They'll play at Hammerfest..I wish I was there((((plyum plyum(

I saw them live not so long ago, absolutely lost myself in how beautiful it sounded live. The Viking choruses really came to life at that show, ah!

What really stood out is a song from their upcoming album that they played first, Hold the Heathen Hammer High. After checking it out again on their myspace I must say that I'm a little...surprised. The tempo in the lyrics is much faster than we usually see, and they seem to be sacrificing their typical folk progressive sound for just simple speed and catchy-ness. Like most of their songs in English, it just doesn't come off as true as it does with their native sung songs, which much of the time are legitimate folk songs. I remember hearing another song from their new CD just before they performed which I presumed was the title song from By the Light of the Morning Star, which sounded similar. It almost reminds me of Ensiferum, and those are two sounds that I don't want anywhere near each other. Anyone else getting curious about the evolution of this band?

Written by bard on 29.03.2009 at 01:54

I saw them live not so long ago, absolutely lost myself in how beautiful it sounded live. The Viking choruses really came to life at that show, ah!

What really stood out is a song from their upcoming album that they played first, Hold the Heathen Hammer High. After checking it out again on their myspace I must say that I'm a little...surprised. The tempo in the lyrics is much faster than we usually see, and they seem to be sacrificing their typical folk progressive sound for just simple speed and catchy-ness. Like most of their songs in English, it just doesn't come off as true as it does with their native sung songs, which much of the time are legitimate folk songs. I remember hearing another song from their new CD just before they performed which I presumed was the title song from By the Light of the Morning Star, which sounded similar. It almost reminds me of Ensiferum, and those are two sounds that I don't want anywhere near each other. Anyone else getting curious about the evolution of this band?

Are you sure? I don't want them to change their style.. Tyr don't need to be fast and catchy, they are great as they are now!
I must check that song out now..

New album sounds cool, nothing groundbreaking or really amazing, but still has that Týr feeling on it. IMO, less prog and more cheese hehehe.

I quite like the new album and I agree with Daggon that it's less progressive.
Album art kicks ass XD Check it out here (good resolution):
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rtAaWOtig80/SiXl-EM9qKI/AAAAAAAAAK0/J7Owb8KENZ0/s1600-h/hi-res.jpg

Written by Ag Fox on 09.06.2009 at 19:38

I quite like the new album and I agree with Daggon that it's less progressive.
Album art kicks ass XD Check it out here (good resolution):
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rtAaWOtig80/SiXl-EM9qKI/AAAAAAAAAK0/J7Owb8KENZ0/s1600-h/hi-res.jpg

Yeah, the cover artwork is great! And the music is great too. I like the song 'Ride' very very much!

All their cover artworks are great indeed

Even if the new album is less prog (IMO), they still have their own sound which is a great thing, one word, quality.

Tyr are brilliant. I saw them for the first time not so long ago and they were amazing. I was told that they were a 'boring' live band but they were fantastic and quite funny They were with Alestorm but I thought Tyr were definately better. I think all their stuff is good really - they are very talented.

Great band and the new album proves that.
I have yet to see them live but supposedly they're great! Hear the Heathen Call is one of my favorites from the new album.

Only just got into Tyr the older stuff id heard was a bit too proggy but the new album is killer!

Me likesy a lot!

Listening to new album again and I can finally find the right words to describe it.
if you take out the instruments and just the vocals, it's almost like the type of music you get in Church hymns "Into The Strom" is a classic example

New album is great!...I though they were going downhill...but, no!

IMO this rivals Eric the Red, Easy

By The Light Of The Northern Star is a great album, I've been waiting for a faster Tyr for some time, since I'm not that much into prog metal, and albums like Eric The Red sound quite boring to me. I think it's cool when a band tries many avenues, experiment, without sacrificing the core of their identity. BtLotNS does that. Hold The Heathen Hammer High is an addictive and catchy song, but it still sounds like Tyr (except I don't fall asleep halfway through it...). I really love that song ^^

Pretty disappointing album...went downhill after the fantastic Ragnarok where they showed incredible skill in writing progressive and intelligent songs. Bit less impressive on Land yet still had its good moments and THEN.....the dreaded new album with its fast-paced and catchy "free for all" metal. They clearly are appealing to a wider audience with the new album, which isnt necessarily a bad thing but the album is so watered down and straight forward its shocking. In the past they had these fantastic songs which evolved and became bigger and went somewhere...the new album is incredibly formulaic. I listened the album and pretty much in every song by around 1:30 youve heard the ENTIRE song, because then it starts repeating itself...in every flipping song!

As the above mentioned post I agree to the extent that I like it when bands try something new.....tyr did that on Ragnarok though which was their most challenging and mature album to date. Then the unfortunately ended up experimenting in the wrong direction with this album. Fair enough, some people like simple music and they will be raving about this album.

I unfortunately got bored with the album within the first 3 listens.....just too much repetition.

Written by Guest on 05.10.2009 at 14:04

...went downhill after the fantastic Ragnarok where they showed incredible skill in writing progressive and intelligent songs.

Let's form a club...you seem to be another rare Ragnarök lover here....most people seem to say that "Ragnarök" is "SOOO BOOORING!" and all the other releases are catchy and dandy....
I've seen Tyr twice and both times they made me kinda sad by playing only their more radio-friendly "hit songs" instead of the true pearls....

