landawarijaR is the latest album from Helheim, following 2015’s raunijaR, and whilst it’s a decent enough listen, unfortunately it doesn’t really leave much of an impression on you – which is a shame, as I’d had high hopes for how this album would sound.
The main problem with landawarijaR is that whilst there’s no denying it’s a good album, it’s not exactly the most adventurous piece out there and nothing really sets it apart from other bands in the black/Viking metal scene. Musically it’s great, with the band giving a tight and together-sounding performance, and vocally it packs a punch with the harsh and clean vocals both adding a good amount of momentum to it all. But it’s just a little difficult to keep focused on the music and when the songs don’t bring anything new to the table, it means landawarijaR isn’t as engaging as it perhaps could be.
Nevertheless, there’s still some great songs on the album, with highlights including the powerfully-delivered title track and the closing song Endegar is a mini-epic, with some wonderful melodic moments that help to bring landawarijaR to a satisfying close, with everything just sounding so massive as Helheim wind things up before ending the song with clashing instrumentation and then ambience.
landawarijaR is a good album; there’s no doubting that, but sadly the lack of variation and individuality ultimately means it hasn’t quite progressed into being a great one.
7/10
