When dealing with Folk Metal genres, one must be careful, because just to call a band as "Folk" isn't enough to define what it plays. But bands as the legendary and mighty SUIDAKRA, from Germany, don't need further presentations and words. These veterans are active in the scene for 25 years of unstoppable work (that could be better received by the fans of Pagan/Folk Metal). And celebrating their 25^th anniversary, here is "Echoes of Yore", a present from the band to the fans.

Musically, the band uses a mix between Celtic influences with an extreme Metal approach near of Death Metal and Thrash Metal sometimes. But it's not so easy to label their musical work, because diversity is their main best quality: they can sound extreme in a moment, and on others, extremely Celtic/Folk. And these 10 songs are a collection of hits of their career, chosen by the fans on a Kickstarter campaign. As said above: it's a gift of the band to their fans, but is a fine release to known their music as well.

Martin Buchwalter entered the studio with them, to build up a sound quality for "Echoes of Yore". It can sound a bit brutal for some, but the ones who know SUIDAKRA's work are used to it. But don't have the wrong idea: it sounds great, heavy and clean, with the right doses of weight and aggressiveness. And once more, the Belgian graphic master Kris Verwimp created an amazing art for the band!

10 excellent songs are waiting for you all, then the mix between melodies and brutality presented on "Wartunes" (very good bass guitar and drums work on the rhythm), the extreme Celtic Metal song "The Quest" (a great work from vocals, indeed, due the contrasts between grunts and clean voices is amazing), the amazing melodic grasp of "Morrigan" (excellent guitar riffs), the tender Celtic melodic travel given by "Rise of Taliesin" (the use of a clean approach was a perfect choice), the fine ambiance created by some keyboards and the guitar solos of "Pendragon's Fall", the charming crossing of aggressiveness with Folk/Celtic elements shown on "Banshee", and the extreme pile-driving parts that mixes with grandiose Pagan elements during "Lays From Afar" are the ones to begin. On the second time on "Echoes of Yore", the best thing is to hear all the songs.

25 years are not enough to appreciate SUIDAKRA's music, so hear "Echoes of Yore" to celebrate, or even to known their music!