Band:	Wardruna
Album:	Runaljod - Yggdrasil
Style:	Ambient, Neofolk
Release date:	March 15, 2013
Guest review by:	Ch'ti

01. Rotlaust Tre Fell
02. Fehu
03. Naudir
04. Ehwar
05. Ansur [feat. Heidi Nybro]
06. Iwar
07. Ingwar
08. Gibu
09. Solringen
10. Sowelu
11. Helvegen [feat. Håvard Vegsund]

Runaljod - Yggdrasil is a true ode to Norse mythology, the musicians won VIP seats for Valhalla.

I'm not very familiar with Wardruna; until now I had only listened to snippets of their music, but this is the first time I've listened to one of their albums. I almost never listen to neofolk and ambient, so it was a total discovery not only of the band but also of the genre.

"Fehu" quickly immersed me in the atmosphere, and I must say that the traditional instruments that line the aural background of the listener are very interesting, and allow a truly epic experience.

In terms of vocals, since I don't speak their language, if I had been asked to guess without the instruments behind it, I would probably have said it was a mix of Norwegian, Arabic and Maori, but fortunately music goes beyond the borders of language. Wardruna manages to immerse us in their culture through the intermingling of instruments and vocals.

I particularly like the vocals of the track "Sorlingen"; the female and male voices go together very well, and the atmosphere that the music gives off is unique, it has a truly spectacular evolution.

I can also talk about the intro of "Ansur", which made me think a lot of the atmosphere given off by Neptunian Maximalism's album Éons, especially in the song "Daiitoku-Myōō No Ōdaiko", which is quite unique and given the band's style, it wouldn't be surprising if it was inspired by traditional Scandinavian music.

The album is therefore unique in my opinion, but given that I have never listened to other albums of the genre, I cannot comment on how much it stands out from the crowd. I must admit at the beginning that I was not a very big fan of this album; certainly I recognized its qualities, and objectively it was impossible to say that it was bad, but I did not fall in love at first listen. However, Runaljod - Yggdrasil grew on me in the days that followed, and I found myself wanting to listen to certain tracks again like the last one "Helvegen".

I will conclude by saying that Wardruna did a fantastic job on this album, they are impeccable, and Rajulnod - Yggdrasil makes an impression with the musical construction of the album and the ingenious use of the instruments; however, even if I learned to appreciate it, this album is not really my style so it cannot be one of my favorites. On the other hand, for the curious or fans of the genre, go for it because you might find what you’re looking for in the work of Wardruna.