Underground Sounds: Various – Tales from the Southern Realm (Australia)

Origin: Australia
Label: Independent
Bands: Wrath of Fenrir, Stormtide, Saralisse, Trollgasm, Enviktas, Beast Impaler, Pagans Realm, Tomes Of Ruin

An album full of Australian folk metal, imagine that? Well, it exists and under the title ‘Tales From The Southern Realm’. Eight bands with varying sounds, so time to check out what Australia has to offer in a genre riddled bands that stick close to the sound of Finntroll and Ensiferum. Let’s be honest, folk metal is a genre of clichés, where a sincere and different sound is a reare found. Am I doubting this record in advance? No, because folk metal is one of my favorite genres and is often delivered with an honest love for the music. The hype around the stylistic direction has been a true catalyst for a swarm of mediocre acts in the past though.

Wrath of Fenrir – Awaken The Frost

The first track on the record is by Perth inhabitants Wrath of Fenrir. The band mixes folk and black, drawing inspiration from… the far, far northern Viking culture and the Edda. The group has released one EP and apart from that is not one you’re likely to have heard of.

Thougho offering a clean production and some tight rhythm, the screams and grunts exchange a bit too regularly. The whole thing feels a bit too formulaic. Regardless, it sounds brutal and I guess that there’s some potence here.

Stormtide – As Two Worlds Collide

Though at first I though it would go in an Amon Amarth direction, thanks to the intro, the more Equilibrium-like keys quickly followed. I don’t know if I like it better after hearing it a bunch of times yet. There’s a lot I like about both those bands, but the combination is a bit odd to me.

The band from Melbourne has by now released their full length. That puts these guys on the map, having signed to Metal Hell Records. The synths make this song incredibly catchy and cinematic, but I wonder if they really need them. Personally I dig this German approacht to the genre. A good track by Stormtide!

Tomes Of Ruin – A Knights Regret

Now, there we go with some more Amon Amarth sounding death metal, including the swooping riffs and some actual story telling. The music is tight, but stays a bit flat so to say, really sticking to that riff and running with it all the way to the end. There’s another reference that is eluding me at the moment, but this band definitely fits in with a certain style. Maybe some Svartsot is in the mix.

The vocals are quite tight, but when it’s not guttural the barks seems strangely out of place in contrast with the clean production. The distinct vocal style is that of a story teller, but with a bit of a black metal bark to it. The continuous pumping rhythm even has a bit of Bolt Thrower to it. Peculiarly enjoyable.

Enviktas – Skinwalker

Blending their extreme metal with medieval elements and segments of world music, the band Enviktas from Newcastle has a peculiar sound. The intriguing intro immediately sets the band apart from their peers. Strange sounds set a nervous mood of threat and danger. There are a lot of sounds that are tricky to place, but what is most noticable is the lack of filling. Enviktas makes the most of their instruments.

How they do that? Rhythm takes an important roll in the sound of Enviktas. Wether it’s the primitive drums or the pulsating dideridoo sound, it can stand on its own, while riffs create spaces where just rhythm is there. There’s a lot of space in the sound of this group, which allows for a peculiarly effective and different vibe.

Trollgasm – Quest For Glory

Though the name suggested a more fun sound, but this band fully embraced the more folk-oriented Scandinavian sound. Though the group has split up, there’s a good grasp of the epic and mystical to their sound with well placed keys and big guitar archs. An added value to the track are the vocals of Wulfstand from English band Forefather. His clear chants give the tune a more authentic vibe (though more British obviously).

The track is definitely one of the more reverential and grand of this compilation. I must say I didn’t expect this from a band with ‘gasm’ at the end of their name. Specially the folky instruments are well placed and balanced with the music.

Beast Impaler – Community Dinner

There we have the funny bit of the recordw, with a group that sounds a bit like Finntroll in their early days, with the party streak of Trollfest. A beat that seems to derive from polka is excellent if you need your listeners to move. The jagged pace keeps it agressive and ‘trollish’.

The sound of Beast Impaler is heavy with synths and to me sounds a bit dated. Though I enjoy the time travel back, it doesn’t really stick that long in your head. Again, highly unlikely to hear something like this from Australia.

Pagans Realm – March of the wolfs head bannerman

These guys were a bit harder to trace, but they clearly take to the more showy parts of the genre, judging by their live pictures. What you hear is more a kind to Amon Amarth meets Turisas. The light instrumentals are in sharp contrast with the roared vocals.

Though I don’t entirely feel the balance between the music and vocals, I feel the energy of this band. Like AA, this is a band that you’d like to see live. The galloping rhythms and well timed breaks keep things catchy. Unfortunately this band also called it quits this year. A shame for that scene in Australia.

Saralisse – Into the sky

Closer of this collection is the Group Saralisse, who are indeed closer to the more theatrical power metal approach to the folk genre. Though that is only the opening part I found, once the track gets rolling we really more into the Ensiferium spheres of catchy, keyboard filled melodic death riffing.

Though the band has only released an EP, the group seems to still be rather active. The recording and production of this track are awesome in my headphones and feel like something that could appeal to a broad range of people. Cool!

Thoughts

I started writing this review with the wish to do a track by track of something peculiar: folk metal in Australia. It’s great to see that the country has a fascinating scene going on there, with interesting acts and good tunes. Only goes to show that metal takes root in all forms. It seems that the folk metal harks back to Europe and a fantasy-like image of the continent in ages past. This is a peculiar thing, perhaps the distance has changed the emotions attached to these images, but it’s fascinating to hear these bands do their thing in an own way, with some fresh and free aspects to it.

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