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░█▒█ Artist ■ Wilderun █▒█░
░ █▒█ Album ■ Olden Tales & Deathly Trails █▒█ ░
░█░█ Year ■ 2012 █░█░
█░█ Release Date ■ 2013-10-29 █░█
█░█ Genre ■ Metal █░█
█ █ Label ■ self-released █ █
█░█ Source ■ CD █░█
█ █ Type ■ Album █ █
█░█ Quality ■ VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █░█
█ █ █ █
█ █ █ █
█ █ Often times I've wondered what would it have been like if a █ █
█ █ band like Turisas had been founded in New England rather █ █
█ █ than Finland. While this obviously didn't come into being, █ █
█ █ a band from Boston called Wilderun have gotten about as █ █
█ █ close to making it so as possible, while simultaneously █ █
█ █ avoiding the trap of becoming an overt tag-along singing █ █
█ █ about Nordic tales. This is a band that has taken a █ █
█ █ Northern European style and moved it in a direction for █ █
█ █ easier accessibility to an American audience that hasn't █ █
█ █ encountered it before, utilizing the same general █ █
█ █ arrangement and stylistic techniques as their Scandinavian █ █
█ █ influences, but borrowing from less obvious (or more so █ █
█ █ depending on one's perspective) source material. █ █
█ █ The actual musical content of this album is not so much █ █
█ █ original from a compositional standpoint, as one will note █ █
█ █ the traditional origins of such names as "The Coasts Of █ █
█ █ High Barbaree" and "Storm Along" (the latter the subject of █ █
█ █ numerous tall tales centering on a character from this █ █
█ █ band's own native Massachusetts). Nevertheless, one can't █ █
█ █ help but be impressed by the elaborate nature of the █ █
█ █ arrangements that have been put together, much of it █ █
█ █ rivaling the complex layering heard out of the Hollywood █ █
█ █ score approach of the likes of Epica and Therion. The █ █
█ █ technical department is not overtly showy, but also █ █
█ █ impressive and gets to about the same level of busyness as █ █
█ █ Wuthering Heights, while also avoiding the convoluted █ █
█ █ tendencies of Tyr. In other words, there is a lot going on, █ █
█ █ but not so much so that the listener forgets that these are █ █
█ █ folk tunes. █ █
█ █ The earlier comparison to Turisas does not only extend into █ █
█ █ the album's symphonic tendencies, but encompasses the █ █
█ █ entire approach taken. Although these songs are fairly long █ █
█ █ and involved, the melodic material and vocal lines are very █ █
█ █ easy to follow and process. Evan Barry has a very rich █ █
█ █ baritone voice that mostly tends towards a husky clean █ █
█ █ singing approach with a side-order of beastly bellows that █ █
█ █ come off as a bit of a mishmash of NYHC belching and early █ █
█ █ John Tardy shouts. The whole of the album comes off as █ █
█ █ slightly ballad-like, as frequent employment of acoustic █ █
█ █ instruments and softer interludes tends to lighten the █ █
█ █ blows struck by the metallic assaults in their midst. There █ █
█ █ is also a general sense of a mid-tempo, Viking feel in line █ █
█ █ with Bathory's post-black metal albums "Hammerheart" and █ █
█ █ "Blood On Ice", particularly during the heavier parts of █ █
█ █ the introductory instrumental "The Cracking Glow" and most █ █
█ █ of the aggressive parts of "Storm Along". █ █
█ █ There are two undeniable high points of this album, though █ █
█ █ as a whole it is strong and lends itself to continual play █ █
█ █ from start to finish. The first is the extended █ █
█ █ reinterpretation of "The Coasts Of High Barbaree", which █ █
█ █ twists and flexes a basic sea shanty theme into a 7 minutes █ █
█ █ plus celebration of how metal can do wonders to a song that █ █
█ █ I had gotten sick of hearing since middle school. The basic █ █
█ █ theme is stated straight out on a couple of isolated █ █
█ █ sections, but the really strong parts of this song are when █ █
█ █ the vocals go toneless and allow the instruments to build █ █
█ █ up the atmosphere, shifting back and forth between a █ █
█ █ glorious symphonic backdrop and occasionally veering off █ █
█ █ into extreme metal territory. The second is the up-tempo, █ █
█ █ thrashing revamp of "How Stands The Glass Around", which █ █
█ █ parallels a number of faster songs heard out of earlier █ █
█ █ Ensiferum and is catchy enough to pass for power metal. █ █
█ █ This is the sort of song that can be heard over and over █ █
█ █ and still never get old. █ █
█ █ Perhaps the greatest charm of this album is that it manages █ █
█ █ to leave a strong impression while working entirely off of █ █
█ █ existing material. It can be safely argued that there is no █ █
█ █ earth shattering genre breakthrough here, nor anything that █ █
█ █ is built completely independent of existing material, and █ █
█ █ yet it has a freshness and vitality to it that inspires █ █
█ █ hope of more to come. Pretty much any fan of the folk metal █ █
█ █ genre from Falkenbach to Alestorm will be able to get into █ █
█ █ this, though it is a bit less informed by the black/melodic █ █
█ █ death metal influences on the sub-genre than many of the █ █
█ █ bands cropping up of late. A good nickname for it might be █ █
█ █ "The Bostonian Way", as a sort of foil to Turisas' "The █ █
█ █ Varangian Way". █ █
█ █ █ █
█░█ █░█
█ █ 1. The Cracking Glow 2:16 █ █
█ █ 2. Suncatcher 7:40 █ █
█ █ 3. How Stands the Glass Around? 4:40 █ █
█ █ 4. Storm Along 7:42 █ █
█ █ 5. Vaunting Veins 8:13 █ █
█ █ 6. The Coasts of High Barbaree 7:39 █ █
█ █ 7. The Dying Californian 12:55 █ █
█ █ 51:05 █ █
█░█░ █░█░
█░█░ █░█░
█░█▒ + G R a v e W i s h + █░█▒
░█▒█▒ - est.2000 - ░█▒█▒
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