Band:	Wilderun
Album:	Olden Tales & Deathly Trails
Style:	Folk metal, Progressive metal, Symphonic metal
Release date:	September 21, 2012
A review by:	Susan

01. The Cracking Glow
02. Suncatcher
03. How Stands The Glass Around?
04. Storm Along
05. Vaunting Veins
06. The Coasts Of High Barbaree
07. The Dying Californian

I like to imagine the guys in Wilderun were all sitting around the dinner table, probably with some really fantastic beer in one hand and a leg of lamb in the other hand. One of them says, "I used to love folk metal but these days it's getting lame; everyone is doing the same tired shit over and over." "Yeah?" say the other guys to nods of agreement. They all rip a bite of lamb off the bone and contemplate this statement. One guy has an epiphany and breaks the silence with, "What if? what if we made a folk metal album that wasn't lame? What if we just did things a little differently?" Everyone's chewing slows to a halt. They stare at him, wide-eyed and mystified. "Tell us more, brother..."

And thus begins the saga of Olden Tales & Deathly Trails: an album for lovers of folk metal but one that just approaches it a little differently. It's hard to put your finger on HOW they're different. Perhaps it's the variation in instruments, in tempos, and that this isn't just a non-stop assault. In fact, it's rarely an assault at all. The use of acoustic guitars and mandolin during the more intense parts of some songs, plus the sheer variety in others, makes me feel like Wilderun sometimes listens to people like Gogol Bordello and the Diablo Swing Orchestra in addition to all the classic folk metal bands we know and love.

Both epic and straight forward, symphonic and bare, and with well-done clean and extreme vocals, if there is something you love about folk metal then Wilderun does it. The best part is that despite the variety this is remarkably streamlined and cohesive. They really find the shining middle ground between everything that is good and wonderful and badass about the genre. Perhaps overall it's a bit more on the melodic side of things, but it's free of cheese. No, that's totally a lie; it's just not cheesy in the same way most melodic folk is. There are no flute solos, no female vocals, and no visions of smiling fairies dancing in an open field to welcome the rising sun. Nope. This is the kind of cheese that makes you defensive about it. "So? It's cheesy. The fuck you gonna to do about it, huh?!" Then you bitchslap the hater and give the album another spin.

Listen at Bandcamp.