Band:	Fimbulthier
Album:	...Rise
Style:	Melodic death metal
Website:	http://www.fimbulthier.de/
Release date:	May 2010

01. Fall Apart
02. Shattered Remains
03. Ghost Town
04. A Color Of Truth
05. Blood-Soaked Pictures
06. The Chosen
07. Rise
08. Discover
09. Two Words
10. 886

The first time I got to know about Fimbulthier was at Ragnarök Festival 2008 where they still were a bunch of guys clad in school uniforms who didn't know if they wanted to be a pagan metal or a melodic death metal band. I won't lie to you: that was clearly the worst of all 28 performances I had seen that weekend. Logically it came as quite a shock when I found out that Fimbulthier signed a record deal with Trollzorn Records. Why on earth would a label, which has such grandiose bands as Menhir, Fjoergyn or Bran Barr on its roster, sign such a talentless bunch? Or is it me who wronged them and judged them too fast after only one gig?

I was soon to find out as the label sent me Fimbulthier's sophomore album ...Rise for reviewing purposes. Short glance at the band's newest promo pic and all my prejudices returned: three guys in black suits with red ties and one guy in a bloodstained wife beater in front of some pink-ish background. Apparently they still dress in this stupid fashion just for the sake of being different. Instead of on their outer appearance they should've tried pulling that off on their music, which is still far from being different. Or interesting at all for that matter.

One minute into the first song and you already know what this album is about: recycling. Recycling the kinda riffs that have been deemed revolutionary in Gothenburg, Sweden some fifteen years ago. At least the band has taken sides by now and doesn't undulate between bad pagan metal and bad melodic death metal anymore. This doesn't make things any better, but at least they can't be blamed for their split personality anymore. But hey, now you can blame them for sounding exactly like the bunch of guys from your village who try to sound like In Flames or Soilwork and only leave their garage for the annual gig in the local youth center!

Well, it's not only recycling Fimbulthier devote themselves to. Sometimes there are also some hardcore influences, so that you get treated with some awful clean vocals as well. At other times Fimbulthier's semi-pagan past still slips in, especially during tracks #7-9: the title track "Rise" features a playful lead guitar and "Discover" starts with a melodic black metal riff, but neither song is anywhere close to outstanding. "Two Words" however is quite a standout track on this album. In fact it could've been lifted from a pagan metal album (I think of Wolfchant in particular) just as well, but then again their split personality returns: a pagan metal song about the words "Fuck you." Need I say more?

The instrumental part isn't even a problem, the musicians aren't doing a lousy job and the production isn't too bad either. You can listen to this CD in the background and it won't annoy you. But even the best shredder in the world can't display his prowess if the songwriting just plain sucks. Which it does in Fimbulthier's case. In this overcrowded cosmos of melodic death metal, 95% of all releases are better than this uninspired waste of polycarbonate plastic. Do you want my recommendation? Ignore Fimbulthier and make friends with that melodeath band from your village. At least you can snatch some beers from their garage while they're playing at the youth center.