Conor Fynes 'The Lay Of Thrym' - Tyr (6/10)

The Faroe Islands are not a place that many know anything about, let alone that they are home to one of the biggest Viking metal bands out there. Tyr is a band that takes their love of Norse mythology and makes music surrounded by it, and while this is certainly nothing new for a metal genre that has been worshiping the icy gods virtually since its inception, their highly melodic and clean-vocalized approach to viking metal tends to send them apart somewhat from the legions of other Viking revivalists. 'The Lay Of Thrym' shows a band that is very familiar with their sound and the science of making Viking metal music. On that note, there is nothing new here that listeners of Tyr will not immediately identify with, but their legacy of catchy and melodic mythos-inspired metal lives on here.

I will make it clear from the beginning that Viking metal is not something I find myself all too enthused by, seeing as there are only so many albums and songs that can be written about the ancient stories. On the other hand, Tyr do have a identifiable sound to them, thanks largely to the vocals of Heri Joensen. It is not necessarily that his voice is distinct, but rather the fact that in a genre where vocalists tend to rumble and snarl, he opts for an incredibly clear, only slightly accented melodic voice. The music huddles around the vocal strengths of Tyr, as is evidenced by their songwriting. Although Tyr's songwriting gets somewhat tired by the end of the album, they do know how to write a catchy song, and the choruses to each of these will have you at least humming along by the end of it.

'The Lay Of Thrym' certainly is about being Norse and in no dearth of reverence for the old gods, but the thing that actually had me even just a little surprised by the album was the fact that Tyr was expanding their lyrical themes to address other issues. As one might expect, 'Shadow Of The Swastika' is about Nazis, and although a stranger to this band might suddenly think based on the title that Norse mythology is not the only thing that Tyr wants to revive, the band openly condemns the neo-Nazi movement, as well as all of the National Socialist bands that give metal a bad name. The lyrics are not particularly poetic- as anyone who has heard the song may agree- but undeniably effective. With 'Take Your Tyrant', they continue this style of good-guy lyrics, and while it is an interesting change of pace to see a metal band writing lyrics about things advocating the good and well-being of mankind (as opposed to its depravity and destruction), they usually are not particularly interesting.

For someone looking for upbeat, catchy, and even slightly (but only slightly) progressive Viking metal, Tyr's 'The Lay Of Thrym' may be a good album to check out. The album does not pass me as being great or excellent, and while the upbeat melodic nature of Tyr can feel a little too shallow for the album's length, there are enough strong tracks and originality to be worth checking out.

cennsor [review originally published on http://thecennsor.wordpress.com/]

So here they are again, our beloved islanders from the cold cold North (ok, I’m probably exaggerating, it’s no Svalbard after all). The Faroese Týr are back, and it’s a pleasant return.

Just a couple (literaly) years after By the Light of the Northern Star, the talented quartet is out with a new release, still under the auspices of the trusted Napalm Records. Once again, almost nothing has changed, and once again, that’s just very good news for their listeners and lovers.

The album, aptly titled The Lay of Thrym, is the same old bunch of viking-inspired songs, a collection of solid heavy metal songs with a lot of folky undertones, plus a very nice ballad and two superb bonus tracks (more on that later). Does that make for a boring listening? Again, not at all. Týr have already shown their ability not to get too repetitive although dwelving in the same genre and stylemes for what feels like a long time now (and it actually is, as they’ve been around since 1998). The Lay of Thrym is just another good example of that.

The album kicks off with the powerful, typically Týr-ian Flames of the Free, setting the tone for all that’s to come. Shadow of the Swastika, though bearing a somewhat ambiguous title, is a funny number whose lyrics might have you reflect – or, you might just fall for the general catchiness and the nice solo; either would be good.

On the same vein is Take Your Tyrant, something of a “libertarian” anthem, if that makes any sense. Same goes for Hall of Freedom, but to avoid repetitiveness, Týr placed the balladesque Evening Star right in the middle of the two like-themed songs. Evening Star is a little pretty gem, and personally I think it outscores any slower-tempo “soft” stuff these guys have ever done. To kind of vary the general lyrical output, this number is Lord of the Rings-themed (something we can’t seem to get any rest from, especially when we think of “epic” power metal bands, from Blind Guardian down down to their legion of clones; but midway through a viking metal album, that makes for a nce variation).

Fields of the Fallen could be described as a synthesis between Týr‘s characteristic folky background and sort of a “return to the metal origins”; and a very good one at that. I don’t honestly remember so many and such good guitar solos from Týr in the past, which sure accounts for a bit of variation more within the songs and to the general feel of the album.

But it’s time for the folkiest of the lot: unlike on their previous works, this time Týr have confined the Faroese-sung songs in the second half of the album. Konning Hans, an actual Danish/Faroese traditional chant, opens this second half, with a well-known beginning to listeners of Týr and connoisseurs of the genre. Ellindur Bóndi á Jaðri and Nine Worlds of Lore also stem from Faroese traditionals, but had their lyrics re-written by guitarist/vocalist Heri Joensen, respectively in Faroese and English. The Lay of Thrym serves as a closer, with its epic echoes making it a nice metal counterpart to the eddic poem that inspired it.

And just when you thought that was it, here come the bonus tracks. Let me just say they blew me away! Bringing credit to those who would describe the album as a fusion of folky and heavy metal roots, here’s two astonishing renditions of Black Sabbath‘s I and Rainbow‘s Stargazer. The late Ronnie James Dio couldn’t have asked for a better viking metal tribute. Personally, I find the latter especially well rendered, nicely balanced between being a faithful cover and instilled with a typical Týr flavour. If you somehow found the rest boring (unlikely, if you’re a Týr fan), these two covers will more than make up for it.

THUS SPAKE THE CENNSOR: Týr are still out there doing what they do best: being Týr. That should suffice to convince any die-hard and even not-so-die-hard fans that The Lay of Thrym is worth adding to your viking metal collection. Especially if you’re into the “softer” (but I would just say “more listenable”) side, the powerish-epic one, of it. Personal note: I found this album much better than the two altogether that they put out between 2006 and 2008. But actually, no comparison is needed to just enjoy The Lay of Thrym quite a lot. 7,5/10