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*Comments:

1. Intro
2. Unconquerable
3. In Silence
4. A Free Man’s Path
5. Burning Within
6. Withering Past
7. Cycle of Flame
8. Ragnarök
9. Retribution
10. Breathe Fire to the Sun

Total playing time:  54:17

Release Date:  April 5, 2011
Label: Spinefarm Records

Brymir - Breathe Fire to the Sun

Reviewer: Peter

December 3, 2011

There are many paths on the way to success in the metal music scene, and not all of them are taken often.  Certainly, the path Finnish Pagan metal band Brymir took was an unusual one, as they started out by winning a band-camp competition under their original name LAI LAI HEI.  If the original band name is familiar to you at all, it was taken from an Ensiferum song of the same name and the song they won the competition with?  You guessed it, an Ensiferum cover.

Soon thereafter, the band took on its current moniker Brymir and began to get serious about making music.  A few years after their formation in 2006, the result of this work is their debut album Breathe Fire to the Sun, released this year.

On Breathe Fire to the Sun, Brymir’s influences are evident from the first proper song on the album “Unconquerable.”  Taking their cues from Turisas and Ensiferum, Brymir tries to go the epic folk/Viking metal route.  The main problem that faces Brymir is that there just isn’t enough power behind the delivery to make it work.  The vocals are provided by Viktor Gullichsen and come across as rather generic in delivery, as there is nothing that truly stands out.  The music fares no better, as the overall delivery just isn’t powerful enough for fans of the aforementioned bands that Brymir considers their influences.  Having said that, there is talent there, and given that the band is still trying to get used to playing their own songs, those issues will take time to resolve.  What cannot be resolved is the fact that only two songs on Breathe Fire to the Sun have a running time under the 5-minute mark.  Ambitious as it is, it also proves to be a tougher task for the listener to get into a band as relatively inexperienced as Brymir.

Brymir is still relatively new to the metal scene, and given that inexperience, it is a bit of a surprise that a record label such as Spinefarm Records signed them so soon.  On Breathe Fire to the Sun, that inexperience shows, yet there are also moments that suggest bigger things for the band.  If Brymir is serious about being a band, they would do well to use their debut album as a learning experience because there are things they can improve upon and things they can make stronger.