I want to stay itвЂ™s a big catвЂ¦ a sort of purrвЂ¦ Textured soundscapes tingle and you feel really quite uneasy. The traditional instruments reign in this piece, you can hear the raw acoustic feel of them, and this is a rich track.В Some form of creature welcomes you to the next track, вЂњUruR вЂќ. IвЂ™m on my sixth or seventh listen through this album and every time IвЂ™ve heard this intro, the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I canвЂ™t think of a more ominous way to start an album since the beginning of OpethвЂ™s вЂ Blackwater ParkвЂ™ in fact, that just doesnвЂ™t feel all that intense any more. The album starts with thunder, and distant voices in the track вЂњTyr вЂќ.

Despite using primitive instruments, their latest album вЂ Runaljod вЂ“ RagnarokвЂ™ has a polished and excellently-produced feel to it and is incredibly listenable.В For this review, as it is such a cinematic creation, I was tempted to talk you through exactly what I envisioned as I listened to the album, but then it struck me that that is quite a subjective thing, so I will do my best to convince you through a broader description to take your own trip through this musical voyage. Part conceptual, part experimental, intensely spiritual and wholly entrancing, Wardruna uses old Norse instruments and atmospheric soundscape samples to take you on an epic journey through each of their albums, which form a triptych based around each of the 24 runes known as the elder futhark.

Wardruna discography