SKALD - SAGOR FRÅN SKOGSTJÄRNEN
Mom, Vikings in my Bedroom! - 25%
Written by Sean16 on July 24th, 2009

Sagor Från Skogstjärnen is a digital-only demo from Swedish Viking metal band Skald, and one of the reasons why the guys never bothered for a physical release may well be no one would ever spend money on it anyway. In fact, it's all the more obvious when on their website they hasten to state this demo is definitely NOT a representation of how [the band] sounds today they're themselves fully conscious of its actual (absence of) qualities. Alright, nowadays artistic honesty has become so rare I'll give them a few extra points for this, for lack of anything worth rewarding into the music itself.

You must have understood by now, this release is bad – but still not laughingly bad (had it been laughingly bad it would at least have been of some use, may you sigh). It's obvious the band tried, and tried hard, though unfortunately every effort seems to have been doomed to failure. The production for instance isn't even the worst I've heard, by demo standards I mean: of course the overall sound considerably lacks of power, there are obvious production discrepancies between the tracks, the guitars are far too much undermixed compared to the vocals, but every instrument can nonetheless be clearly heard and the whole work isn't especially raw. However being able to hear something would only make sense if, precisely, there were something interesting to be heard, what isn't the case here so the sound quality will remain of a minor concern.

The songs are all pretty short (nine tracks for a total of hardly half an hour of music) and it isn't a bad thing given I'll be hardly exaggerating if I pretend the vast majority of them is built on a single lonely riff repeated over and over. We've naturally reached a point where discussing the originality of said riffs is no longer relevant, and if even only one of these tracks doesn't convey any impression of déjà-vu on the potential listener this should only point out said listener is new to the genre as a whole (I can't see why anyone new to Viking metal would begin with this obscure demo, though). Of course there are the mandatory acoustic guitars and the equally mandatory various (synthetic?) folk instruments, and of course those aren't only as recycled as the riffs, but also awkwardly exploited, sometimes abruptly appearing where you the least expected them (at the end of the closing track for instance). Also, one of the guys here must devote a particular cult to jew's harps given how every song is literally plagued with this silly toy, and the Gods know how rapidly it can get on anyone's nerves. Oh, swallow it once and for all and get lost, GAW GAW GAW.

As the drum machine marks another step in mediocrity let's just recommend the idiotic ride cymbal on Moränformationer before moving on to something else because, as the man said, nothing can come of nothing. Nevermind, even Shakespeare won't save this. The vocals are what wins the prize though, be them clean or rough they're all equally RIDICULE, so over-the-top the singer himself doesn't seem to be taking his job seriously – or maybe is he simply drunk, who knows, this would explain many things. Occam's razor is such a powerful tool. Not to say the exalted litany for a retarded drunkard in Älvaceremoni Uppå Bergsjökelns Slott isn't funny the first time you listen to it. No, wait, it really isn't. If only I understood anything from Swedish I might mention something positive about the lyrics, however given the way they're delivered discussing their actual content wouldn't make any sense anyway.

To cut a long story short remember the creators themselves acknowledged it's crap, so I don't see any point in trying to contradict them.

Highlights: alright there's this track called En Allians Med Hin Håle... it's still bad, but it's nonetheless a tad more varied.

ORIGINAL LINK HERE