01	Af Helvegum						02:46
	02	Bruderov Paa Haegstadtun						03:43
	03	Huldradans - Hin Gronnkledde						04:07
	04	Til Rondefolkets Herskab						04:04
	05	Over Aegirs Vidstragte Sletter						03:44
	06	Slit Livets Baand						01:32
	07	Efterbyrden						05:06
	08	Op Af Bisterlitiern						03:41
	09	Vargr I Veum - Eilivs Bane						03:42
	10	Blodhevn						06:19
	11	Valgalder						03:30

Hin Vordende Sod & So
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Napalm Records - 25.08.2003
Music by Marius, except 6 by Lars F., 10, 11 by Marius & Au?rvinr
Lyrics by Marius, except 3, 11 by Au?rvinr.
Arranged by Asmegin, except 3 by Marius

Recorded at TopRoom Studios by Borge Finstad & Marius
Mixed at TopRoom Studios by Borge Finstad & Marius
Produced by Borge Finstad & Marius

Paintings by Fredrik Rahmqvist
Layout by Elena Schirenc
Band logo by Skrymer
Band photos by Emile M. Ashley

Line-up:
Bjorn Olav Holter - Grim and soar throat
Marius Olaussen - Lead and rythm guitars, accordion
Raymond Hakenrud - Lead and rythm guitars
Tommy Brandt - Drums and percussion, backing vocals
Tomas Torgersbraten - Basses, backing vocals

Guest musicians:
Lars A. Nedland - Clean vocals
Anja Hegge Thorsen - Jew's harp
Oddrun Hegge - Norwegian zither
Lars F. Froislie - Pianos, Mellotrons and additional keys
Sareeta - Fiddle, female chants and profound screams of terror
Anne Marie Hveding - Wood-nymph chants
Borge "Smuldra Glans" Finstad - Percussion on track 3
Gunhild Forland - Country flutes
Nikolai Brandt - Internal womb screams




Asmegin - Hin Vordende Sod & So (8/10) - Norway - 2003
Genre: Viking Metal
Label: Napalm
Playing time: 42:20
Band-Homepage: www.asmegin.com

The true highlights in the Black Metal genre get less and less during the past few years, but still a few true fighters of the scene manage to convince with unusual albums. Among these chosen few we maybe also can welcome Norway's ASMEGIN soon, because their debut "Hin Vordende Sod & So" in all matters is remarkable.
And the influences that this masterpiece combines are widely spread. So it would be wrong to call ASMEGIN another Nordic Black Metal band and would neither do the variable sound justice. So besides the classical Black and Viking Metal influences we get especially Scandinavian folklore, traditional Heavy Metal or here and there a little grooving Rock part. With this wide spectrum the Northmen never drift off into chaos, but more often than not convince with surprising twists inside the songs.

So furious Black Metal attacks are loosened up by romantic Folk, dark grunting torn apart by shrieks and female angelic voices raised into new spheres by hymnic chants. The number of guest musicians is also remarkable and hints at a not really stressless and calm work in the studio, which makes the professional atmosphere of the album even more surprising. Among others we get Lars Fredrik Froislie (WHITE WILLOW, WOBLER) on the piano, Lars Nedland (BORKNAGAR, SOLEFALD) on vocals and Sareeta (RAM-ZET) on the violin and the female vocal parts. A row of other musicians (Norwegian cither, flute and harp) rounds up this outstanding album and lets it be one of the most interesting albums of this year.

