Band:	Waylander
Album:	Honour Amongst Chaos
Style:	Celtic folk metal
Release date:	June 2008
A review by:	jupitreas

01. As The Deities Clash
02. Walk With Honour
03. Beyond The Ninth Wave
04. Galloping Gaels
05. To Dine In The Otherworld
06. Usurpers Of Our Legacy
07. Taker Of Heads
08. Elemental Chaos
09. Brū Na Bōinne

Folk metal being the big trend on the scene right now, one has to be weary of many a new release from this style since there is plenty of trivial and derivative stuff out there. Luckily, although far from being a progeny of any caliber, The Northern-Irish Waylander offer us a form of blackened folk that avoids most pitfalls associated with the style. The music on Honour Amongst Chaos never devolves into kitsch or pointless alcoholic good-times. Instead, we are treated to a harsh and intense pagan vibe, reminiscent of Primordial or Enslaved, with some musical echoes of early Moonspell.

Honour Amongst Chaos is one of those albums that contain music that is very good at the specific aim that it is designed for, but would otherwise not be terribly interesting to the casual listener. Imagine, if you will, a dark forest in Northern Ireland, with a group of like-minded individuals gathering around a fire. Some of them have instruments; however, they also brought some battery-powered amps with them and now they are screaming their stories inspired by pagan beliefs at the top of their lungs. The people around the fire love it and are ecstatic; however, those poor sods in their forest cabin just one mile away could do without this kind of noise in the middle of the night. Alas, since Honour Amongst Chaos is such a specialty record, it will only really appeal to those who enjoy sitting by that fire. To everyone else, the music on this album will sound like slightly above average black metal with a folk vibe and appropriately 'folky' instruments thrown in for good measure. Songs like "Beyond The Ninth Wave", "Galloping Gaels" and "Taker Of Heads" clearly belong in that above average category. Others drag a little - "To Dine In The Otherworld" and "Elemental Chaos" would definitely benefit from meandering a little less.

Waylander's Honour Amongst Chaos is like a plastic butane lighter. It might not be exactly the same as burning your eyebrows clean off by the camp fire, but it does the trick. If having to regrow your eyebrows at a regular basis just isn't your thing, Waylander most likely won't impress, since hey, its not really a Zippo...