Icestorm – The Northern Crusades
Origin: Spain
Release: 24.02.2023
Label: Independent
Duration: 34:05
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
With their fourth concept album, the Catalan melo death metal band from Icestorm return. This time it goes like the album title The Northern Crusades suggests to the crusades in northern Europe. The only question that remains is whether an exciting topic like this can also be represented musically.
After the spoken intro, which introduces the whole story and is supposed to give something like historical context, the Across the Baltic Sea (Ascent Of The Northern Campaigns) went straight to the top. You can also see the result HERE listen
That’s how history should be!
The Iron Fist Of The Lance Shaft (The Teutonic Knights March To War) On the other hand, it seems much more playful and convinces with catchy lead riffs and a chorus that you can quickly sing along to. To practice this in advance, you can watch the song HERE listen The Power To Fight (Pelpus Lake April 5th, 1242 – Dawn Of The Battle Of The Ice) hits a similar notch and lets the listener rock along almost automatically.
Glorious battles
Also on the next album the band finds a good mix between brutal Death Metal, playful and catchy melodic passages and various tempo changes, which provide for the appropriate tension. And everything in a historically quite accurate guise, so that one or the other might actually learn something from it. Picking out individual highlights is difficult because the album is consistently on an extremely high level. It’s also kind of in the nature of concept albums that these are at their best when heard and viewed as a whole.
Conclusion
History lessons can be so exciting. Icestorm join in The Northern Crusades a true monster album that is definitely worth a look or two for all kinds of Death, Pagan or Viking Metal fans. 8 / 10
Line Up
Marc Storm – Life
Alex Martinez – Bass, Hintergrundgesang
Jaume Roca – guitar – backing vocals
Tracklist
01. Crusaders of God (Introduction To The Crusaders)
02. Across the Baltic Sea (Ascent Of The Northern Campaigns)
03 The Iron Fist on the Lance Shaft (The Teutonic Knights March To war)
04. The Night Before The Battle (Bonfires, Prayers And Songs At The Teutonic Camp)
05. The Power To Fight (Pelpus Lake April 5th, 1242 – Dawn Of The Battle Of The Ice)
06. Clash Of Titans (The Battle Begins)
07. The Teutonic Charge (Bishop Herrmann Of Dorpat Leading The Charge)
08. Fields Of Death (Nevsky’s Ambush)
09. Novgorod Arise (Defeat Of The Teutonic Knights)
10. Triumph Of The Pagan Warriors (Lament For The Fallen Ones)
Links
Bandcamp Icestorm
Icestorm website
Facebook Icestorm
Also on Soundmagnet.eu
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