Reviews: TYR, Greyborn, Ǻskvӓder, Dirty Sound Magnet (Reviews By Rich P & David Karpel)

TYR - A Night At The Nordic House (Metal Blade Records) [David Karpel]

Tyr. There’s no escaping the imagery of their oeuvre: Beards, windblown hair, bolted and tanned leather, matted wolf pelts, iron and steel weaponry, mead served in drinking horns. Blood is destiny, distant shores hold legends of warriors, heroes, gods, rites, and the always nearby Hel. Mythical beasts, legends, battles for survival to the very last. And everything is epic! Every song, whatever length, it’s the last song, perhaps the only song, a marching song, the last words to leave a warrior’s lips. Songs to drink by, songs to war by, songs to die by. Here Tyr presents superbly performed songs of their brand of symphonic metal with fiery guitar solos that sing like thrown bolts of Odin’s lightning, and vocals that call honor to their Scandinavian ancestors. With a no retreat, burn-the-boats percussive charge, much of Tyr’s catalog reveals they’ve mastered their craft and have provided fans with enough soundtracks to Norse mythology to fill a few records.

A Night At The Nordic House was recorded live in February of 2020 with the Symphonic Orchestra of the Faroe Islands, the band’s homeland, and it captures the ultimate, magnificent fulfillment of these songs. There’s nothing more epic and appropriate than a symphonic folk- metal band sharing the stage with a full orchestra and playing their best songs, like Gates Of Hel, Blood Of Heroes, Mare Of My Night, and By The Sword In My Hand, among many others. Horns unfurl the banners as waves of strings weave the songs into an immersive cultural experience.The sound is simply tremendous.

A confession: I am a first generation Jewish Cuban American with Eastern European roots, and after listening to this album, even I felt like a Viking. Folk myths and romantically heroic visions of bloody battles are given extravagant treatment here. And it works. A visual person, I can’t help but imagine a large swath of shallow-draught longships packed with Viking warriors readying an invasion of the English coast with these songs on their lips as they prepare to battle for the glory of their people and their gods. Stereotypes? Yes, and the very kinds the band lives to represent. While longtime fans will no doubt enjoy the hell out of this recording, those new to Tyr would be advised to check out Hel or Valkyrja before giving the time needed to listen to a full blown hour and a half of live, symphonic Tyr. 8/10

Greyborn - Leeches EP (F2M Planet) [Rich P]

Greyborn brings the stoner/desert/grunge goodness on their debut EP, Leeches.  The French trio introduce themselves to the heavy rock community with a concise five song EP which is a nice jumping off point to what promises to be some strong output in the future.  For now, let’s talk about what Greyborn is offering with Leeches.

The five tracks from Leeches do not stray too far off the combo platter of the heavier Alice In Chains stuff with a side of the more darker Queens Of The Stone Age material to bring you some compelling fuzzy and heavy rock. The title track is a great opener to the EP, laying the groundwork for what to come, with the bass and drums right up front and some great vocals from Theo Jude, who is also the drummer, and I love lead signer drummers, especially when they play the way Jude does. Bits & Pieces comes next and is probably the best track on the EP. 

Heavy and catchy, I find myself singing the chorus and hearing some influence from the great Therapy?Jharia brings some middle eastern vibes to the dance and offers up more of the tuned down heavy that can be found all over Leeches while continuing the heavy/catchy vibe with some layered vocals to make the trip even more memorable. After Dark could be a 90s rock radio hit while harkening back to that QOTSA reference. Corrosive Faith closes out the EP slowing down the pace while highlighting the extremely strong rhythm section and leaves the listener looking for a side two.

There is some serious potential here from Greyborn. You get the riffs, you get the upfront rhythm section, the great vocals, five excellent songs, and production that is right up my alley. This EP is the ultimate teaser. Now we wait to see of Greyborn can live up to the five outstanding tracks on Leeches. For now, enjoy this short slab of excellent heavy rock. 8/10

Ǻskvӓder - Fenix (The Sign Records) [David Karpel]

On Fenix, Gothenburg, Sweden’s Ǻskvӓder combines retro garage and alternative pop rock via the twists of Husker Du, the Replacements, The Goo Goo Dolls, and Soul Asylum. While their promotional material mentions the legendary and fuzzier bands The Hellacopters and Turbonegro as influences, with a crisp mix and spoonfuls of sugar Ǻskvӓder embrace the more pop side of the garage genre. At some points they even sound like late-stage Green Day with a somewhat grittier Davy Jones at the helm. But for the surprisingly captivating ballad Head Home, much of the point here is to wreck a room with a smile and rock and roll rapture. Most of the songs are short, sweet, and anthemic in nature. The album is mixed clean, soaked in melody, and chock-full of memorable choruses and harmonies, which makes for a lot of upbeat fun.

