Windrider - To New Lands

May 13, 2010

Reviewer: Peter

Fans of Falkenbach are undoubtedly getting impatient with every passing year that the band doesn’t release a new album.  Since the 2005 release of Heralding-The Fireblade, which was old songs redone to great effect, not much has been heard from the man behind the band Vratyas Vakyas.  In the interim, there is a young upstart that takes on the challenge of filling the shoes of one of folk/Viking metal’s legends in Windrider.

Windrider is a British band that is primarily the project of Elliot Vernon, a twenty year old who is also the keyboardist in Ravenage.  Already having released the Muspelheim EP, he offered a glimpse of the Falkenbach-influenced metal that gained a following in the United Kingdom.  Now, Windrider is back with their debut album in To New Lands, which expands upon what the Muspelheim EP showed.

The album begins with “To New Lands… (Prelude),” which sounds like it should have been broken up into two parts, as it sounds like two entirely different songs about halfway through.  It should be noted that none of the songs run less than five minutes long, so it is not recommended for those with short attention spans.  For most of the album, the vocals are along the lines of black metal/Viking, but on “The King is Under the Mountain” and “Mountain’s Sunrise,” the latter of which is an Annwn cover, there are clean vocals, which help balance out the overall composition of the album.  The music is a nice mix of heroic folk and Viking metal that will draw comparisons to Falkenbach.  The synths on the album aren’t too overpowering, but more usage of the pure folk instruments could make this better.  That is all nitpicking though, as there is a lot to like about To New Lands, with well written compositions and the musicianship necessary to see the vision through, as well as a sense of knowing what works and what doesn’t.  Every track is worth listening to, as everything about the music is consistent in its delivery and quality, and the vocals paint a picture of the themes it deals with efficiency and without going overboard in one direction or another.

When listening to Windrider, one is likely going to think of them as “Falkenbach Jr.,” and given the age of the man behind Windrider, that sounds a little more likely.  However, Windrider has proven to be more than just that.  With To New Lands, Windrider successfully transports the listener back to a time when lands were out there to be discovered and wars were waged as a means to defend honor and land.

Release Date: March 1, 2010
Band Self Released

TRACK LISTING

1.  To New Lands… (Prelude)
2.  To New Lands… (Part I)
3.  The King is Under the Mountain
4.  There is No Victory
5.  Seven Fathers of Iron and Stone
6.  Mountain’s Sunrise
7.  To New Lands… (Part II)

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