EREB ALTOR

By Honour

I Hate Records/ CD 2008

The pounding keyboard section of dramatic and engaging character starts its triumphal march in “Perennial” and takes the listener aboard one of the most splendorous Viking ships that have ever been constructed since the drakkar named Bathory set its sails out for the last journey somewhere in the beginning of this century. The opening part of Ereb Altor’s – up till now – sole album may seem nothing extraordinary, yet works as a very decent introduction to a musical experience of highest quality, at least if we talk doom metal spiced with the heritage of medieval Scandinavian societies.

It might seem almost unbelievable that a band release their first full-length album after having been existing for as much as eighteen years. So is the case with this Swedish act, of which both musicians also join their forces for the purpose of a somewhat better known doom group called Isole. With the disc titled “By Honour” Crister Olsson and Daniel Bryntse not only resurrect the spirit of Tomas Forsberg’s epic pieces but also add a bit of something new to the whole puzzle. What I am aiming at using the word “new” is the fact that each of the seven compositions recorded for the work has been granted a sound that in certain moments even exceeds the efforts of the Viking metal’s originator. It seems to be more powerful and elaborated, yet still far from being deprived of a kind of organic touch suiting so well the music inspired by the culture of Norsemen and nature. The track number four on the list, “Winter Wonderland”, can serve in this case as a good example – the initial harsh six-string sawing gives after a while room to a beautiful lead guitar motif of equally natural sound, which together with the rhythm section makes the song a genuine doom metal anthem.

Frankly speaking, every main dish in the Swedish menu includes something that could be appreciated by the fans of slow tempos plus hammering sound. The attention-grabbing melodies, created nearly exclusively by the guitars, appear regularly and some of them, especially those in the afore-mentioned track together with “By Honour” and “The Awakening”, certainly deserve being widely acclaimed. It feels as if these catchy lines combined with the sluggish heaviness create a sort of glorious monument to the times of Nordic expansion in the world. An exceptional work has also been done in the vocal department, which offers well executed singing of both strong and clean type adding a considerable dose of majesty and melancholy to the album, especially in the moments featuring choir-like performance, which is one of the easiest recognizable attributes inherited from Bathory here. Just try out the title track and let it impress you with its powerful charm.

Ereb Altor still seem to be an undiscovered gem on the Metal scene but I guess that they will gradually gain more and more appreciation from the music audience, especially if their next releases will be of same quality as the reviewed debut. If you consider Bathory’s epic stuff as a paragon of the Viking metal genre then “By Honour” seems to be a must for you.

11/12