Dyrathor - Sacred Walcraft Of Hel

Amidst the recent bloom of the black/folk/pagan (f…g labels!) metal scene, mainly in Eastern and Central European countries, German newcomers Dyrathor come to give their little bit of contribution. “Sacred Walcraft Of Hel” is their first official release, preceded by their highly acclaimed and sold out demo “Memories In Frost”. In this debut release, Dyrathor offer us a nonetheless descent work which generally belongs to the black metal scene but with many folk influences and following a more melodic approach. Their music is definitely a no-surprise case for anyone that has even a superficial relationship with this sound, since it follows the well known recipe of black metal riffs and folk melodies, the latter played mostly by violin which is an essential part of Dyrathor’s sound, while at the same time the vocals  tend to be generally black, with some clean passages here and there. Moreover, the majority of the lyrics are in German, which may not be that tempting for some, nevertheless personally it didn’t bother me at all, although I don’t understand a word in German.
\r\nSo, all the above sound typical, so why waste time on them one would think. The truth is that Dyrathor’s songs don’t really bust with originality since that kind of music has been played by others before them; however what we have here is a bunch of interesting, well-written and well-produced songs which even though they give away their influences they avoid sounding like bad copies, managing to assemble an enjoyable album, even by someone like me who doesn’t have much of a contact with this certain genre. So judging by the quality of “Sacred Walcraft Of Hel” and their still young age that promises that they still have things to deliver, I’d dare to say that Dyrathor are entitled their own little spot to this huge building called metal music and it’s within their powers to expand this space.
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\r\nLambros “Metalshock” Panetas
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