I received MÅNEGARM's newborn with the mail a couple of weeks ago. Anxious like a hooker's right hand when your 20 minutes are up I demolished that damn plastic stuff that everybody just can't seem to get the CD out off and threw the disc in my 10 year old JVC. But what the fuck?! I got the wrong record this time… I took the CD out, looked at it and still it said MÅNEGARM "Dodsfard" hmm… I wondered if my stereo was fucked but it seemed to work okay. Well what the hell? I'll just give it another spin anyway. But still MÅNEGARM didn't come out of my speakers… This was a complete different band. The MÅNEGARM I knew played furious Black Metal with intense blasting and some heavy folk inspiration. "Dodsfard" is nothing like that except the Folk…the Folk is still there and you know what? It's still all good baby! Cause that CD never came out again and not because my stereo really was fucked… I JUST DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE IT OUT DAMMIT!!!

MÅNEGARM 2003 is better than ever. But you have to accept that they have changed a lot… to the better if you ask me. It's more folky and you can't ignore that they are strongly influenced by bands like THYRFING and especially STORM and OTYG in the way they implement the folkish tunes with violins … Oh yes! The violin sounds soooooo sweeeet in my ears. It's not much Black Metal anymore but more death. Mostly mid-paced tempo although you will get some blasting once in a while especially on "Vrede" (Rage) which is an all out piece of drunken, sword fighting, village burning, Viking-brutality but like most of the songs there are a lot of tempo switches and in the middle you get a beautiful violin-solo to calm you down just a little bit before everything goes crazy again! <Just getting my breath here> The vocals sound a lot like the ones in THYRFING. High pitched Death screams and it suits the album fine. Although the drums are not as fast as before they are very powerful and more precise. On their previous album sometimes it seemed like the drummer just couldn't keep up with the rest of the band. Well he can now for sure. The guitars are heavier than before and played tight as a virgin.

After a moody obligatory violin intro you have the opening song "I Evig Tid" (For All Time). It opens up with a folky mid-paced melody with a bit of an EINHERJER stomping sound to it. It has an up-tempo shift in the middle and you are forced to bang your head or you shall not go to Valhalla (Where the Gods live). It's a good introduction to the album and what to expect. "Ravenous" is one of the strongest songs on the album with a driving melody that just bangs into your forehead like Mjølner (Thor's hammer dude!!! Get into the mood!). It has all powerful vocals and there are lot's of double bass drumming here like the lightings from… yeah well, Mjølner again! "Agirs Vrede" (Agir's Rage) has some crazy vocals. It sounds a bit like Fenriz on the STORM album just a bit more exaggerated and you can really feel that he sings his damn heart out on this one. The melody is also very STORM inspired. I love it! And so it goes on.

The songs are very varied and there are lots of surprises on this little jewel. The only negative to say might be the length but what the fuck? Just put the little bastard on repeat!!! But remember that you have to listen to the album with a bit of an open mind if you are an incarnated fan. It's not a big leap like ENSLAVED have done but it's still a rather large big step forward (?) I know I won't stop listening to this album for a long time and dare I say that this is the best Viking record since ENSIFERUM's latest? Sure I do!!!
Guest reviewer Jord (Nick) mailto:snabelaf@hotmail.com

Manegarm isn't an unknown name anymore in the underground scene. After 2 demos Displeased records picked up Manegarm and in 1998 the band released their debut album 'Nordstjarnans Tidsalder'. The expectations where high and the album was received well in the media. Yet Manegarm didn't reach a large audience with the album. 2 years later in the summer of 2000 the band recorded the second opus 'Havets Vargar' and most reviews and opinions about this one where even better. Yet I swear by their debut, it was in my opinion one of the best albums released in 1998; an aggressive yet melodic black metal album mixed with folk and Viking elements with a special place for the violin, which gave the album a melancholic touch. Also 'Havets Vargar' wasn't a bad album at all, on the contrary, it was one of the highlights of 2000 but didn't reached the level/atmosphere of 'Nordstjarnans Tidsalder'.

Now 3 years later in 2003 the band is ready to release their 3rd full-length album. 2 weeks ago I received this album. With some tension I heard the first tunes of the intro. "What the fuck!?! This wasn't the Manegarm I knew…" Something like that must have been my first reaction after listen the whole album just once. All songs where more compact, folkier, less black, and so on… Manegarm changed their style! The freezing black metal feeling was gone. In the beginning it was quite a disappointment and I was almost for sure this would be the worst release of Manegarm so far. A few days I didn't listen to the album and last week I tried it again, yet without any better result. That day I listen another few times to 'Dodsfard' and slowly I began to like it more and more and at this moment I even think 'Dodsfard' is the best album of Manegarm so far!

