Sometimes you can only start in the most obvious place of all, and in this case, there’s a track called “Heavy Metal Viking” towards the end of this – wherein Ylva Eriksson (the sister in Brothers Of Metal, if you will) says that she “woke up this morning, shield in hand, and called up the fellas in my heavy metal band”.
Oh, and by the way, it’s as catchy as Bon Jovi in the 1980s. I don’t know if Vikings were slippery when wet, but whatever.
At this point, I feel like I should say my name is Andy, and I love power metal. More than any other genre, you feel you have to apologise for that.
But I’m aware. Look, I know it’s ludicrous. Look, I know it’s overblown. But Christ (or Odin), it’s fun.
I’ve seen Brothers Of Metal play live once. A couple of years ago, they turned up at KK’s in Wolverhampton supporting Gloryhammer, and I am struck by a line in my review of their show: “There’s no one who hasn’t bought into this totally.”
And yeah, okay, there’s always a bit of that with stuff like this. You’re really preaching to the converted, as it were, but right from the thunderous, quasi-operatic opening of “Sowilo,” we’ve got swords and shields up aloft.
And they are never put down. From the drums on “Flight Of The Ravens” that would make Dragonforce blush, to the astonishing (on every level) “Giantslayer,” everything is wonderful. Unless you don’t like this stuff. Then you’ll think it is shit. There will be no in-between.
“Heart Of Stone” is a kind of duet. Lacuna Coil, eat your heart out, but to be serious for a second, on this album, they’ve really broadened their horizons. “Rivers Of Gold” adds a proper folk element, and if it has a drunken threesome along the way, then absolutely sound.
They are an arena metal band in waiting. A bit like Battle Beast when they played live the other week, you can’t escape it on “Blood Red Sky”. “Ratatoskr” is a soundtrack to the type of film I would never watch (ironically I can’t stand Game Of Thrones and the like) but they are exceptionally talented too. As “Chasing Lights” umm….illuminates and I’ll say this much, if you can’t love “The Other Son Of Odin” with its “breaking the jaw” reference (tongues are never far from cheeks here).
“Berserkir” summons something from the deep, while the acoustics are back out for “Nanna’s Fate” and it’s almost prog, but totally superb. Nightwish go Gold with less.
The title track (it means “the great winter” in Norse Mythology in case you were wondering) ends things not just by giving us more of the same, but rather by dialling up to 11. You get the impression that if Ragnarok comes then they’ll fight it off with metal alone.
In that review I mentioned, the conclusion was this and it was apt still. “The type of band you’d see in a tent at Bloodstock at 3 pm on the Saturday and be the band of the weekend, Brothers Of Metal prove Odin has the best tunes.”
They are heavy, they’re my brothers or something.
And “Fimbulvinter” – always with the caveat of “if you like this sort of thing” – the best thing you’ll hear.
Rating 9.5/10
REVIEW: BROTHERS OF METAL – FIMBULVINTER (2024)
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