Yggdrasil - Vedergällning (2009)

Yggdrasil is a pagan/folk metal project involving members of the Swedish power metal act Broken Dagger, including Magnus Wohlfart (Nae'blis, Folkearth, etc). Vedergällning is their second full-length and pretty sure to please fans of the more subtle and graceful, melodic approach to this category. At its heart, Yggdrasil is a black metal band, but they perform the slower, carousing, mead horn brand of anthems infused with an excellent grasp of lilting melody that gives the album a lot of replay value.

The bands I'd offer by comparison would be Thyrfing and Moonsorrow, but Yggdrasil is a little less pomp and hammer than the former, and not quite as 'epic' or often as lengthy as the latter. Vedergällning is pleasant and powerful enough at 45 minutes. "Oskorei" leads off with some natural ambience into pianos and a driving blast beat which settles in like fog over the fjords. Once it slowed to its fist pumping Viking grandeur, and the beautiful cascade of melodies, I was hooked. Wohlfart's vocals are nothing special, the expected snarling throat, but they're well laid back into the mix of the album as if just another component of a tapestry. The band also makes use of soaring deep male chorus vocals to reasonable effect.

It's a winning formula. Title track "Vedergällning" is excellent, I love the flow of the melody and the breakdown into a sobering, grim yet glistening crawl. "Vitterdimmorna" is the longest track on the album, over 9 minutes and this is where I was most reminded of Moonsorrow. Slow, steady pulse branching into proud, beautiful melodies. "Ekot Av Skogens Sång" has a great groove to its rhythms, like a fleet of dragonships landed and committed to war. "Svälttider" yet again ensnares with its perfectly planned wall of melody, and the remainder of the album is consistently good.

The strengths of Vedergällning lay in its mix. Rather than attempt the bold, in your face style of folk metal (Finntroll, etc) it creates a lush environment suitable to its inherent mythology. The music of Yggdrasil arrives at you from a distance. A boreal Scandinavian woodland, an atavistic soundtrack to a forgotten but much beloved time. It's quite mesmerizing. I did feel as if the clean, deep chorus vocals happened a few times too many, but it's a minor nitpick and the band have created an outstanding sophomore effort that pagan/folk metal fans will simply devour.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

http://www.yggdrasil-sweden.com/