ALBUM REVIEW: Sorgir – Skálmöld

There is something oddly satisfying about a band who, like clockwork, release an album every two or three years apart. Iceland’s SKÁLMÖLD are clearly not ready to break the habit of a lifetime just yet; October 2018 sees their fifth studio album Sorgir (their native word for ‘sorrow’) see the light of day via Napalm Records, thus continuing their trend of an studio release every other year since 2010.

This is a concept record, split into two parts: the Sagnir, or ‘tales’ and the Svipir or ‘ghosts’, all sung in SKÁLMÖLD‘s mother tongue as ever. Opening track Ljosid, translation ‘The Light’, begins with a huge, chugging riff straight from the NWOBHM scrapbook, adding a lovely choral backing vocal for good measure with follow up Sverdid (‘Sword’) channeling the spirit of IRON MAIDEN for the first time on the album in the guitar work from Baldur Ragnarsson and Þráinn Árni Baldvinsson. They’re at it again on Brunin too, taking the twin axe attack and throwing a 2018 gloss on the top to good effect; the guitar solo is great as well. Then there’s the epic closer in Mara, over eight minutes in length and the best song on Sorgir, combining quite interludes with galloping triplets and throwing another big solo in for good measure.

As the saying goes though, you can have too much of a good thing and by the time the album reaches Gangari, the homage to IRON MAIDEN starts to lose its charm and get quite repetitive. This isn’t helped by the fact that, after a blistering start, the album quality drops a few notches with Barnid, undermined by a rather weak chorus that doesn’t match what’s come before. The same holds true with Skotta, which starts slowly before kicking in after a minute or so but gives nothing more than generic licks and passages. Thankfully, penultimate track Mori is on hand to offer up something more interesting and diverse, saving the album from a potentially damp end with a slower tempo and lovely female interlude.

A mixed bag this time around for SKÁLMÖLD then, with some great tracks undone by a rather languishing middle to the record. Credit where it’s due for continuing to fly the flag for trad metal – there’s always going to be a place for it in the scene – but a tad more variety would see them go from producing a good album to a great one.

Rating: 7/10

Sorgir is out now via Napalm Records. 

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