Ilmarinen 🇬🇧 Ascension

Ilmarinen is a Dutch folk metal band. ‘Ascension’ is the first part of a double album. This concept album is about the legendary Viking Ragnar Lodbrok.

The album opens with sampled sounds of a neighing horse galloping. The calm music is folk and slightly classical-oriented. The sound is good, but if it had sounded a little fuller, it would certainly have had cinematic allure. This creates high expectations for the rest of the album. The short sampling at the end is cut off too soon; you would expect these sampled sounds to flow into “On the Eastern Road”. But the rousing melody immediately creates a very different atmosphere. The lyrics are about the plundering raids. Paul Brand’s grim vocals/grunts are easy to understand. The uptempo chorus invites you to roar along with the lyrics. The folk elements in the music play a slightly bigger role than the metal elements. The calmly played part is unexpected. The build-up to the uptempo part is good. During a concert, it will certainly be received with enthusiastic reactions.

Finnish myths are told in “The Great Artefact”. Here too, there is harmony between folk and metal. You don’t need to know anything about Finnish myths to appreciate the music.
For Viking experts, there are certainly familiar names in “War on the War God”. The beautiful, fairly slow instrumental opening has a good blend of metal and folk. There is a short ‘rest’ after certain words such as “Fear” and ‘Fire’. These words would have had more impact if there had been a little more vocal emphasis. The tempo of the drumming is quite fast at times. The build-up to the end is good.
The buzz of voices and cheerful music suit the lyrics of “In the Tavern”. Vocally, it is metal, but instrumentally, the catchy folk prevails.

“Grandfather’s Tale” starts calmly and melodiously. The rest is catchy and there are lovely details in the music. The metal comes to the fore a little more, but melody and folk remain important. Vocally, it remains strong. There is a gradual transition to a beautiful, calm, classically oriented piece, after which the rousing folk metal returns. Again, there is a transition to a minimalist part, which could have sounded a little fuller.
Although you notice that this is the last track, you feel that the music has an open ending. That certainly makes me eager for the second part, which is yet to come.

The high expectations from the beginning have been partially fulfilled. There are no clean vocals, in that sense it is metal. Paul has a pleasant voice, his grunts are accessible. The instrumental metal elements are not heavy. The variety, harmony and contrast between the violin and other instruments are good enough. This makes the atmosphere of “Ascension” exhilarating. Although this is a concept album, it is not ‘narrative’. You don’t have to follow a complex story. Viking knowledge is not necessary, because Ilmarinen has made an accessible album.

Part 1 is already available digitally, and you can pre-order the physical CD via their website or Bandcamp.

(77/100) (Self-released)

Social media:
Facebook: Ilmarinen
Website: Ilmarinen
Bandcamp: Ilmarinen