It’s official: Heidevolk have created a masterpiece with Velua. It only takes one listen before you’re completely drawn into it and you get utterly absorbed by the magnificent music contained within its 56-minute duration.
The band have already released a video for opener Winter woede, and it’s clear why they chose this particular track because it sets the scene well for Velua and gives the listener a good insight into what to expect from the rest of the album. It’s a triumphant introduction to the album and gets things off to a roaring start, to say the least.
Het dwalende licht is a great inclusion, sitting rather nicely in the middle of the album and aside from the highly emotive vocals, it features a rather stunning string section and a wonderful guitar solo to boot, but it’s the closing track Vinland that is the runaway success of Velua. Triumphant is perhaps one of the only words that could dare to do the track justice – with plenty of group chants to get your fist pumping in the air, an awesome instrumental line that gives the track a whole lot of momentum and the line “To Vinland! Hail to Vinland! being so damn catchy you can’t help but sing along to it, it’s the perfect ending to the album, especially the layered vocals that close it.
Velua is a special album – there’s no two ways about it. Heidevolk are back in full force and are ready to take the world by storm!
9.5/10
