(Trollzorn / SMP Records)

Release Date: 2010
Origin: France

Another comeback from a band that was put “on-ice” for seven years. The French epic pagan black metallers Nydvind break their silence returning with a new label and a great new album. Richard Loudin, who is also in Bran Barr, formed the band in 2000 and in 2003 they released their debut album “Eternal Winter Domain” with Sacral Productions.

“Sworn to the Elders” is their second album and it continues exactly where the previous one ended. With a more fresh sound and a somehow more epic and pagan approach, Nydvind offer us Nordic heathen black metal. Their music is based on the guitar lines, with keyboards totally on the background. They combine acoustic and electric guitars and there are countless melodic ideas on their riffs. They usually move from mid to slow tempo, with only a few faster outbursts. Their compositions have a very epic feeling, reminding a little of Bathory’s atmosphere. Vocals are changing between brutal and clean ones, with Richard being great at both of them. There are 8 songs in this album and none of them follows the typical bridge / refrain recipe. Even if there are many changes inside the songs, the result is very solid and this 52 minutes album should rather be seen as a concept work, than separate tracks. From time to time there are also some folk elements and instruments in the songs, but they are not enough to put them in the folk genre in my opinion, except for the 7th track “Icewinds Unleashed” where they are quite dominant. All of their lyrics are in English with epic, pagan, nature inspired concept.

Overall Nydvind released a very good album that fans of bands like Bathory (their epic face), or new Andras should definitely check. Their production is great and the band has a natural sound in all instruments (not too polished or bombastic). “Sworn to the Elders” comes in a nicely illustrated digipak by Trollzorn Records that has lately signed many great bands of the epic/pagan/folk genre… You can check their sound at: http://www.myspace.com/nydvind

dimiarch