HULKOFF

Pansarfolk

Swedish folk/Viking metal act Hulkoff recently released this 2CD edition of its latest opus entitled "Pansarfolk", and I can easily see this one appealing greatly to fans of Moonsorrow, Vintersorg, Lumsk, and the likes. In terms of its production and overall presentation, this is a professional-sounding offering that boasts plenty of bombastic tunes with some interesting arrangements and strong melodies to them. Several catchy parts, hugely atmospheric passages, and epic riffs appear throughout, but I must admit that the whole affair does not quite manage to transport me back to a bygone age and it is neither the evocative musical journey that I had envisioned nor the most entertaining folk-ish metal record that I have come across lately. Mastermind Hulkoff chimes in with a passionate performance but the compositions are simply not as moving or captivating as they could have been. Whereas the song titled "Domen Over Död Man" is pretty lame, there are some pretty good ones that you ought to check out, namely the aggressive, galloping "Varjagen", the uplifting "Martialisk" and "Ingvar", and the dark, memorable piece that is "Ensamvargen".

In fact, the "Svitjod" edition that I got my filthy paws on contains two different versions of the album:  one featuring Swedish lyrics and one being all English. The former possesses a better flow and sounds more confident somehow. Even the album cover seems to vary a bit depending on what language you get your hand on.

Even though this one did not blow my socks off, there are countless cool ideas present on the disc. It is arguably not the most potent output that you will immerse yourself in this year, but it is well worth a listen if you are into Viking- and folk metal.

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