The surprise came a few weeks later when I pulled this album out of the cobwebs for another spin; I have no idea what happened in the meantime, but suddenly the little sound problems weren't so bad and I thought that overall the production fitted the album quite well. Even the clean vocals stopped making me cringe. Had they actually grown on me without my knowledge during the period when I didn't play the album? No matter, lets do a bit of reviewing, shall we?

Most of what you get is mid-tempo "Epic Viking-Metal" (copyright Quorthon), which means lyrics about how Scandinavia is a cold place (when will we get Inuit metal?), mother earth and nature is where it's at and how honour & pride are cool qualities (fortunately we are mostly spared from the giggle-inducing Manowar image). Lots of rather cool and pleasant guitar riffs (maybe not very original, but the whole album is done with surprising conviction and that's what makes it work) with basic yet fun melodic leads on top; lots of those infamous Viking choirs with, here and there, for variety's sake, an acoustic guitar break with samples of sword-fights, water and horses. There's even a faster song to remind us Vikings are only part time tree huggers!

Much better than Destroyer of World, sure to please die hard Bathory fans but newcomers should probably start with Hammerheart or another of the classics. In any case, if you're thinking of taking the plunge, I suggest that you give this album some time before deciding if you like it or not.

The second (and final?) disc of the Nordland saga is already available. I have not heard it yet but I've heard good things about it. Supposedly the two combined are stronger than the sum of their parts. This demands investigation I suppose...

(I'd have given it a 3.5/5 if our rating system allowed it)