Thyrfing are a Swedish metal band that are often described as Viking metal or Pagan metal. The band take their name from Norse mythology – “Thyrfing” is a royal sword, a cursed blade that appears in several tales and myths. The band was formed in 1995 and released their first album in 1998 (the self titled Thyrfing). Since then they have released five further albums at intervals of 2-3 years, and after a gap of almost five years they’re back with their seventh studio album – De Ödeslösa. The album was mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Paradise Lost, Witchcraft) at Fascination Street Studios.
Although there are only 8 sonsg on the album, the songs are all quite long – averaging around 6 minutes each, so the album is a good 48 minutes in length – more than enough to keep most fans feeling happy. The music is heavy with a slow to medium pace with only the occasional high speed section. The vocals are the heavy growling style which works very well here (I’m not always a fan of this style of vocals and sometimes it just doesnt work very well, but here it fits perfectly).
Thyrfing may not be that well known in the UK – certainly they don’t seem to be as well known as bands such as Ensiferum or Finntroll, but judging by this album they really deserve to have a much higher profile as this is some really impressive music. I think I need to check out some of the band’s earlier albums after listening to this one.
Thyrfing will be touring Europe as part of Paganfest throughout March.
De Ödeslösa will be released on 1st March via NoiseArt records
Track listing:
1. Mot Helgrind
2. Fordom
3. Veners Förfall
4. Illvilja
5. Kamp
6. Relik
7. Vindöga
8. De Ödeslösa
Thyrfing are:
Jens Rydén – vocals
Patrik Lindgren – guitars
Fredrik Hernborg – guitars
Joakim Kristensson – bass
Peter Löf – synthesizers
Dennis Ekdahl – drums
