Asmegin - Hin Vordende Sod & So
Napalm Records
Spirited, Folkish Viking Metal
11 songs (42:13)
Release year: 2003
Asmegin, Napalm Records
Reviewed by Andrew
Archive review
… beneath a frigid autumnal moon, amidst the mourning of October (MMIII), was unleashed one of the, if not the, definitive Viking metal album. When faced with such monumental splendor as that present on Hin Vordende Sod & So, it becomes nearly an arduous task to verbalize the historic, dignifying might of Asmegin's debut effort that is sopped in an olden, blood-rooted adoration for one's culture, that in the case of Asmegin, resides nowhere but beneath the frozen skies of Norway.

Although there are assuredly now countless forays of Viking metal acts roaming the many shores of Europe, it is undoubtedly evident that few possess the rustic, archaic, Heathen charm of Asmegin that seems to drown the listener in organic textures of pure, raw, cold Nordic metal atop lush, supernal folk euphonies declaring allegiance to a spirit now long-since forgotten by the confines of modern social circles. Making intelligible use of authentic instrumentation ranging from the fiddle, accordion and flute over a metallic harshness rooted in the mid-90's Norwegian black metal movement, Asmegin cascade the listener with a majesty so natural it is often spellbinding whilst listening to the authenticity displayed throughout this audible representation of the hyperborean harshness yet alluring beauty of the Nordic lands.

Embarking upon this gallant voyage with Af Helvegum, Asmegin somehow capture nearly all facets of their sound under the respective time of three minutes; beginning with that of a harsh, grimacing melody straight from the wake of a raging, frostbitten gale, the listener is then captured within a furious maelstrom of marvelous vocal diversity in addition to swaggering, nearly disharmonic atmospheric changes brooding from arctic malevolence one moment to natural, forested nobility the next, the collective diversity of Hin Vordende Sod & So is simply engrossing. Nearly every song, as in the tradition of their ancestral longing, possesses this kind of magnificent consistency in diversity where, in praise of olden Norwegian literature (including work done by none other than Henrik Ibsen) in addition to Asmegin's valiant decipherment of Old Norse (an elder form of the Norwegian language), Hin Vordende Sod & So is comparable to nothing in its realm.

With the coming of winter upon a great part of the world, it is quintessential that Hin Vordende Sod & So is heard by the hungry ears of Heathen folk, yearning for the days of rural landsman and Spiritual liberty, thus it is time to enthrall your blades, gracious kith & kin of the Northlands, for the carving of Othila is nigh! … so may it be that the unconstrained Spirit of the North soars ever gracefully towards halls golden and skies eternal, where amidst the ever-anxious wait for Ragnarok they may feast 'till the graven end of a sad world, aside the immaculate glory and splendor of Odin, if only for a moment and, with Hin Vordende Sod & So in your ranks, such is assuredly possible.
Killing Songs :
All of them, of course.
Andrew quoted 99 / 100
9 readers voted
Average:
 69
You did not vote yet.
Vote now

There are 27 replies to this review. Last one on Sun Dec 10, 2006 8:20 pm
View and Post comments