TÝR- Valkyrja (2013)

‘Valkyrja’ starts with the first released single which instantly became a hit- ‘Blood of heroes’ and continues with the second one – ‘Mare of my night’ . The perfect concept for the viking, who tries to impress a Valkyrie and to win a place in Valhalla or Fólkvangr, the home of Freya, perfectly expresses the fighting spirit, beauty, sexuality, masculinity and the feminine interference, that the idea of the concept represents. The album greatly shows the dominance of men in war, at the expense of female influence between the earthly and divine. Exponents of these ideas are all songs in the album, for which it is difficult to define certain favorites. The martial ‘Hel hath no fury’  rife in the delicate, emotional and beautiful ‘The lay of our love’  in duet with the lovely Liv Kristine (Leaves ‘ Eyes). This is one of those different, but sensual songs that diversify the album entirely and touches you. ‘Nation’ is another typical Týr song, but it’s different in its own way from anything else.Harmonious, energetic and suitable for rhythmic headbanging, hehe. The third single was‘Another fallen brother’  which pays tribute to the fallen heroes in a powerful, scandinavian way. Follow a few more songs, showing an excellent application of the super successful formula for creating the music of Týr. ‘Grindavísan’, ‘Into the Sky’, ‘Burtur Brandaljóð Fána ‘, ‘Lady of the Slai ‘ and ‘Valkyrja’ , any of which are memorable. Perhaps you notice that I don’t mention certain distinctive songs? Yes, because there are none. They are all incredibly good works that individually they sound felicitous, but along the entire album present a perfectly finished composition. The combination of typical for the band guitar parts, memorable and well-chosen lyrics, ideally completed concept, bring the exact mood, the boys have tried to convey to us.

The album ends with the successful and cool covers of ‘Where Eagles Dare’ (Iron Maiden) and ‘Cemetery Gates’ (Pantera), descendants of  ‘I’ (Black Sabbath) from 2011 and make us wonder which group to expect for the next cover they will do.

I try to listen to the album not as a fan, but even then I rate it highly. Even if there are weaknesses, then everything else compensate. An established style that we look forward to hearing and in subsequent creations of the group.

‘Valkyrja’ is officially out on September 13, 2013.

Rate: 10/10