IDASLET is a Folk Metal band, from Copenhagen, Denmark. This is their debut album entitled "Lurernes Glammen" which was released independently back on March 1^st 2020. To be fair as much as I have listened to my share of Viking Metal and all its related sub-genres, the folk metal style is one that has eluded me the most. I have been used to hearing elements of the genre mixed in with black metal, death metal and even some progressive metal, but not so much the style on its own, so it is definitely a challenge to dissect an album, that has that common thread throughout each song.

The opening song, which is also the title track "Lurernes glammen",uses some nature sounds, such as a river, with some added horn sounds and accordion notes. It is essentially an intro, yet it really captures the essence of a "journey song". It transitions seamlessly into "Fald på knæ, a very hard-hitting number in the first few seconds. The vocals are very akin to FINNTROLL, and the obvious comparison can be made due to the strong presence of accordions. The song remains mainly mid-tempo, with the galloping riff style. One could say that what would usually be fast guitar picking alone, is accompanied perfectly by the other arrangements. There is even a part of the song that reminded of AMON AMARTH. A very strong start to the album.

"Blodfærd" tends to take its influences a bit more from the black metal side of the genre, with some faster guitar parts at the start. It almost immediately goes into "accordion mode" as with the previous song. One thing this band does well is mix the two completely different instruments and make them sound as one. The male choirs are also a very strong part of the song, even if I used only for a short period of time.

The more guitar driven "Kongestrid på Hedehøj" is my favorite track on the album. I think the main reason is because it brought me back a good 15 years, when I started getting into the more joyful and drinking song side of this genre. There is some variety as well in the vocal arrangements, in its presentation I could compare it with VINTERSORG and BORKNAGAR. The duality between the vocal styles is what makes it so unique.

Overall, I had my doubts on how much I would appreciate a style that I am not that familiar with. One thing this genre can present is overbearing instrumentation and maybe a little too much joy for my liking. Luckily, this band knows how to dose the different instruments that make up the overall structure of their songs, and each track is enjoyable. If you were a fan of the early days of FINNTROLL, I think you will be impressed by this project and will be interested in following them for the years to come.