I first heard this band when their video for "The Nine Worlds Burn" appeared on my Youtube feed. I was instantly hit with the sound of loud guitars and royal horns. Once the song kicked in I was headbanging along to a heavy yet very catchy guitar line. Once the song was done I found that the opening guitar theme was stuck in my head and I could not help but sing along. I downloaded their first CD Fi'mbulvintr (Metal Blade) to hold me over until their new CD came out. Once the release day came I ventured to my local CD store hoping that they would have this CD. To my luck they did (big props to Spec's Music in Miami, Fl for that one!). Their new CD ...To North (Metal Blade) is a must for any viking metal fan.
King of Asgard's video for "The Nine Worlds Burn". The song kicks in around 0:35.
When I first heard King of Asgard the first thing I thought of was Amon Amarth, as they are the most popular band that mixes viking themes with extreme metal. But this band is not a carbon copy of Amon Amarth. Sure you can site influences in some of their songs. Like the song "Einharjar". The rhythm of the guitars along with the steady double bass attack from the drums, will remind any Amon Amarth fan of one of their songs. But I will not go as far as to label King of Asgard as 'the poor man's Amon Amarth' because they're not. They are there own epic entity.
King of Asgard's video for "Einharjar"
Another band I kept hearing influences of was Ensiferum. While King of Asgard may not use keyboards to replicate Celtic instruments songs like "Gap of Ginnungs" and "The Last Journey" reminded me of Ensiferum. Also on "Gap of Ginnungs" the combination of harsh vocals with clean group vocals created a haunting atmosphere that put me in a thick viking coat in the middle of a snow covered forest some where in Sweden.
I also found that while King of Asgard doesn't write epically long songs, all their songs sound epic as hell. The band has some amazing ability to cram obscene amounts of epic music into a 4-5 minute song. That's 4-5 minutes of the listener being transported into a viking world, where while you may be out in the cold trying to escape a hungry wolf, you make it home safely where a tall glass of beer makes it all better. Once the song is over the listener is quickly transported back to reality, that is until the next King of Asgard song begins.
One thing that sets apart King of Asgard from other viking themed bands, in my opinion, is their vocalist Karl Beckman. As I was listening to their songs I was trying to figure out who his style of harsh vocals reminded me of and I couldn't think of one vocalist who he sounded like. Are there instances where he sounds like Johan Hegg of Amon Amarth? Yes, but those moments do not last for long.
Also one added bonus is Karl Beckman does sing in English on their songs, so no translations needed for lyrics.
In conclusion if you like viking themed extreme metal and are looking for band that sings in English, or doesn't use any Celtic instruments, then you will really enjoy King of Asgard.
You can pick up King of Asgard's latest release ...To North out now on Metal Blade Records.
-Zach
Don't forget if there is band you want me to talk about or an album you want me to review, leave a comment or tweet me @zachktheanimal!
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