TAUNUSHEIM – Nebelkämpfe

TAUNUSHEIM was begun by brothers Erik (vocals, guitar, moutharp) and Patrick (bass, foghorn, backing vocals) in 1995. In 2000, keyboardist IIona joined their ranks as the full-time keybasher. The band has since released 3 demos and is now the proud owners of a new debut Nebelkämpfe. Seven tracks of pure pagan hymns dedicated to glorious battles and ancient Nordic sagas of their forefathers. Pure pagan metal! Sang in German save one song; Track 6: Followed By The Raven. For some reason the German singing makes the sound more "epic"; it gives it that true pagan metal feel. When listening to this album and seeing a picture of these guys, it makes you feel like you're back in Viking times. You know, drinking mead, slaying your foes with swords, and... whatever else Vikings do.

Although it's a bit slower than most metal, the addition of flutes, foghorns, and moutharps give it that epic feel that pagan metal bands are so good at. And the random double-bass attacks make you want to bang your head (or bang a foes head... into a tree - We're being Vikings remember?). Apart from my not being able to understand the lyrics; the different pitches in the vocals are a great accent to the already great songs. Also, the female vocals are a good addition to the guttural low sounding vocals. Although, some of the guitars were hard to hear on some parts, you can tell they were well written and are greatly accented by the keyboards. A great album to start their career off. And hopefully their next album won't take them 7 years to be released, like this last one!