I’ve always had massive respect for Einherjer simply because I feel they were one of the first bands of the, at the time, practically brand new style that is viking metal. Yet, I’ve never really been able to get into their debut record of “Dragons of the North” at the time even though I’ve gone back to it multiple times. Coincidently enough, Einherjer has decided to re-record their debut so I promptly investigated, and goddamn does it fucking smash!

If I had to guess, they main rain I didn’t like the original version of “Dragons of the North” was because while the sound was more raw, I just feel like we were missing out on so much in terms of production and overall sound. “Dragons of the North XX” fixes all of that. Songs that beforehand I felt sounded hollow and lacked any sort of power truly come back with a vengeance here, and it makes one hell of an impression. As someone who’s been a loose fan of Einherjer of this group over the years, I feel safe in saying that this isn’t the band’s best record to date, I do feel confident in saying that it’s proof Einherjer can still put that old school viking metal sound into their music. Even if it’s only a re-recording. It’s songs like “Conquerer” and “Forever Empire” that really make an impact with shit tons of riffs, but it’s pieces such as “Ballad of the Swords” that truly show the versatility that Einherjer had even when just starting out as a band. There’s still plenty of enjoyment to be gotten out of “Dragons of the North” (XX or no XX), and that goes double for those like me who didn’t like the original all that much. Still, surprises to be had, I’m very happy to say.

“Dragons of the North XX” reminds us of how such an excellent band started out, but it’s also a landmark in showing that they haven’t forgotten where they came from, and I believe that’s an extremely important aspect of having as any sort of band. Einherjer may not have released any brand new material on this day, but they’ve still delivered yet one more surprisingly entertaining record.

BUY “Dragons of the North XX” via iTunes here.

LISTEN to “Dragons of the North XX” on Spotify here.

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