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[miko2]

Today's Song: The Hammer of Thor by Tyr

A couple of years ago after I really got into the Finnish band Ensiferum, I wanted to find a good viking metal band to listen to. Ensiferum is sometimes called viking metal but they actually write on fantasty themes and sometimes Finnish myths and legends, rather than on Norse mytholody. They describe themselves as "heroic folk metal". All I knew was that I really, really liked them, and I figured there was a viking metal band out there that I would similarly like. My only concern was finding one that was not too death metal in its approach, because a lot of viking metal was closely related to death metal.

After doing some research I settled on the band Einherjer and on their out-of-print and hard-to-find cd Odin Owns Ye All. The title sounded promising and I'd read several very promising reviews. When I finally tracked down a copy, I was vastly disappointed. The singing and music was listless, without passion, and just not very compelling. I read a review on iTunes just the other day that basically said the same thing, and I had to add my own review to reinforce what the other guy said. Einherjer has a strong reputation among viking metal fans but I've yet to figure out why.

In the meantime I've recently downloaded some music from another viking metal band, Tyr, and they are exactly what I was looking for. They're a band from the Faroe Islands and sometimes sing in their native tongue (closely related to other Nordic languages), sometimes in English. They rarely use any death metal singing. In fact, they don't like to be pigeonholed as a "viking metal" band or a "folk metal" band; their aim is to break down the barriers between different styles of metal music, saying that "labels do nothing but fill people with prejudice".

The song The Hammer of Thor is unlikely to strike many as a good single. I downloaded it from iTunes based mostly on the name and a quick listen. It's a tale about the forging of Thor's Hammer:


Go through mischief and malice and the woes of war
Still some things are worth fighting for
Let death and destruction stand your foes before
And Midgard is safer the more
Out of the fire of freedom and out of the forge of dwarves
To hold in your hand now and for evermore
I give you the Hammer of Thor

As one reviewer on iTunes put it, this song has no hook or easily-recognizable chorus melody, and it happens to be the second song on the cd after an instrumental opening -- it's a good song, but it's a poor choice for an album opener. Still, I like it. ^_^

Since it's not much of a single, there's no video on Youtube, but here's some other stuff from the band to give you the general idea. They're an ideal band for any SCAdian viking to listen to:

Tyr - Regin Smidur
Tyr - Hail to the Hammer
Tyr - Ormurin Langi
Tyr - The Wild Rover