blend of the clean vocals and the shrieks, music-wise there's also a nice blend of heavier tracks ("Helheimsfard," "Post Ragnarok,") and some more epic tracks that even feel a little ballad-y at some points ("Nifelheim," "My Ravens," "Our Legacy"). It's a neat delivery, because it somewhat feels as if the band were trying to capture two sides of the Viking heritage with these approaches: the battle-loving warrior on the one side, and the spiritual journey-seeker on the other.
Fire Meets Ice honestly sounds a lot like a modern take on Viking-era Bathory. The delivery is very reminiscent of Twilight Of The Gods: catchy, riff-heavy guitar parts, some more relaxed melodies, deep, operatic clean vocals, and some extra black metal elements thrown in to make the formula a bit more interesting. Ereb Altor come across as the natural heirs to Quorthon with this release, and while it may not be creative to the point of knocking you flat off your ass, it certainly is a force to be reckoned with, and well worth checking out for any serious fan of black, viking, or doom metal. Give it a peek over here.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by Auntie Sahar | August 17, 2013
Comments
Comments:
13
Visited by
229 users
 Posts: 40071 |
Posts: 40071
Never really enjoyed ereb Altor, and the same goes for this new one. I prefer their output as Isole by miles.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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 Posts: 5989 |
Posts: 5989 Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 18.08.2013 at 12:25 Strange, usually when a band went by another name it says it on their profile... what would you recommend from Isole?
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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Posts: 40071 Written by Auntie Sahar on 18.08.2013 at 14:49 Ereb Altor is a different band than Isole. Both bands co-exist with Isole playing epic doom and Ereb Altor playing Bathory type stuff. That's why tey have two bands because of the different music both play.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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Posts: 5989 Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 18.08.2013 at 15:28 Ah, ok. Well, if the ratings on here are any indication, Throne Of Void looks like a good place to start with them. I'll put it on my Listen To list 
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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 Posts: 3099 |
Posts: 3099
Isole have an alter ego? An Ereb Altor ego?... should see myself out for that, sorry. This is sounding great so far, there's much doom in it as you say and both bands have a similar "epic" feel to them, though expressed in different styles I think. Throne Of Void is well worth checking out in my opinion, it's my preferred album from Isole.
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| Posts: 40071 |
Posts: 40071
My favourite by Isole is Throne Of Void
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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 Posts: 18615 |
Posts: 18615
The only one I've heard by them is the latest which I really liked. I should check out more of Isole's discography.
---- Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29 Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
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Posts: 5989 Written by X-Ray Rod on 18.08.2013 at 16:29 I love how this turned into a convo about a whole different band  Though if it has members from Ereb Altor in it I'm sure I'll dig it. I'll get around to checking out Isole when I'm not busy smoking pot and praising Baphomet.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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Posts: 3104  |
Posts: 3104 Written by Auntie Sahar on 18.08.2013 at 15:36  All Isole albums are rated between 8.2-8.4 by MS users and the album Born From Shadows has a 9.0 review while Marcel gave an 8.2 to Throne of Void in his review. Anyway, indeed a great band although I've only heard Forevermore and Bliss of Solitude. Out of those I prefer the latter (which was a good introduction to the band as well).Also checked out Ereb Altor's debut and while I liked it, it didn't make me want to check out their other albums. Still, your review makes me interested in this, so I might check it out. 
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 Posts: 6941 |
Posts: 6941 Written by R'Vannith on 18.08.2013 at 15:50 LOL!!  I had no idea they were the same dudes. Loved their last album; can't wait to hear this one!
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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 Posts: 4367 |
Posts: 4367 Written by Erik M. on 18.08.2013 at 17:37 Brilliant, this is exactly what the reviewer might have wanted for a review of this album. Written by Auntie Sahar on 18.08.2013 at 16:54 I saw this record in a couple of sites and got baffled that it was labeled Viking, there is so little viking in it, atleast the viking that most bands play. Quite good stuff indeed.
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Posts: 4367
On the other hand I haven't heard Isole and won't bother with it anytime soon unless they put out a new record this year that is. 
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 Posts: 64419 |
Posts: 64419 Written by 3rdWorld on 06.11.2013 at 11:16 funny Isole was main band, this wa slike later, I did not know about this band up to late 2014 when Jona sLIndström shared music ,.. I knew Isole long time now
---- 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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