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Reviews for Storm - Nordavind:

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A very interesting album that qualifies to both folk and black metal. Lots of folk songs, quite simple, traditonal sounds.Rythmical and hard, you can almost smell the northern winds while listening... As for me the best band from the "viking" metal kind.

Review by: vandall

very close to what the vikings felt with their folk songs.
I imagine my self with a axe in a dark and cold forest,
chopping down the enemy (christans, in this case):oppi fjellet, oppi fjellet!

Review by: mauricio Wanderley

Tbe best ever had been viking pagan folk metal album.
Hail Fenriz, Satyr and Kari!

Review by: Sever

I tried this band after I had read these reviews... and they couldn't be more right on the money! This "band" --too bad Kari parted ways with them (because of the anti-xian feelig on certain song lyrics) and both Satyr and Fenriz only saw this as a project and nothing more, I think-- is THE Viking Metal band, a perfect blend of metal/folk rythms. It's not hard to imagine onself drinking beer among other fellow villagers, chopping christians up -- up in the mountain -- or sailing through the fog and ice. A masterpiece for sure.

Review by: Tezcat

As the other guys stated above, this is THE viking soundtrack. I also imagine myself raising my cup of beer when I listen to this! Nordavind is one of the best albums I ever heard in my life!

Review by: infernun666

Good record, better than the Isengard release in m opinion.
Th sound is good, but it sounds a little bit to much like a semi-pro record to me.
The rest of this album is just good, not great but descent.
true epic metal. 8/10

Review by: Khold666IsGreat

I think this is a good album but unfortunatly there are female voices on it which give me a headache. I think Isengard is better because it is more brutal than this one.

Review by: celtic-frost

i think this album is simply wonderful..the only thing that makes me a bit sad is that after a few you know all these songs at memory,but it seems thats the way it is with folk stuff..fav trax:2,5,6,9.HELL YEAH!

Review by: the fog

Featuring some big names, Storm's Nordavind is meant as a tribute (hymn) to Norway and Norwegian folklore. Big names, because the musicians are well known for their other bands; Sigurd Wongraven is known for his work in Wongraven and Satyricon, 'Herr Nagell' for Darkthrone, and Kari Rueslåtten is known best for her part in 3rd and the Mortal, but also for her solo-albums, and being sampled in a drum'n'bass song or 3(!) (boy was I surprised when I recognized her name). Nordavind is a tribute to Norway, because the songs are mostly metallized Norwegian folk songs.

Referring to the music contained on this disc simply as 'metallized folk tunes' would be disrespectfull however, as the album is considered a landmark album for folk- metal by many. In fact, after Skyclad and Cruachan, Storm are probably the best known folk-metal band, and certainly one of the most influential, if not THE most influential (there are DROVES of folk-metal bands doing Scandinavian folk in this style). Many a band is still being compared to them (most notably Otyg, who used to be called 'Sweden's answer to Storm').

The music itself could indeed be called metallized Norwegian folk though; like with folk, the songs are built around a central (melodical) theme. This works extremely with the buzzy heavy guitars, as it as such conveys the whole of an emotion by going into variations on the central theme, which has that very same emotion contained within itself. Especially sentiments, of forlorn introspection, epicness, pride, respect for the beauty of the countryside, are well conveyed on Nordavind. And as is common with good folk(-metal), the melodies stick.

According to the booklet, Wongraven and Nagell were almost finished with recording the album when Kari arrived, showing she shared the other members feelings for the idea behind this project. I'm glad they made her join, as she has a very pleasant, tender voice. She offsets Wongraven's and Nagell's deep and heavy clean vocals excellently. Wongraven and Nagell alternate doing the lead vocals, or even feature next to eachother, if Kari isn't given all the space. Harsh vocals are almost completely avoided, which makes the album easier to be appealed by for many, were it not that the overall sound is quite heavy, almost doomy.

My favorite song on Nordavind has to be Oppi Fjellet (translated as 'High Mountains'). All the lyrics are in Norwegian, and aren't in the booklet, but everybody, drunks included, can sing along to this excellent (I'd almost say 'drinking-')song. With it's 'Oppi Fjellet! Oppi Fjellet!' every other line, and occasional low 'Hey!'s, it instantly sticks.

Storm's Nordavind is a must-check for every folk-metal lover, as for many a band, this was the blueprint. The sentence 'Storm is not a political band exclusively' in the booklet was a bit unfortunate, as the band would be stigmatised as nationalistic, instead of 'romantic'. Of course, many bands that followed did occasionally have their own dubious sentiments. Overall, if I had to compare the album, I'd say I like Nordavind over Otyg's 'Sagovindar's Boning', as Storm doesn't go overboard on the melody like Otyg, and instead sticks to single song-themes that stay with you. And hey, Storm has Oppi Fjellet.

84/100

Review by: Egregius

This is the best mixture of Norwegian Folk Music and Viking Metal.

I like the co-operation of the 3 total different voices of Kari, Satyr and the mighty Fenriz.

Listen to "Mellom bakkar og Berg", "Villemann", "Noregsgard" or the absolute "hit" "Oppi fjellet"!!!!!!!!!

A totally great album.
Amazing.

Review by: warhellhammer

yes.really perfect and original songs.not boring copy black metal songs.great

Review by: Beyto

AS everyone else above has stated this is an great folk/metal album up there with Ulver's Bergtatt and Isengard's Hostmorke.

On a side note has anyone else noticed that the second last song has the exact same riff as the Darkthrone song Quintessence?

Review by: deathshandbag

Perfect blend of metal and folk. Not too complicated musicaly but that's the way folk music is. Thnx to 'Oppi fjellet' I made up with some Norwegian girl :))

Review by: manos

holy crap. Don't any of you realise that this release sucks, so does the band. I'm a Norwegian and this as far from "vikings" and fucking drinking beer in the woods as it gets, are any of you even scandnavian? you don't know shit. And especially you germans go fucking nuts with all the viking shit, I mean it's cool and I'm proud of my heritage, but consentrate on your own, I study among other things the german cultures and peoples on the university and it's just as interesting as the norse mythology. Now for this band and the songs: None of the songs have anything to do with the vikings, the songs are folk songs from several hundred years after the viking age, and don't have anything to do with the norse gods, happenings of stories. Why do you think this band does'nt exist any more? because Satyr and Fenriz realized that they had shit them selves. the vocals suck, the music and the playing itself sucks. they have made bad interpretations of the good old folk songs, and assosiated them with topics and themes that they where not ment to be assosiated with in the first place. These songs aren't even folk songs, they're just some old songs.

check out Einherjer, Ásmegin, early Enslaved and Helheim if norse mythology is so important. It seems that you all are blind to the music, as long as there is norwegian languige in it, they say some easy words that you all can scream along when you hear them and theres some kind of viking reference, you all go crazy. a little hint thoug; It's the music that counts.

Review by: Theorgrin

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