ISENMOR are a Folk Viking Metal Band from Baltimore, Maryland. This is their first full-length album and third release. They released an EP back in 2015 called ''Land of the Setting Sun'' and a single in 2016 called ''Saxon Shore''. They were formed back in 2014 and are mainly comprised of members of RECENTLY VACATED GRAVES: TRUE ZOMBIE METAL, a Death Thrash Metal from Washington, DC.

I was not expecting the frantic pace of the music to be perfectly honest. I know that Viking Metal has been always associated with AMON AMARTH and the comparisons start with them. Not all bands thrive to imitate them but the basis is pretty much there, including this album. The song structure and heaviness is something we have heard in the past AMON AMARTH albums, it creates such an atmosphere. The wall of sound they created is something else and it's often imitated, never duplicated. ISENMOR uses that sound to full effect with an added touch of dual violinists and a mandolin. It really creates a different sound, like if you would mix ENSIFERUM with AMON AMARTH.

Furthermore, the mix is a tad off. The harsh vocals tend to be the focus of the band and not the music, the volume of the vocalist seems to drown the rest of the band and it's definitely annoying. The screaming harsh vocals are overwhelming, and that's not necessarily a good thing. The violin sounds rich and crisp when used without the overlay of vocals, same thing for the keyboards and mandolin. When you have the musical interludes, that's where the instruments really do shine and you can focus on it at these particular times.

First of all, before listening to the full album, I started off with the two Lyrical Videos, ''Battle Scarred'' and ''Furor Teutonicus''. Those songs are structurally sound but the vocals are way off. The harsh vocals, which are undiscernible at times can be a struggle for the listener out there. I felt they just didn't fit all that well, other bands can mix both quite well but this time it felt like the chemistry was not there.

The subject matter of the songs is awesome, I love Viking folklore, tales about war and family, the emotions of Vikings in battle, their struggles, what they feel when they are next to their shieldbrothers. Your shieldbrother was more than family and this album is very story driven. Even if I was not a fan of the main vocalist, I can attest that the lyrics and lyrical content is really on point. It's an enjoyable Viking Metal album, with a subpar vocalist and subpar production wielding yet a nice story-laden opus without being totally bad. It's energetic, frantic but lacks the poise and the proper mix of Death Metal vocals and main instrumentation.