Band:	Thrawsunblat
Album:	Thrawsunblat II: Wanderer On The Continent Of Saplings
Style:	Blackened folk metal
Release date:	March 13, 2013
A review by:	Susan

01. Lifelore Revelation
02. Once Fireveined
03. We, The Torchbearers
04. Goose River (Mourners' March)
05. Bones In The Undertow
06. Wanderer On The Continent Of Saplings
07. Maritime Shores
08. View Of A Million Trees
09. Borea (Pyre Of A Thousand Pine)
10. Elegy Across The Silence
11. Song Of The Nihilist
12. I Am The Viator

Thrawsunblat is the incredible new blackened folk metal band formed by Joel Violette in 2009 while he was playing with Woods Of Ypres. Now, Woods is no more, but Joel is still making excellent music, this time alongside Americans Rae Amitay on drums, and Brendan Hayter on bass. And the trio has come up with something quite exhilarating.

Thrawsunblat II: Wanderer On The Continent Of Saplings wastes no time in letting you know immediately what kind of album this is. The first few seconds of the opening track are a bouncy, folksy piano - but then the black metal comes crashing through. This moment, where melodic folk and black metal collide, sets the stage for the musical variety present on this disc. Some tunes are more folk inspired metal with rhythms and moods reminiscent of the best Viking metal bands (yet with their own atmosphere that sets them apart); other tunes focus more on the dark, blackened side of the music.

"Goose River (Mourners' March)" and "Maritime Shores" are the two ballads and they may be two of the most enjoyable ballads you'll ever find on a folk album. They don't depart from the style, yet they're devoid of cheese. A feat indeed! Driven by the acoustic guitar and carried by the rich, velvety voice of Joel Violette (switching with ease between clean and extreme vocals), one or both of these songs will be stuck in your head after listening.

As far as the non-ballads go, there is an exact amount of variety in tempo and mood, swaying this way and that on the black and folk metal spectrums. Variety, within a driving cohesiveness, is what will mesmerize most listeners.

So, what is the Continent Of Saplings? Turns out, it's North America. And that's damn poetic. We're here on this piece of Earth, an amalgam of cultures, some native and some imported (both voluntarily and forcibly), sometimes trying to regrow individual cultures from their respective saplings, and sometimes trying to grow a unified culture from our young collective roots. Like a strong tree growing from a fragile but dedicated sapling, we don't know which roots will grow the deepest, which branches will stretch the furthest, or which piece of the new trunk will rise to become the top. And that's perfectly shown in this music. Many different branches stretch from their strong trunk of blackened yet melodic metal. Which is the dominant style? That's anyone's guess.

Thrawsunblat are part of a new movement in folk metal. Along with bands like Wilderun they're carving out a place for North American folk metal. There are already so many amazing bands singing about Vikings and keeping the Norse sagas alive, so why not delve into the trove of North American folk tales that have yet to be told in metal? The "epic" of Viking metal is certainly present in this music, but the lyrics tread a new path and tell a new story.

I'll go ahead and say it: this album WILL be found on many a "Best Of 2013" list come year end. At the very least, it'll be on mine.

Hear for yourself at Bandcamp.