Myrkvar were always going to be facing an uphill battle with their full length debut Als Een Woeste Horde. First, it was recorded back in 2006 and was not released until 2008, second, 2008 was a busy and stellar year for folk/viking metal (Equilibrium, Moonsorrow, Kivimetsan Druidi, Eluveitie, Tyr, Alestorm, Arkonaetc.) so it was the right time to come out and third, the Netherlands just isn’t considered a hotbed for the genre.
Still, Myrkvar at least picked a time where pagan/folk/viking metal is getting more attention as various pagan and heathen fest bands tour the world, so at least Myrkvar are striking while the iron is hot, despite the fact their album A) sounds almost three years old and B) just isn’t on par with any of their peers.
With a more raw, blacker backbone, Myrkvar still have all elements of folk/viking genre: violins, strings and synths and piano keys, blackish riffs, humpa, various ethnic injections and interludes of various degrees (intro “Stilte Voor De Storm” and outro “Helreid Brynhilde”). In its entirety the visage is competent, but never comes close to anything as good as the genre’s obvious standouts, despite their best effort. Tracks like “I Viking,” “Trollisfarne,” “De Jajersmaan,” “Den Ware Held” and especially “Geboren Uit Oorlogslendenen” are the jewels of the cd, but do little to make even the hardened folk metal fan return for another listen.
The bottom line is that "Als Een Woeste Horde" isn’t a bad album as it has all the element folk metal fans enjoy, but the album just never reaches the bar set by other released despite its best efforts.
