Band:	King Of Asgard
Album:	:taudr:
Style:	Viking black metal
Release date:	March 17, 2017
A review by:	Windrider

01. The Curse And The Wanderer
02. Death And A New Sun
03. :taudr:
04. ...For The Fury Of The Norse
05. Upon Raging Waves [Mithotyn cover]

Yes, size does matter when it comes to a penis. Now that I have your attention, stop looking down so desperately. Size doesn't always matter when it comes to music though, when it's more about quality. In recent times I've become a fan of short albums; it has some refreshing effect and is easy to get into when you have a 30-minute commute to work everyday. King Of Asgard's new album :taudr: guides me safely to work and back everyday with its 33 minutes of running time and I can tell you it's the best I have listened to in quite some time.

:taudr: features five songs and contains no intros/outros/fillers, but only one single big load of epic Viking metal. No chance to prepare for battle as vocalist Karl Beckman's voice attacks you from the very first second on, drums hammer and guitars growl in "The Curse And The Wanderer". Have King Of Asgard ever been away since their last record Karg? That doesn't seem to be the case. Throughout the album heavy riffs are ready to crush you, paired with harsh and sometimes choral vocals telling stories of war, death and decay. The band has always been known for their simple but eerie melodic guitars and less for technical specialties, and they seem to have perfected this path in their own way.

The best thing to mention on this album is, simple as that, the drum sound. I'm not a drummer myself but I have some knowledge of the business and have listened to quite a lot of different sounds. Now I have finally found the perfect one. You know Hellhammer, George Kollias, Trym or Faust? Well, get ready for Mathias Westman, then! A bass drum so crushing it'll crash your nuts without making click-click-click, toms from hell and well-defined snare and cymbals that are not annoying or over-present. Overall the production is really perfect; after one week of listening I couldn't find a single moment where I'd like to alter an instrument by even 1dB.

Compared to its predecessor, Karg, the somewhat (intentionally) sloppy vocals are gone, aiming for a more consistent and aggressive approach. Yet later, acoustic guitars can also be found and the well-known piano must not be missed, too. I'm not actually sure how this came to my mind but the title track would make a terrific theme song for Witcher 3, right in between sorrowful and heroic fighting music. It's hard to pick a favourite song here but right now I'd go with "Upon Raging Waves", just because of its overload of epicness.

Two more questions are left. First of all, are King Of Asgard just lazy releasing a short album? Answer: No, Buckethead's albums are even shorter and that guy isn't lazy, too, is he? Second, should you consider buying :taudr:? The answer is definitely yes if you are into melodic, epic Viking metal and no if you have a small dick and need to compensate with long albums.