Mare aus waldernen Hallen kicks of with the titelsong, surprisingly a somewhat folky bombastic song, apart from the occasional scream and guitar no metal to be heard. I regard this song as a classy and somewhat original intro to a killer album. Varying from bombastic/heroic/folk to black metal, Gernotshagen succeeds in blending these styles perfectly together on this album.

It takes some time to understand the album, with most songs shifting from one style to the other, Gernotshagen keeps long songs as for example Widars Klagesturm and Slachtensang der Einherjer interesting from beginning to the end. Important part in this is not only the interesting guitar melodies, but a main part is reserved for singer Askan. Ranging from clear and heroic to quality black metal screams, he does it all with ease (or so it seems though).

There is no song on Mare aus Waldernen Hallen which could be regarded as a filler. Apart from the forementioned songs, special praise is reserved for the song Dem Skirnir zu ehren. Very catchy, killer refrain (Hebt an das Horn gefult mit Met), a pagan drinking song of the highest quality without falling into cliche's. As a surprising twist, this song ends with a magnificent "viking" chore. Only downside on this album is the sometimes odd sounding drums, but that is just a minor point of criticism to a further excelent varying pagan black metal album.

(c) Arsenicum /metal-archives.com/