WAYLANDER

Folk Metal • United Kingdom
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Formed in 1993, Waylander released their debut demo, Once Upon An Era, in early 1995. Mixing Irish folk music with extreme Metal. Waylander were soon dubbed Folk, Celtic and Pagan Metal. In 1996, with the addition of a full time tin-whistle player, Waylander released their 2nd demo, Dawning of a New Age, which soon gained Waylander a prominent position in the fledgling Folk Metal scene. This was cemented when Waylander signed to Century Media and in 1998, their debut album was released, entitled, Reawakening Pride Once Lost. A handful of gigs were undertaken to promote this album but label problems and internal strife blunted the potential somewhat. After overcoming some line-up changes, Waylander signed with Blackend Records and released their, The Light, the Dark and the Endless Knot, album in early 2001. Again internal strife reared up, culminating in numerous line-up changes for several years. Despite this Waylander managed to read more...
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WAYLANDER albums / top albums

WAYLANDER Reawakening Pride Once Lost album cover 3.50 | 1 ratings
Reawakening Pride Once Lost
Folk Metal 1998
WAYLANDER The Light the Dark and the Endless Knot album cover 0.00 | 0 ratings
The Light the Dark and the Endless Knot
Folk Metal 2001
WAYLANDER Honour Amongst Chaos album cover 3.00 | 1 ratings
Honour Amongst Chaos
Folk Metal 2008
WAYLANDER Kindred Spirits album cover 3.50 | 1 ratings
Kindred Spirits
Folk Metal 2012

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WAYLANDER Reviews

WAYLANDER Kindred Spirits

Album · 2012 · Folk Metal
Cover art Buy this album from MMA partners
Conor Fynes
'Kindred Spirits' - Waylander (7/10)

When it comes to the oft-attempted realm of folk metal, Waylander’s “Honour Amongst Chaos” remains one of my favourite examples. Finding a striking balance between the traditional sounds of Celtic folk and the aggressive edge of extreme metal, Waylander are up there with Primordial as one of the best metal acts Ireland has to offer. Being as how we had to wait four years between albums for “Kindred Spirits”, there’s been some great anticipation for this record. Best summarized in two words, Waylander don’t disappoint with their fourth full length. Once again, the battle cry sounds out in a fury of chugging riffs and Celtic whistle. It doesn’t seem to knock “Honour Amongst Chaos” from its throne, but the band’s latest serves as a strong offering for anything wanting folk metal the way it was meant to be.

One of Waylander’s greatest strengths has always been the sense that the folk elements really seem to fit the band’s metal mold, and this trait is plainly evident here. “Kindred Spirits” takes no time to get started, erupting with a chugging riff and signature whistle overtop. The Celtic whistle plays a fairly significant role throughout the album, offering a strong melodic contrast to the heavily riff-oriented blackened style that makes up much of Waylander’s metal roots. Although the Celtic instrumentation stills plays a central role in the way Waylander crafts melodies, there does seem to be more of a metallic edge to “Kindred Spirits”; that is, the folky aspects are a little less overt than they were in the past. The Celtic culture is very much alive on “Kindred Spirits”, but listeners shouldn’t expect anything of a mellow sort here. Once the riffs get going, Waylander rarely yield.

Although the sound and style is epic, it’s worthy of mention that “Kindred Spirits” is largely made up of concisely structured songs. Although they tend to rest around the seven minute mark, Waylander sticks to a formula of rhythm-oriented riffs, melodic choruses and the occasional break into a fully Celtic mode. The quality of writing stays fairly consistent, although “Echoes of the Sidhe”, “Twin Fires of Beltine”, and the excellent title track all win a special commendation. This consistent success aside however, “Kindred Spirits” is held back by its homogenous writing style. Although many of the melodic and folkish moments are memorable, the songs are rarely memorable in their own right. There are few surprises in store for a listener once they get wise to the band’s regular structure. “Kindred Spirits” never gets boring, but there is the concrete feeling around halfway into the album that the songwriting could have used some added variety to boost it to the next level.

There’s a lot of great things about Waylander’s fourth album. Ciarán O'Hagan’s vocals have never sounded better, and the album is remarkably solid from start to finish. It would have been nice to hear the band innovate and recharge their sound some more than they did, but “Kindred Spirits” shouldn’t disappoint fans of the band and folk metal at large. Although Waylander never lose touch with their Celtic influence, they manage to stay heavy while doing it, and that is something I think many so-called folk metal bands seem to miss out on. I think “Honour Amongst Chaos” will remain my favourite album by the band for now, but Waylander have impressed here once again.

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