Album Review: Kroda - Fimbulvinter

Artist: Крода (Kroda) [Ukraine]
Album Title: Похорон Сонця (Fimbulvinter)
Record Label: Hammermark Art (Germany)
Released: 2007

Kroda has become such a widely hailed pagan/folk metal band that it's kind of hard to believe they've only been a part of the scene since 2004's Cry To Me, River... While some bands build up a following before releasing their first album (through touring, festivals, etc.), Kroda never did a live show until 2007. Therefore, they quite literally appeared out of nowhere. It didn't take them too long to gain notice from pagan metal fans, because Cry To Me, River..., though a debut release (I don't think there was even a Kroda demo), was an incredibly mature album and one that holds up well even after repeated listens over the last few years. Not ones to stand still, the band followed it up with an awesome second album, Towards the Firmaments Verge of Life, in 2005. Then, amazingly, they produced their third, and most recent studio album, Fimbulvinter, at the beginning of 2007. While it's not amazing that a band would produce three albums in that amount of time, it's the quality and near-perfection of each album that is so difficult to believe. Oh, and they released two split CD's during the periods between album releases, and both split releases are great EP's in their own right.

I resisted "reviewing" this album for a long time, for one thing because I don't feel that I have anything valuable to say about it that hasn't already been said by several other, more talented, writers. But I managed to write about my other favorite albums of 2007 already, and Kroda just released a great live disc, Live In Lemberg, so it felt like the right time.

Fimbulvinter begins with the sound of cold wind, appropriately enough considering the concept of the album. The word Fimbulvinter, which means "the great winter," refers to the long winter that will take place before Ragnarök. Therefore Fimbulvinter, the album, is also long and cold. The sunny folk melodies of the previous two albums are replaced by darker folk melodies on Fimbulvinter, though there's certainly still a significant amount of flute and mouth harp to be heard. Some fans have complained about the somewhat-diminished folk presence on Fimbulvinter, but I find it appropriate to the subject matter. I don't even think it's diminished all that much; it just doesn't stand out from the rest of the music as much as on other Kroda albums.

So where was I? Oh, yes, the sound of cold wind beginning the album. After about 25 seconds, the music itself begins, with a theme played on guitar that will become the central theme for the opening track, "The Beginning of Winter Night of Oskorei," which clocks in at almost 12 minutes. Incidentally, there are only five tracks on this album, but the shortest is just under 9 minutes long, and the album itself is a healthy 55 minutes in length. The album opens on an epic note, and at first it may seem that there is no way that the album can sustain such momentum, but it does. Man oh man, does it ever. Each song on this album is excellent, like an epic in itself. The music is densely woven yet blistering, and Eisenslav's voice is in fine form. He growls, shrieks, and howls through his well-written lyrics (which are translated into English in the booklet), his voice full of fire and venom. Eisenslav has one of my favorite black metal voices, and Fimbulvinter may be his best performance.

But each song doesn't just blast along at full-speed at all times. There are breaks within each song where the listener can catch his or her breath while being treated to some lovely (though not so lovely that they ruin the desolate and cold atmosphere of the songs) flute parts, which are backed by atmospheric synths, strummed guitar, and sound effects. Sometimes you can hear sampled (or synthesized?) choirs and folk vocals during these parts. But Kroda doesn't let you get too comfortable for too long, and will launch back into a full-scale metal assault, sometimes with blastbeats and fast tremolo-picked riffs. But obviously their goal isn't to simply pummel the listener. Any metal band can do that. They are more methodical than that. Every part has its purpose, and its the contrasts that makes this album, like any Kroda album, something that transcends metal. If I were forced to make a case that extreme metal has just as much right to be considered fine musical art as any other style of music, I would play this album in its entirety before even bothering to make any arguments.

Kroda has also included, as usual, some lovely packaging to accompany the music. If you have any other Kroda albums, you'll sort of know what to expect, except this time everything is covered in snow. In fact, the landscape on the cover is the same location as the landscape on the cover of Cry To Me, River..., except in a different season.

Following my personal favorite Kroda track, "Funeral of the Sun," is a cover of Branikald's "A Stormride." I don't usually like the idea of bands including cover songs on their albums, much less closing the album with one, but Kroda has made this song their own. I'm not familiar with the original, but I am familiar with Branikald of the mid-90's (pre-dating Blazebirth Hall's more controversial era), and it doesn't sound at all like this. The lyrics and the overall sound fit well with the rest of the album, and if the insert didn't tell me it was a cover song, there's no way I would have guessed. It's just another great Kroda track.

I don't need to tell most pagan metal fans to buy this album. Most will already be familiar with Kroda, and out of that group, there are many who are already fans. But if, by some chance, you haven't heard these guys, they're definitely one of the essential bands in pagan metal, so check them out. Fimbulvinter is one of the great metal albums of 2007, and it shouldn't be missed.