Týr – By The Light Of The Northern Star (2009)

Týr is a very unique Viking metal band from the Faroe Islands that has been very active touring and releasing albums in the last 2 years. After the release of “Land” in 2008, the band has been touring non-stop and managed to record “By The Light Of The Northern Star” in between touring at the beginning of 2009. The style of Viking metal that Týr plays does not rely on any atmosphere created by keyboards. Their sound is highly characterized by their guitar riffs and solos, as well as the vocal arrangements used.

I must say that Týr’s music has a very different feeling to it and it always gets me going. “By The Light Of The Northern Star” is a very solid release that showcases Týr taking advantage of the elements that I previously mentioned in order to create their catchiest album up to date. While the songs are less complicated and more straightforward than in “Land” I must say they are very effective in creating the whole Nordic feeling.

Heri’s characteristic vocals take Týr’s music from just another Viking metal band into one of the best Viking metal bands. The vocal arrangements sound perfect in the band’s releases as well as live. Heri’s use of different languages in some of the songs adds an extra level of authenticity to their music, and provides the listeners with an eerie feeling of listening to Viking music sang in a different language.

The guitar work in this release is stellar and provides us with some great solos as well as very melodic rhythmical parts that will have everybody head banging from the beginning to the album until the end. One thing I might say is that some songs sound alike and have similar guitar structures, but since they are very good, this is not a problem at all.

Týr has been working very hard for the position they have achieved in the Viking Metal scene and it’s good to see that they are not taking this for granted and keep releasing high quality albums that will keep the fans waiting for more. “By The Light Of The Northern Star” is a very solid release 100% in the vein of Týr. If you have the chance of catching a live performance of Týr you should not miss it, since their music is even better in a live setting.

Country: Faroe Islands