Good day Temple. A few months ago I was treated to an EP from VARG and one of my wishes was to hear a lot more from them. Well, here we have it, "The End of All Lies". I can tell you right now, they won't disappoint you; especially if you like Folk Metal. There was a 4 year break between their previous full-length and this gem, and I'm guessing that they took that time to perfect their art, because it is near perfection to my ears.

The intro "The Great Dictator" is a very powerful and deep speech from a country leader compelling people to harmony and peace. This speech was originally made famous by the 1940 movie of the same name. It ends in a crescendo that is "The End of all Lies". All of the former does seems to point into a more political album, but it doesn't remove anything from the beauty of it; and "Revolution" continues in that vibe.

The themes of the next two songs elude me as their names are in German on the English version: "Streyfzug" and "Achtung". But as all the songs on this album, the sound is perfect, and the vocals are spot on.

Things slow down a bit on "Darkness" to bring us, in my opinion, to the best song of the album: "The Dance of Death". Here we are introduced to an unexpected cameo by Anna Murphy from ELUVEITIE. The guttural voice of Freki mixes so well with Anna's clear and vibrant tone, making this one one of the album's definitive highlights.

The whole album, but especially "Einherjer", shows us VARG's move to a more melodic sound since their last album. The hook of the latter song will surely leave you wanting more. It is simply 4 minutes of joy for the ears.

The last song "Rain of Ash" was completely unexpected, for we are treated to a ballad. I was taken away by the vocal harmony and the low, clear voice of Freki; it reminded me a lot of IN FLAMES.

This is definitely an amazing album from VARG, and starts the year off in a magnificent fashion. It might have taken them 4 years to bring us new material, but clearly they weren't procrastinating; they were working hard to bring us a new and improved sound. It worked perfectly, and you really need to give this a listen.