Band:	Heidevolk
Album:	Vuur Van Verzet
Style:	Folk metal
Release date:	January 2018

01. Ontwaakt
02. A Wolf In My Heart
03. Onverzetbaar
04. Yngwaz Zonen
05. Britannia
06. The Alliance
07. Tiwaz
08. Het Oneindige Woud
09. Gungnir
10. Woedend
11. Het Juk Der Tijd
12. Drink Op De Nacht [bonus]
13. Een Wolf In Mijn Hart [bonus]

Heidevolk is such a frustrating band. Uit Oude Grond was the first album of theirs that I heard and I loved it. It had a lot of variety, most of the songs were well written, and there was good pacing for the album as a whole. I came to find later though that every subsequent album of theirs that I got (Walhalla Wacht, Batavi, I only listened to a couple songs from Velua) was good but definitely lacking in comparison. I bought Vuur Van Verzet because I found a really cheap copy of it and thought I might as well give it a shot. I ended up right back where I always end up with any of their albums that isn't Uit Oude Grond, unsatisfied.

I should just say that I'm done with them because on this album there are a lot of sections which I hate. Sometimes the overall instrumentation and vocal harmonies completely don't mesh to the point where everything sounds like a confused clashing mess and then I am thankful that so much of this is album is easily forgettable. I even question if this album was worth the $4 I spent on it. However, the one thing this band has going for it is some truly excellent guitar work which usually shows up to prevent their songs from being a total loss. "Onverzetbaar" is the perfect example of this because I can't stand the first two thirds of it then the last third has great guitar focused section and everything sort of comes together after that but the song still isn't satisfying.

During my most recent listen of Vuur Van Verzet the first three songs made me want to give up again, but I stuck it out and all of the later songs ("Britannia" through "Het Juk Der Tijd") seemed more enjoyable and I didn't find myself hating as many sections as I did the first few times through. Admittedly this has happened with every album of theirs that I have. I don't like much about them for a while but the more I listen through again the more I think there is a respectable amount of talent being displayed even if I don't particularly enjoy the sloppy ride.

Heidevolk is not a bad band and they can grow on you but there isn't a lot to dig into and I feel like their true talents don't get enough time to shine. The band has gone through line-up changes since their "good days" so it seems like there isn't much to hope for if this is the best they've got. I don't know where this band is going to go from here and I really don't think that they do either. I'd say it's time for a totally different approach.

"Britannia," "The Alliance," "Gungnir," "Woedend," and "Het Juk Der Tijd" are all worth a listen. "A Wolf In My Heart" is okay if you like soulless folk metal anthems.