Band:	Line Of Durin
Album:	Ever Homeward
Style:	Atmospheric black metal, Folk black metal
Release date:	March 2022

01. Mahal
02. Durin The Deathless
03. First Born's Caprice
04. Ered Luin
05. Oakenshield
06. Smaug The Terrible
07. Balin's Fated March
08. Ghostly Halls Of Stone/Balin's Tomb
09. Bane's End

Let me introduce you to Line Of Durin, another new Tolkien-themed atmospheric black metal band with some major folk influences. The band title is taken from the Royal Dwarven family, descendants of Dáin the Deathless, one of the original Dwarves to be awaken by Aule, and the father of all dwarves. This debut, Ever Homeward, is a tribute to the epic tales and history of Durin's folk.

The musical influences of Ever Homeward are plain to hear; the folkish, medieval melodies, driving guitarwork and synthetic structure sound as if they were taken directly from the book of Summoning. The synth work in particular sounds very much inspired by the album Minas Morgul, more so in some tracks than others I might add, while on other tracks I hear some inspiration from the album Old Mornings Dawn (the choirs and medieval instrumentation mainly), which for me comes as a pleasant surprise. I mean, who doesn't like the sound of a medieval flute behind an atmospheric setting eh? Now I hear you saying, "oh hear we go again, this sounds like yet another Summoning rip-off to me"; well, in some ways they are, but that's not necessarily a bad thing I say. Emyn Muil are a band that springs to mind who are hugely influenced, but do it well.

The thing that stands out above all for me is the excessive use of choirs. The lengthy use of choirs may often become tiresome for some listeners, but I find this is not the case here. For me, this doesn't exactly sound like any old choir thrown into the mix to add something else to the structure of things, they sound more like an actual bunch of Dwarves, singing, drinking and generally being merry, just as if they were all together around a campfire, or in a tavern, or somewhere of the sort. It makes me imagine a scene from The Hobbit, in which I find myself wanting to sing along with them. It's as if the bards of Middle-Earth themselves had a part to play in the songwriting, and this brings me joy, which I suppose is the whole point, it's what gives this album that authenticity.

The album begins with what sounds like the Dwarven singing a merry old bard's tale, after which then the synth work and guitar work inevitably kick in. The songs are structured in a relatively simple way; there's nothing too complex about the instrumentation, or synth work for that matter. There's a slight repetitiveness in how each song builds up. The vocals for me aren't particularly mixed that well; however, there's no real problem with the performance. Now, if only the guitarwork had more of an oomph, and the drumming had a more powerful sound. Hopefully in time, that will be something else that will be worked on.

From there, most of the song structures are relatively similar. The album finishes with "Bane's End", an epic climax that features a voice-over narration taken from the famous chapter in the book of The Lord Of The Rings. The words spoken were from the epic tale in which Gandalf faces The Balrog and falls, including the famous saying "You shall not pass", a hair-raising moment for Tolkien nerds who know of the book and film.

Unfortunately, not all tracks a genuine hit for me. For instance, I find the instrumental track, "Ghostly Halls Of Stone/Balin's Tomb", the most challenging to get into at first. Some of the instrumentation and synth work in that song for me seem a little rushed, or out of place maybe. However, with a bit of tweaking, and improvement on the sound quality I believe that track wouldn't necessarily be a bad addition.

Production-wise, Ever Homeward is still a long way off where it should be, but it's something that will only be improved on over time I expect. Still, credit where it's due, this is a solid start in my book, even thought the execution of the song structures and instrumentation is not to the same level of standard as the Tolkien-themed masters of atmospheric black metal (you know who I'm on about, Summoning, Caladan Brood etc.). While this album doesn't quite capture the same epic soundscapes and atmospheric settings of those Tolkien-inspired giants, Line Of Durin give you a different view of Tolkien's world and imagination.