Norway’s Glittertind return with their third album of Viking folk metal, their first on Napalm Records. Their 2003 full-length release ‘Evige Åsatro’ saw mainman Torbjørn Sandvik move the band into punk inspired dimensions with surprisingly good results.

‘Landkjenning’ returns to more Vintersorg-inspired folkier ground than their previous album but is sure to retain variation throughout. ‘Nordafjells’ is an emotive and memorable number with a few modifications in mood that fall together perfectly. ‘Mot Myrke Vetteren’ projects a similar mood but accomplishes this by exclusively being acoustic. ‘Jeg Snører Min Sekk’ and ‘Glittertind’ preserve a punk sound and ‘Longships and Mead’ is employed as the light-hearted party track, akin to a heavier version of Korpiklaani. Coincidentally, this is the weakest song on the album due to its painful simplicity and lack of innovation. Closing with the instrumental ‘Overmåte Full Av Nåde‘ finishes the album in an honourable manner, leaving the listener wanting more.

This is a promising release by Glittertind and the young band prove that they still have a great amount of mileage left before they fashion sub-par music, that is if they do it all.

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