Bouncy happy amicable metal is the order of the day with a power metal back bone beefed up with melodic death metal and some harsh rasps and growls. Of course, it’s all backed by plenty of sweeping synths and folky instrumentation here and there (mouth harp, accordion etc) and a lavish production and presentation

There’s nothing on the album that’s going to reinvent the genre or convert folk/viking metal detractors, but I have to admit the album is a very fun listen. Admittedly, opener “Lex Talonis” is actually a pretty bland number hardly setting great expectations, but with the rousing, following “Arminius” Nothgard hit their stride and never look back, despite a little repetition towards the albums end and songs that are about a minute too long . “Under the Serpent Sign” is downright catchy, with a killer opening and mid song jig a that might be the band’s signature song. “Einherjer” slows things down a little with a moodier, mid-paced Amon Amarth -ish march before the albums middle point spoken word interlude “‘Shadows Arise”.

“Blackened Sky” gets things going again with a pretty standard epic number before “Victory” delivers yet another of the albums standouts, and feature a few more deeper vocals. These two tracks highlight that Nothgard are simply more enjoyable when delivering shorter sharper, mire direct bursts of bombastic folk metal (later seen again for “Spirit” and “Rise after Falling”) rather than dragging out their songs to 5 and 6 minutes (“Warhorns of Midgard”, “Ragnarok”), though they are still enjoyable.

The comparison to the bands mentioned in the opening paragraph are more than likely enough to convince folks if Nothgard are worthwhile or not, but personally the band, along with Skalmond‘s debut, show that folk/viking metal in 2011 has some promising and energetic young acts to continue fighting the battle.

That being said, I’m not really sure of the need for this act if you own all of Tyr’s albums. Joensen’s signature voice (singing exclusively in Faroese) and the distinctly early Tyr-structures, its virtually impossible to distinguish Heljareyga from Tyr ― even if the new band uses only explicitly new arrangements rather than traditional Faroese music.

With only five songs and a running time of 48-minutes, Heljareyga isn’t an instant easy listen with the rangy, complex songs―all hovering around the ten minute mark―that simply meld into one super long foray into progressive, folk tinged metal.

It’s not so much about war marches and violent clashes of steel, but a more restrained, artful and poetic delivery. There’s no rousing choruses like “Hold the Heathen Hammer High” or soaring layered vocals of “Sinklars Visa” or stirring traditional pieces. Instead, there’s a steady stream of generally upbeat noodling and riffage littered with lots of acoustic bridges, lengthy solos and more convoluted, stuttering structures. It’s all played with expected passion and skill, full of Joensen‘s evocative croons. The songs wind and wander with aplomb, but by the same token, they don’t really go anywhere or do they truly peak.

Tracks like “Heljareyga”, “Lagnan”, and “Vetrarbreytin” have a hard time grabbing me. First and foremost, they seem to showcase the band’s undeniable skill, rather than develop into actual, enjoyable songs: They play more like the background music to an SCA-event, rather than draw you into a world of stern warriors, pillaging and general testosterone.  On the other hand, they do sort of become an extension to Tyr and most of all, Joensen. Thus, die hard fans will certainly appreciate this release but personally, I’ll simply wait for the next Tyr album.

To be honest, after seeing the name of the band, I was kind of hoping that this record wouldn’t be great and I wouldn’t have to write  a glowing review of a band with that name. Not a good start to the review process. Luckily, Pussy Sisster didn’t force me to do that.

The stuff here is competently played three-chord glam rock in the vein of bands like Poison and Faster Pussycat. Actually, not really in the style of those bands, but more like a carbon copy of them. There’s a catchy guitar riff thrown in here and there on songs like “Leader of the Gang,” but it’s heavy on cheesy ballads (three out of nine songs) and there’s not even a lot of energy or fire in the performance.

About the only song here I’d give a second listen is “In Your Arms,” which at least has kind of a trippy guitar riff, a bit of a different melody line and one of the better vocal performances.

There’s absolutely no substance and not much reason to listen to this record for me. I’ve heard it all before, done better. If I want to hear it again, I’ve got tons of CDs from the ’80s that I’d go to first. If you want a time warp back to the height of the glam movement, though, by all means, check it out.

Like easy comparison Amon Amarth, Heathen Foray use the backbone of crunchy, melodic death metal and deeper vocals to deliver their Teutonic pride rather than flutes, synths, accordions, harpsichords and beer hall frivolity of their peers (Equilibrium, label mates Adorned Brood, etc). However, they do manage to gloss it with some bouncier melodies and arpeggio/solos that remind me of Ensiferum, making for an up-tempo but still sternly death metal take on Viking shenanigans.

With a vocalist that’s virtually a dead ringer for Amon Amarth’s Johan Hegg, a robust, chunky guitar production and an abundance of rousing , cantering riffs, it would be easy to simply write off Heathen Foray as a Amon Amarth clone. Yet, the band’s sense of melancholic melody and song writing give them their own, enjoyable entity.

For example, halfway through the opening title track, a nifty little solo injects a little bounce into the other wise gritty rumble. The same can be said for the likes of the somberly melodic “Bifrost”, “Ascension” and “Carthage’s End”, the urgent gallop of “Messenger of God” and horribly catchy duo of “A Brothers Tale” and “Hopfen & Malz” (where the band take their only real turn into beer hall silliness) where energetic little solos or just subtle use of acoustics  and atmospherics give the material just a tiny slice of shredding Viking cheese, but still keeps thing generally stoic.

Numbers like “Endless Sorrow” and “Walls of Vienna” chug and churn with aplomb, bringing the Amon Amarth -mood to the forefront, though still glossed with the little dash of happiness that makes the album incredibly enjoyable. Along with the equally solid Passage (which I grabbed after hearing this), this is a very fine release from a very promising, young act in a tough genre.