It will be quite difficult to transfer this enormous production also into the live environment, on disc the altogether eleven tracks are flawless. Supported by a very differentiated and still mightily powerful production it will get harder for critics to find weaknesses on "Hin Vordende Sod & So". (Online August 5, 2003)




Asmegin
Hin Vordende Sod & Sш
(Napalm Records)

Lying somewhere between the folk musings of Vintersorg and Otyg, the Viking death metal grandeur of Thyrfing and the upbeat, campy black metal ethnicity of Finntroll, lies Norway's Asmegin. And let me tell you something, this is about as good as it gets for this kind of music. This five piece utilizes a heavy folk backbone to their style of black/death metal but refuses to lie still for pigeonholing, the sheer amount of layers that encompasses this album defies simple categorization. A lot of this in part to the 10 extra musicians that appear on the album (Including Borknagar's Lars Nedlund on clean vocals), and give the album a deep, deep feel that surpasses the usual folk metal that simply adds a violin backed jig here and there. What breaks Asmegin apart from the many folk metal acts is that they do deliver some pretty aggressive material within their chosen theme; the deep death metal bellows of Bjorn Olav Holter give the music's innate bounce some menacing weight. When combined with Nedlund's superb 'Sorg-ish croon, Ingvild Johannese's (aka Sareeta from Ram-Zet) angelic voice, and the multi-faceted musical delivery, the end result is dazzlingly good. For those looking for a musical yardstick, I'd have to say Finntroll, as they seem to revel in the same non-traditional atmosphere, offbeat delivery and along with the cartoonish artwork, seem out to pretty much have fun with their music. The only difference is that rather than embellish their sound with heavy synths, the folk, ethnic element of Asmegin's sound is rendered by real instruments (hence the many guest musicians). The use of a fiddle, mellotron, Norwegian zithers, tooth harp, and country flutes keep everything very organic and woodlandish, without the fantasy, troll abundant atmosphere of Finntroll. On to the music, Asmegin prefer short focused jaunts rather than long drawn out epics like Moonsorrow. The openers "Af Helvegum" and "Bruderov Paa Hжgstadtun" gets things started and, within their sudden force, all of Asmegin's elements out in two short, sharp gallops, leaving the listener with no doubts as to the rest of the album's content. No meandering intros or FX of footsteps on the cold forest floor, straight to the excellent music. As to be expected there is a female-only ballad in the form of "Huldradans - Hin Grшnnkledde", but it's not until "Til Rondefolkets Herskab", where Asmegin deliver the first killer blow. A lumbering death metal riff pulses as Nedlund, Sareeta and Holver all vie for equal time under beneath the song's menacing gait. It shows that folk metal doesn't always have to be wood nymphs and elves, as the violin adds just enough folk ambience to keep it upbeat, without too much Renn faire cheese. The same can be said for "Over Жgirs vidstragte Sletter", as Nedlund is to Baldur's tranquillity, Holter is to Thor's primal brute force, both dueling over a monstrous bottom end throb. When the black metal influence surfaces, it reeks of their Norwegian heritage, but it's never as truly convincing as their slightly more death metal siege. "Efterbyrden" comes across more like Finntroll than any of the other songs, as it blasts with slightly less folk flair and a traditional Northern rasp mixed with the already set in stone elements. Also, blastbeats don't appear to be the band's strongpoint, as drummer Tommy Brandt appears to suddenly switch to a very "programmed' sound during those moments; I might be wrong, but the percussion during the blastbeast sounds too robotic and less organic than on the rest of the perfectly produced material. The Finntroll sound again arises on the excellent "Op Af Bisterlitiern" - again only because of the increased speed, but the song's opening jig is simply jawdropping, warranting many, many rewinds. The ultra-layered vocal playoff on "Vargr i Vйum - Eilivs Bane" just showcases Asmegin's talent for creating moments of pure genius, although I imagine it would be hard to re-create live. The album's longest track "Blodhevn" takes an unusual amount of time to kick into gear, and wanders a lot compared to the album's shorter more direct tracks, but makes up for it with a waylaying final minute that just flat out rules. Asmegin have released a superb album that should be considered a must-have for any folk/Viking metal fan, and considering it's their first effort, you've got to wander how it can be topped. Other than Moonsorrow and Finntroll, it's been a quiet year for truly brilliant folk/Viking metal, but Asmegin certainly have made up for it with an album that ranks as one of the best folk metal albums ever. Vinterorg, who?
[Erik Thomas]