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Black Messiah: Of myths and legends

13/04/07 || Euthanatos

Raise your drinking horns high… It’s another viking metal album! Now, truth be told, I have a soft spot for this genre, if we can call it that. If it’s metal and it concerns Vikings, I’m already wetting my pants. Seriously. But, and pay attention here, that doesn’t mean I won’t be able to rationally criticize the album if just isn’t that good.

Now, to business. Black Messiah. Odd name, eh? I have no idea what they were going for here. And the funny thing is, there’s a reggae band with the same name. Hopefully that’ll cause some great awkward moments for fans of both bands. All you need to know about this valiant, sword and axe swinging horde is that they are German, they like all things Nordic and they’ve release two albums in the past. This is the third. Yes, I’m good at math.

The former album, “Oath of a Warrior”, gained quite a considerable amount of praise. Word on the street was, if you’re into viking metal, it was a must have. I’m not sure I agree, but it definitely had its fun moments, so I suppose it’s worth checking out. So the big question is, is the new one any better? Well, it depends. Do you prefer the more death metal side of viking metal, or the more folkish/Skyclad side? Because in “Of Myths and Legends”, the folksier side gets a lot more blatant, and the roar, groan, let’s rape, kill and pillage part kind of gets thrown to the back. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, like I said, it depends on your tastes.

While I do enjoy most of the band’s sound, and I think Zagan’s violin parts give a great mood to the whole ambience, some things fall just a tad short. The keyboards/synth parts, for instance, courtesy of Mr. Hrym, they just don’t do it for me. While some ideas could be good, the performance, meaning sound, not technique, just fails to impress. It sounds more like a Casio than a grand orchestra performing to the opening scenes of a battle. Now I’m not asking for a grand orchestra, because I’m not an idiot to think these guys can afford it, but at least work a little to impress me.

The title-track delivers though, interestingly enough, with more of a black metal vibe that suits the band well. The same vibe can be heard on the final track “Bestial Hunt Of The Fenrizwolf”, which just might be the best song here. Powerful, epic and very metal. “Saulfield” should please those warrior-wannabes that thrive and get off on drinking songs, with cleaner vocals that spout victorious chants. “Howl of the Wolves” and “Die Sühte Des Feuerbringers” (whatever the hell that means) will appeal to those who prefer the perfect mix of metal and folk. You can bang your head, you can dance like a fairy, hooray, there’s something for the entire family.

And that’s basically the best thing going for Black Messiah. While they are far from being at the top of this well-explored metal sub-genre, they definitely push themselves to please all different kinds of groups, so chances are you’ll find at least one track that’ll entertain you in some way or the other.

Now I’m off to the wild open sea, to find myself an island to hang and dismember some terrified monks.

The Cover: Well, it’s a viking. A viking bard, rather. A skald, then. Whatever. It’s not bad. Nicely drawn and to the point. Nothing extra, no demerit either.

6 Shitty Minnesota football teams out of 10.

Information
Released: 2006
Website: www.black-messiah.de
Band
Zagan: guitars, vocals, violins
Garm:bass
Zoran: guitars
Hrym: keyboards
Meldric: guitars

Tracklist
01. In Remembrance
02. Of Myths And Legends
03. Irminsul
04. Father Of War
05. Sauflied
06. Howl Of The Wolves
07. Erik, Der Rote
08. Loki’s Tanz
09. Die Suhne Des Feuerbringers
10. Moskau
11. Bestial Hunt Of The Fenrizwolf

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