Thyrfing has been one of my favorite bands ever since Valdr Galga in 1999. They always manage to perfectly capture a certain epic, yet very melancholic mood in their music that only rarely a few other bands do. You can imagine thus that I was more than overjoyed when Farsotsider, their fifth album, finally saw the light of day at the end of November. After all, it has been no less than three years since their previous release, Vansinnesvisor, and I was eagerly awaiting new material from our Swedish Vikings.
Farsotsider has been recorded in the same lineup as Vansinnesvisor and is produced by Henrik Edenhed. I must admit that I hadn't heard of Henrik before and after looking up his name on the net, I was actually quite surprised to find out that he is mainly known as a producer / songwriter for more commercial artists (including the A-Teens (!)). Luckily, this has absolutely no impact on Thyrfing's sound since Farsotsider benefits from a heavy yet crystal-clear production, and shows that Henrik is obviously a very capable and versatile producer. Another very notable point is that this is also the first album whose lyrics are completely in Swedish. Since my knowledge of this particular language is pretty much non-existent though, I'll just concentrate on the music instead.
Musically it seems that Farsotsider is pretty much a sum of all the previous albums. It still sounds pretty dark and grim, like on Vansinnesvisor, but in contrary to that CD it seems that especially the keyboards have once again slightly taken the forefront. This might not be so apparent straight away because opener Far At Helvete is a straight-out basher (with a very hypnotizing ending), but it becomes clearer in the excellent, epic Jag Spar Fordarv, or the titletrack. Of course the album is not without it's folk influences either. Occasionally acoustic guitar parts and vocal choirs (Host) make certain that enough variety is implanted in the music to keep things interesting throughout and makes for a nice contrast with the heavier and faster parts. It also does not really need to be said that the ghost of Quorthon and Bathory also pop up on regular intervals, thanks to the epic feel on certain tracks (just listen to Tiden Laker Intet and you'll know exactly what I mean). Thus the album sounds quite diverse but always very coherent and without ever forsaking the usual Thyrfing trademarks.
Farsotsider definitely managed to impress me and was well worth the long wait. Thyrfing once again easily solidify their position in the Viking Metal scene with this album and really deserve a little more attention than they currently get. Excellent, somber and very melancholic album, ideal for the grey and dreary winter days we are currently experiencing!