Like I mentioned before all songs are more compact, you will only hear the most necessary melodies and instruments. Due to the folky melodies and the use of some epic singing parts the total sound is more "Viking" than ever before. Still we can hear some black metal influences yet the melodic "Viking" element is dominating the album. Imagine a mixture of Hollenthon, Storm and Finntroll and you will have an idea how 'Dodsfard' sounds. If you are used to the 'old' Manegarm sound it won't be an easy job to get used to the new sound but give this album a fair chance and you will experience the beauty of 'Dodsfard'. All other people who are into Viking metal and never heard of this band before I can only advice one thing; Buy this masterpiece!
http://www.metalmania.net/showband

Cooking with Månegarm - A tasty dish! - 100%
Imagine a blend of Mithotyn, Amon Amarth, Thyrfing a touch of Skyclad (violin), Nightwish (Tarja style singing) and with a subtle hint of Finntroll to season, topped off with some really atmospheric natural sounds and you have Månegarm´s sound on this
album. To be sure it sounds a mess but trust me, this time it works and this is without question my favourite VM disc to date.

The title track begins with the sound of the sea crashing onto the rocks before launching into a typical Mithotyn sound. This time the female vocals are somewhat more
appropriately used than on the debut (and much less often) and the album is fairly intense throughout, apart from the obligatory (it seems) acoustic track, in this case Fädernes Jord, and some more acoustic elements that give it a nice contrast of light and shade.

The next song, Vargtörne, more than makes up for this; opening with a howling wolf and it smokes along very nicely, before the slow mid-section and ending complemented with some more tasteful howling wolves in the background.

The albums closer Vinternattskväde is my favourite track as it builds towards a nice ending, but are there many other worthies on the album. My biggets regret is that
my promo copy has no lyrics and as this is more akin to an aural play I have a hunch there is something to be added from liner notes etc.

I know that I mention Mithotyn a lot when talking of Månegarm but although they sound more like Mithotyn that anyone else, the other elements in their music give them
a far richer and diverse sound an they are well worth checking out. It´s just a shame that the female vocals will put off many people.
Written by Runehammer on October 13th, 2002

A Must Have for Viking Metal Fans - 95%
There are only a few viking metal bands that can truly combine extreme, fast-paced brutality with just enough folk influences and melody to set it apart from generic black metal. Nordstjärnans Tidsålder not only accomplishes this feat, but also has a great variety. The album opens with a light piano intro, followed by violin, which then bursts into a fast, brutal assault of black metal and folk. The violins play in the background just enough so that they can be heard without overpowering the guitar like many other bands of this genre (ie: Moonsorrow). This combination continues throughout the album, with a few female vocals thrown into the mix. Track 7 contains a short folk ballad, which has a very refined, well-composed sound. The overall album is very solid, and is a must have for any fan of true viking metal.
Written by Messiah

Worthy Viking Metal - 79%
Viking metal in the style of Mithotyn with some notable exceptions. Månegarm are not afraid to use different instruments and sounds from nature, so you will hear ravens, weather effects, violin, female operatic style vocalization (she only actually sings on
one song) and, I kid you not, even jew´s harp! The album kicks off with a keyboard piece with some raven calls in the background, quite nicely done and atmospheric, then
we are into Mithotyn territory, with passages reminiscent of Thyrfing and even some classic Zeppelin drumming on Den Dödes Drömmar.

The next song, Nordanblod, is my favourite - a mid paced Norse romp that just screams
Viking at you. Then there follows the album oddity Ymer, a duet on acoustic guitar and violin before the female vocals come in and then the jew´s harp. It´s quite nice but it´s not metal and I don´t think too many folk will rave about it.

Overall, this is a good album; my main gripe is that the female vocals (she sounds like Tarja from Nightwish to me) are overused. She doesn´t actually sing very much, it is usually a case of "aaahs" and "la"s used as an accompaniment to the melody, almost keyboardish. Sometimes it works nicely other times it doesn´t, and sometimes the
tempo changes are a little too much. Overall this should appeal to VM and, particularly,
Mithotyn fans but try it first, they get it perfect on the follow-up however.
Written by Runehammer on October 11th, 2002