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Heáfodbán – Heáfodbán

heáfodbán – heáfodbán

Info

Heáfodbán hail from Seattle, Washington, USA and blend in some folk-induced burst of rage to a firmly chaotic sort of Black Metal. Just to be sure, adding Folk elements to Black Metal doesn’t necessarily mean that it is anything near Thyrfing, Mithotyn or, say, Himinbjorg. On the very contrary, Heáfodbán is as barbaric and savage as any Ross Bay Cult-inspired band. Their wild musical scope includes hallucinating sort of folky melodies as well as thundering drums, pounding riffs and rabid screams. While there is no real comparison to be made on a direct musical level, the band does fit in a new and refreshing movement in American Black Metal.

There is an increasing number of American bands diving into their own history. Whereas European bands ruled the roost for decades when it came to (Black) metal with medieval or Viking themes, the new generation of musicians is looking to their own roots. The term increasingly applied to this, ‘Indigenous Black Metal’, may not fully honour the concept, but it does produce some very interesting things musically. And, besides the musical content side, these bands also shine their lyrical light on completely different themes, which offers the Black Metal genre as a whole much more variety.

Among the most obvious bands like Blackbraid, Pan-American Native Front and Ifernach are many more what are brewing and eager to hurl their musical and creative expressions into the world. Among these we can certainly include Heáfodbán, although certainly not one-to-one comparable to the above-mentioned best-known bands in the movement, this six-piece brings an extremely interesting musical product where extremes are touched and nothing is shunned. The first part of this half-hour epic is largely taken up by ferocious chaos, but as the album progresses the folk elements come around the corner and provide a wonderful ending with the last two songs being the grandiose climax.

Anyone who is equally interested in this rejuvenation and fresh blood into the genre, should definitely consider giving Heáfodbán a spin. I am quite sure it will not disappoint. The more conservative Black Metal listener might do well to ignore this, or at least approach it with some caution.

Heáfodbán

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