With Heavy Hearts We Head On Towards The End

Tyr's third outing "Ragnarok" sees the band, in my opinion, becoming more focused structurally and balancing out their folk/viking influences without losing the signature Tyr sound. The narrative feel here is epic and really flows through the album. I also found the riffs seem more rooted in metal with a thicker sound.

"Ragnarok" consists of 18 tracks with a number of them being more transitional pieces that really tie the album together. All the while not disturbing the pace. The album begins with "The Beginning" a folkish instrumental with Tyr's doomy riffs and melodies which leads into "The Hammer Of Thor". "The Hammer Of Thor" is a rockier number with more metal based riffs.

"Wings Of Time" and "The Hunt" have a stronger traditional Tyr sound with subtle folk influences. "Torsteins Kvaedi" is a Tyr style folk metal song as with "Lord Of Lies". They are traditional sounding and melodic.

"Brothers Bane" is a slower melancholic narrative with a thick fuller sound and the title track "Ragnarok" feels more sombre and bleak. "The Ride To Hel" kicks off with a heavy crunchy riff leading into a darker, yet moving song.

The transitional pieces vary with "Envy" and "The Burning" having an acoustic folk sound with the later being a touch more brooding. "Grimur A Midalnesi" is a rousing gang chorus of A Capella singing and "The Rage Of The Skullgaffer" is a faster instrumental with some nice guitar soloing and a traditional folk-rock melody.

I have the digi-pack release that comes with a couple bonus tracks. "Valkyrie's Flight" is a boisterous instrumental that is just fun and "Valhalla" is a catchy rocker that seems to feature "Valkyries Flight" melodies.

It's hard to say why I enjoy this album so much more then the others, it just has a comforting feel and a nice flow. I'm thoroughly enjoying it and can't wait to see what "Land" their fourth album will be like. From what I heard at Paganfest it should be dang good!

Up next I'll take a look at Eluveitie's 2nd full length release "Slania"