Svartsot - Ravnenes Saga 2007 (Limited Edition Digipack)

The opening track, “Gravøllet,” is a good introduction to the album as a whole: strong percussion, a tight rhythm section, chunky guitar riffs and catchy whistle melodies. The sextet’s chemistry is clear from the get-go and it’s immediately clear that if this is the energy on record, then these guys would be probably be worth checking out live.

Followed up by “Tvende Ravne,” Gnudtzmann really demonstrates his range and comfort level at both low and high growls and his ability to effortlessly (and rapidly) switch between the two. But that was only what initially caught my attention; the more I listened to this song, the more I heard the dualities within it. The first thing I noticed were the guitars during the intro: one is clear and playing mid-tempo and melodic riff, while the other is distorted and chuggy. Then, the contrast between the tempestuous vocals and the carefree tune of the whistle comes into play, followed by an almost call-and-answer effect between the high and low vocals during the chorus. Meaning “two ravens,” you can almost hear the banter of Odin’s ravens throughout “Tvende Ravne,” and whether intentional or not, the song comes across as both well written and executed.

Unfortunately, “Nidvisen” didn’t quite strike me the same way. This track launches well enough with a thundering guitar riff and a rapid fire/polka-tinged rhythm section, but it wears thin fast. Clocking in at just over four-and-a-half minutes, it’s the longest track on the album and it feels about three minutes too long. There are definitely some cool riffs and change ideas here, but when they keep repeating at exactly the same intervals…?

“Jotunheimsfærden” makes up for it nicely. Okay, so it starts off with a bit of cheese in the form of a playful whistle solo (for some reason, I thought of The Smurfs), but give it about 15 seconds until Gnudtzmann screams and you suddenly see that little butterfly you won’t admit you were imaging explode into the dust from which it came. All is well again. This tune has some of the heaviest guitar riffs of the album and is the first place drummer Niels Thogersen really shows his control with the double kick.

Opening with a lone bodhran is, in my opinion, one of the most atmospheric ways to call warriors into battle. I mean, c’mon, it’s just cool; and, if you’ve never heard the bodhran played by someone who’s actually skilled at it, you have no idea what I’m talking about. Check out “Bersærkergang” and you’ll understand. It only lasts maybe eight seconds before the fury is unleashed. And that’s what this song is about: a group of highly skilled Viking warriors associated with the god Odin and their tendencies towards rage, war and the fury of insanity that comes forth in the heat of war. “Bersærkergang,” or “Berserker’s March” is that madness where the warrior becomes animalistic and excessively strong. This track does a great job reflecting the legendary qualities of the berserker from the tribal feel of the drums and the hefty angst practically oozing out of the guitars.

“Hedens Døtre,” or “Heathen’s Daughter,” is kind of the ballad of the bunch. The song is mostly instrumental, save for some low growls near the end, and although it’s slower and has a more ethereal feel than the rest of the tracks, it still carries the dark undertones and angst of the album as a whole.

I couldn’t have picked a better song to follow the somber “Hedens Døtre” than “Festen.” This song punched me in the face with rapid guitar riffs and tight drum fills. The double kick works well here and you can almost sing along with the chorus; well, at least the occasional “hey.” The only tune lacking Stewart Lewis’ mad whistling skills does a great job proving he’s not the only source of melody. The song almost feels repetitive by the end, but before you can wish for something to change up, Gnudtzmann lets out one killer song-stopping scream.

The remainder of Svartsot's Napalm debut continues the celebration of booze battles and broads with the simple yet effective interplay between the whistle and guitar melodies in “Skovens Kælling ” and the crushing bass grooves and time changes of “Skønne Møer.” “Brages Bæger” has some sweet mandolin fills, which make for a great intro to “Havets Plage,” the final tune of the album and probably the funnest of the lot. One of the few songs that was re-worked from Svartsot's previously released demos, "Havets Plage" is aggressively driven by the mandolin. This song is by far my favorite track, even though I really could have lived without the 45 seconds of simulated rainstorm at the end.

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 3 from 28. July 2007

EAC extraction logfile from 31. August 2008, 19:29

Svartsot / Ravnenes Saga

Used drive : TOSHIBA CD/DVDW SDR5472C Adapter: 1 ID: 1

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000

Used output format : Internal WAV Routines
Sample format : 44.100 Hz; 16 Bit; Stereo
Use compression offset : 6


TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
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1 | 0:00.00 | 4:36.02 | 0 | 20701
2 | 4:36.02 | 4:14.61 | 20702 | 39812
3 | 8:50.63 | 4:35.52 | 39813 | 60489
4 | 13:26.40 | 4:03.56 | 60490 | 78770
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6 | 22:12.56 | 4:13.17 | 99956 | 118947
7 | 26:25.73 | 3:14.05 | 118948 | 133502
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9 | 33:20.18 | 3:03.10 | 150018 | 163752
10 | 36:23.28 | 4:21.08 | 163753 | 183335
11 | 40:44.36 | 3:05.35 | 183336 | 197245
12 | 43:49.71 | 1:45.73 | 197246 | 205193
13 | 45:35.69 | 4:12.18 | 205194 | 224111
14 | 49:48.12 | 3:43.54 | 224112 | 240890


Range status and errors

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Filename C:\Documents and Settings\Mr. Yodo\Рабочий стол\Разное. Оно же Прочее\Новая папка\Svartsot - Ravnenes Saga.wav

Peak level 100.0 %
Range quality 100.0 %
Copy CRC 495F1BD7
Copy OK

No errors occurred


AccurateRip summary

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All tracks accurately ripped

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