About.com Rating

The Bottom Line

A solid, well-written album of pagan metal with a thick production.



Pros

• Well-written, catchy songs.
• Very well produced.

Cons

• Somewhat unoriginal.

Description

• Released March 9, 2010, on Noise Art Records.
• Varg hail from Bavaria, Germany.
• Band co-founder Phillip “Freki” Seiler is also the organizer of Wolfszeit, a German pagan metal festival.

Guide Review - Varg - 'Blutaar'

Germany’s Varg are playing solid, well-written pagan metal on the band’s second album Blutaar.


Consisting of semi-melodic, catchy songs with a variation in pacing, it is not particularly original, but is well played and well written. Obvious comparisons can be made to some of the heavier pagan bands such as Ensiferum and Suidakra, as Varg hit with a great deal of force and eschew any sort of “bounce” in their music.

For this reviewer, pagan metal bands that incorporate a large amount of happy bounce to the music are taking the easy way out, as that sort of music appears to be very trendy at the moment. Bands that prefer to tread firmly within extreme metal, yet still are able to incorporate traditional melodies, are more impressive, particularly when the songwriting is strong. Varg are one of those bands that are able to retain a hard edge to their music and still incorporate a great amount of traditional melody.

Most of the songs on Blutaar are guitar driven with lots of catchy songs and a variation in pace that ranges from a mid-paced groove to a couple of all out blasts. Besides the catchy riffing, pagan metal genre elements such as traditional melodies appear solely through the use of guitars.

Quite smartly, in order to retain heaviness, neither keyboards, nor traditional instruments, are employed. Vocals are kept on the rough side, with a loud rasp evocative of black metal.

Aiding Varg greatly on Blutaar is a particularly thick production, courtesy of Andy Classen. The production gives the music a great deal of heft and crunch, something that is lacking on a lot of pagan metal, particularly those albums that drift into bouncy territory. The combination of good songwriting and solid production results in Blutaar being a worthy addition to the collection of those fans interested in pagan metal. Recommended.



Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.