The opening song, Blurry Lines, sounds too much like The Rembrandts to ignore. And while I at first found that disconcerting, Ǻskvӓdersells it with a joyful panache. When We Fall, with its harmonies, handclaps, and shakers, revels in pop rock tropes that, again, work really well. Let You Down brings in some cowbells and a chorus you’ll find yourself singing along with by the second time it comes around. Fenix as a whole is a good time full of quick, memorable, fun songs that are catchy on first listen. After spending some time with the album, at one point I found myself humming the melody of Claptrap when not listening to it. There’s just so much infectiously enthusiastic and positive energy here. This remains true even in the previously mentioned Head Home, the longest song here at 4 minutes, a lighters-in-the-air, bluesy ballad with charming harmonies.

When I played Head Home in my house, my wife–raised on doo wops, Motown, and the like–claimed that the song, especially the chorus, reminded her of a 1965 pop ballad by Gerry & the Pacemakers, Ferry Cross The Mersey. I looked into it, and, yes, that checks out. The point here is that pop sensibilities rule on Fenix. This is even true of my favorite song on the album. With a Priest/Maiden double axe attack, clean solos, harmonies in the chorus, tambourines, stupendous melodies, Zealot is a standout tune that nevertheless stays within the contours of the established energy of the album. Ǻskvӓder has so much to say, so much to give their fans, new or otherwise, evidenced by how many songs they pack into an album–twelve here. Unfortunately, including so many short songs, some start to sound like others, which takes away from the shining moments. 7/10

Dirty Sound Magnet - DSM-III (Hummus Records) [Rich P]

I seem to pick up a ton of “retro” bands for my reviews.  This is not just me calling something “retro”, but usually in the press materials this is specifically called out. Now I enjoy the retro stuff, but you must bring me something interesting and with unique twist or I am going to forget what I listened to once the first note of the new Ghost record comes on. On third album from the Swiss self-proclaimed retro rockers Dirty Sound Magnet, DSM-III, the trio mentions Zeppelin, the Doors, and Pink Floyd as reference points. I feel like this cheapens the band as an unoriginal rip off of everyone’s favorite classic rock bands and is way too easy of a description. 

There is a lot of cool and unique stuff that makes up DSM-III, without unnecessary call backs to our classic rock heroes. I am a sucker for some good psych in my rock, and DSM-III brings it right off the bat with the opener Body In Mind. With a cool, funky riff to kick us off and production that is perfect for what they are bringing to the table.  You can tell it’s three guys in a room, jamming and having a great time while poking fun at those who pilgrimage to India for “spiritual enlightenment”. It’s a super catchy track that I find myself humming throughout the day. You can tell right away singer/guitarist Stavros Dzodzosz has some serious chops and this is evident in the solo on Body In Mind. Meet The Shaman continues that so-called journey, with some psych drenched guitars and chant like vocals that brings you right on the trip they are describing. 

Toxic Monkeys is a ripper with a great opening riff and a cool Blue Cheer kind of crunch to it. Pandora’s Dream, like several of the eight tracks on DSM-III opens with a great riff that this time leads to some funkiness and some great harmonized vocals.  This may be my favorite track on the album.  Heavy Hours starts some sweet slide guitar and brings that bar band feel that almost reminds me of Raging Slab, which is a good thing. Sunday Drama is the perfect instrumental closer, starting with nice, chill guitar work and showcases Dzodzosz’s chops to bring it all home. 

DSM-III is a super fun album that is the perfect length and sounds excellent. The instrumentation is top notch and the retro feel that is so “in” today is present but not in a derivative way. This one will stay with me for a while and will be mentioned in some fashion on my year end list. Good stuff. 8/10