Eihwar – Viking War Trance (Album Review)
Eihwar – Viking War Trance
Released: September 20, 2024
Lineup
Asrunn // Vocals, Traditional Percussions
Mark // Vocals, Machines
Online
"Magic is not always serious or solemn.
It is a joyous celebration and merging with the life-force."
- Scott Cunningham.
It is almost too fitting that the above quote is actually by one of the most successful American writers in the fields of Wicca, and a myriad of other alternative religious realms when discussing the furious Neo-Viking music of French duo Eihwar. However, the author is not the main purpose that this writer selected these two stirring sentences; the primary reason is what they represent. When the two-piece perform live, they are a magical force to be reckoned with. They do more than just initiate the festivities; they incite pandemonium in a crazed celebratory fashion. What they accomplish caught the attention of major festivals throughout Europe, the esteemed record label Season Of Mist and thousands of fans throughout the globe.
The pressing question is: Does their debut album Viking War Trance capture this magic?
The title track acts as an opener that begins with sounds of a thunderstorm, a horn, heartbeat-altering drum beat and Mark’s bellowed declaration: “We are heavy drops of rain announcing lightning.”
Let the party begin…
The song wavers between a remix of Celtic music, the neo-pagan folk of Heilung and technoid-beat motivated electronica that Robert Miles would marvel at. Mark narrates the musical movements with a raspy deep vocal delivery chronicling this poetic tale, and it is charmingly reminiscent of John Hurt in The Storyteller. Asrunn then majestically enhances the entire composition with her angelic and soulful serenades. If there is ever a fifth film for The Matrix franchise and there is another wild rave party scene in Zion (found in the sequel The Matrix Reloaded featuring Fluke’s ‘Zion’), someone please advise The Wachowskis of Eihwar, they are “The One” for this soundtrack.
‘Ragnarök (Viking War Trance Reforged)’ begins with more traditional Nordic Folk inspiration that (now) label mate Danheim has helped spearhead to worldwide notoriety alongside acts such as Wardruna, Myrkur, Eivør, Nytt Land and numerous others. A crow’s caw, varying horn blares, a lyre, throat singing and pulsating rhythm fused with dance music becomes a hypnotism of ancient and modern experimentation excellence. The track ascends and descends, moving from a wonderfully wicked night terror orchestration to a spiritual awakening, especially with Asrunn’s breath-taking and enigmatic chant. The composition is an astounding seven minutes is length, but with the remarkable adventure the witnesses undertake, time seems amazingly absent from the equation.
‘Völva’s Chant’ slows the momentum down with an ethereal transcendent motif that feels beyond time itself. Guided by Nordic mythology, it is delivered almost as a ritualistic pagan folk song and eloquently describes the “völur”, who are the enlightened women that historically practiced ancient Nordic magic. Asrunn’s rhapsodic harmonies and entrancing croon shine impossibly bright and the song feels like a healing voodoo of shamanistic rejuvenation.
‘Geri & Freki’ is an amazingly austere composition about the two wolves of Odin. There are tales that indicate the belief that fallen warriors are taken by Odin to Valhalla with the assistance of Geri and Freki, and if there was a way to represent the journey from death on the battlefield, to the spoils of the afterlife in Valhalla via musical depiction, Eihwar have incredibly accomplished this. In a sense, this is the heaviest the French pair sound, in topical nature, but also with their art. Mark borders on blackened death metal growls in his vocal articulation and Asruun’s whispered vocalising is brutifully bewitching. The most mesmerising aspect though, is the acceleration of the tempo as the track continues to build, it is simply electrifying.
‘Baldr’ comes across as a production of radiance. Baldr was in fact the son of Odin and Frigg and known for being associated with light, wisdom and courage. The track does accomplish capturing all of these elements, yet it also incorporates a darkness as an underlying theme. Considering the dramatic death Baldr experienced that brought upon Ragnarök as per mythology, these bewildering chapters to his story are fantastically felt in the four minutes Eihwar have delightfully developed. The flamenco acoustic string conclusion nurtures the beautiful tale brilliantly.
‘Fenrir’ sounds almost demonic, which is perfectly pragmatic as it is about a monstrous wolf that is known for its evil ways. The powerful percussion is earth shattering during these five minutes, it maintains an energy that is driven by an aura of gloominess. Rather suiting considering this creature is known in mythology for possibly devouring the sun. The eerie component is, one can almost feel the magnificent yet manic creature’s presence via the song alone.
‘Berserkr’ is the war-cry anthem, moving through every musical feature that makes Eihwar uniquely them. The Last Kingdom, Vikings, Lord Of The Rings and even Game Of Thrones undoubtedly could and should have utilised, or should consider this courageous creation for future use. It is so fantastically cinematic, that one’s imagination can run wild in the imagery of those production’s greatest war scenes from just experiencing this track.
‘Mjölnir’ is a thunderous experience (understandably, it is named after Thor’s hammer, the God of Thunder), though it does move through different levels of emotion: devastation, devotion, adoration, aspiration and even an uneasiness. It is brilliantly broken up by Asruun’s spectacular lullabies, similar to the perfectly peculiar warmth Björk conjures up in her outstanding oddities.
‘Sir Mannelig’ is a tribute song to a historic Swedish ballad about a pagan female troll who proposes marriage to a young Christian man who ultimately rejects the offer and generous gifts. There are theories that the narrative revolves around “apostasy” and it is a venture into a realm of ancient folklore. This would have worked flawlessly on Myrkur’s Folkesange LP; it doesn’t necessarily feel out of place on Eihwar’s first full-length, it possibly could have worked better as an intermission more than a conclusion.
However, its magnetism to engage the listener via story-telling is uncanny.
The question remains, does Eihwar’s debut album Viking War Trance capture their magic?
Essentially the two-piece are serious about their art, their message and their life-force.
On the other hand, Eihwar aspire and accomplish in transforming all of these elements into a rave celebration.
Isn’t that magical?
Eihwar – Viking War Trance tracklisting
1. Viking War Trance
2. Ragnarök (Viking War Trance Reforged)
3. Völva’s Chant
4. Geri And Freki
5. Baldr
6. Fenrir (Viking War Trance Reforged)
7. Berserkr (Viking War Trance Reforged)
8. Mjölnir
9. Sir Mannelig
Rating: 8.5/10
Viking War Trance is out September 20 on Season of Mist. Pre-order/save here
Review by Will Oakeshott @teenwolfwill
