SuidAkrA has experienced a kind of resurgence since their failed experiment in 2005’s Command to Charge.  Outside of that album, SuidAkrA’s style of folk metal with elements of melodic death and black metal mixed in has garnered them some considerable attention in recent years.  That attention has resulted in two tours of the United States in the last three years, and now with a new album out in Book of Dowth, SuidAkra looks to keep that momentum going.

Book of Dowth begins with the instrumental “Over Nine Waves,” which is a good set up for the album.  The SuidAkrA sound is evident right away on “Dowth 2059,” which features Arkadius Antonik’s harsh vocals against a heavy guitar sound.  As on their last album Crógacht, the band manages to balance the melodic death and folk metal elements quite well, almost to a fault when it comes to fans of either genre.  SuidAkrA’s folk metal side is at its best on “Biróg’s Oath” and “Mag Mell.”  The former features female vocals that capture the listener’s attention and keeps it with well written Celtic folk melodies.  “Mag Mell” is similar, only with clean male vocals that sound like a story telling sage in medieval times.  The lyrical content is what you would expect from SuidAkrA, in that there is a story to tell and they do a great job of putting it all together, and the artwork by Kris Verwimp conveys that further.  “Fury Formoraigh” is the band at their heaviest, with strong guitar and drum work and vocals that tear through the sound.  The end track of the album “Otherworlds Collide” is an instrumental that acts like a conclusion to a story with the acoustic guitar providing the soundtrack to the end.  Throughout the album, the acoustic guitar serves as a bridge between ideas, which helps in song flow on the album.  At just over 40 minutes, Book of Dowth is a little short, but what it does offer will leave the listener wanting more.  The melodic death influence of SuidAkrA is fairly strong on the album, which takes a little away from the album, which is the only real downside to the album.

Even with the tours in the last three years and two highly acclaimed albums (Crógacht and Book of Dowth) in that span, it seems that SuidAkrA doesn’t get the respect they rightfully deserve.  While they walk the line between melodic death metal and Celtic folk well, it seems that fans of either genre would like for them to pick a side and stay there.  As long as SuidAkrA puts out albums like Book of Dowth, they can do whatever they want.

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*Comments:

1.  Over Nine Waves
2.  Dowth 2059
3.  Battle-Cairns
4.  Biróg’s Oath
5.  Mag Mell
6.  The Dark Mound
7.  Balor
8.  Stone of the Seven Suns
9.  Fury Formoraigh
10.  Otherworlds Collide

Total playing time:  40:08

Release Date: March 25, 2011
Label: AFM Records

SuidAkrA - Book of Dowth

Reviewer: Peter

May 3, 2011