Written by Ernis on 10.10.2009 at 00:06

Written by Guest on 05.10.2009 at 14:04

...went downhill after the fantastic Ragnarok where they showed incredible skill in writing progressive and intelligent songs.

Let's form a club...you seem to be another rare Ragnarök lover here....most people seem to say that "Ragnarök" is "SOOO BOOORING!" and all the other releases are catchy and dandy....
I've seen Tyr twice and both times they made me kinda sad by playing only their more radio-friendly "hit songs" instead of the true pearls....

I wanna join your club! ragnarök forever!!

Written by Ernis on 10.10.2009 at 00:06

Written by Guest on 05.10.2009 at 14:04

...went downhill after the fantastic Ragnarok where they showed incredible skill in writing progressive and intelligent songs.

Let's form a club...you seem to be another rare Ragnarök lover here....most people seem to say that "Ragnarök" is "SOOO BOOORING!" and all the other releases are catchy and dandy....
I've seen Tyr twice and both times they made me kinda sad by playing only their more radio-friendly "hit songs" instead of the true pearls....

Fantastic, id love to form a Ragnarok club! *high 5* Yeah im astonished at the ignorance of some people....no maybe not ignorance, just fucking laziness of some people. They dont understand progressive elements in metal or ATTEMPT to do so, so they immediately call something boring. Its such a paradox you can cut the irony with a knife....Many people seem to prefer music which is easier to get into, Ragnarok isnt a straightforward album so you wont fall in love with it immediately. I for one hated it at first - but thats the difference between alot of people. Some people on this forum will LOOOOVE the new album, because its easy listening and easy to like the first time - those same people wont like Ragnarok because you dont immediately "get it" and thats annoying.

If you love metal then you have to realise you must sometimes scratch deeper than the surface to get to understand or like an album. Thats the difference between ok music and fantastic music....it has longevity and layered aspects to it. And generally the albums that takes longer to get into are the ones which I hold close to my heart for the rest of my life. "By the Light of the Northern Star" isnt one of those albums - its a "what you hear is what you get" album, hence its initial intrigue has faded quickly and in fact its a much more watered down and less "value for money" album than Ragnarok.

Sure the new album has "catchy" songs, but theyre not even that great....its the same formula over and over on every song with every song going into repeat-mode by 1:30 and that is just boring and tiresome. I dont care how "catchy" a song is, if the songwriting lacks and theres nothing to keep you interested then even cheddar cheese becomes monotonous. Luckily for you and me, we love Ragnarok An album which becomes better with every spin and still holds surprises after a 1000 listens.

Written by Guest on 11.10.2009 at 02:37


im astonished at the ignorance of some people....no maybe not ignorance, just fucking laziness of some people. They dont understand progressive elements in metal or ATTEMPT to do so, so they immediately call something boring. Its such a paradox you can cut the irony with a knife....Many people seem to prefer music which is easier to get into, Ragnarok isnt a straightforward album so you wont fall in love with it immediately. I for one hated it at first - but thats the difference between alot of people. Some people on this forum will LOOOOVE the new album, because its easy listening and easy to like the first time - those same people wont like Ragnarok because you dont immediately "get it" and thats annoying.


What you fail to understand is lots of people understand progressive elements in music but don't care for them. Some people really find prog things boring and prefer more 'in your face' music. It's not a matter of ignorance or laziness, like you claim it to be, but a matter of tastes.
Progressive doesn't necessarily mean better, you know. Many times it fails miserably.
As for this "many people seem to prefer music that is easier to get into (straightforward)", if you look at it the other way, we can say that if it takes many spins before an album becomes enjoyable, then that album failed in a certain way. Personally, if I almost need to force music through me to be able to enjoy it in the end, no thanks. I have no time to loose on trying to like music. Music must come to me, grab me, not the opposite.




If you love metal then you have to realise you must sometimes scratch deeper than the surface to get to understand or like an album. Thats the difference between ok music and fantastic music....it has longevity and layered aspects to it.


Again, you fail to understand that it's a matter of tastes. Some people, like me, dislike music that is too layered (over-layered) and find this boring. More layers doesn't necessarily mean more interesting (and emotional) music. And music that piles layer over layer is often not very good on guitars and drums.

I guess we'll agree to disagree one more time. But I think you need to realize that opinions on music is mostly a matter of tastes, so you should stop blaming people for what you consider as ignorance and laziness. It makes you sound like some kind of nerd who believes he's more intelligent than others.

Valaskjalf: You're right on one thing. I listen almost exclusively to Black Metal nowadays. I was a Powermetal fan during the 90s (though I listened to more extreme genres too- I've never been a Powermetal-exclusive fan) but I've grown more and more bored of this genre. There's only a handful of PM bands I still like today.

Well I dont take back the comment of people being ignorant, because it is true. If someone has the right to call an album boring simply because they dont like challenging music and because they simply dont GET it, then I have a right to have a certain attitude towards that.

And finally saying "youre right on one thing", It can be misconstrued that you think youve been right on all other points, which again is hypocritical to your attitude of "its all a matter of opinion" and theres no right and wrong.

See how easy it is to use this "its a matter of taste" as an alibi within just about anything? But enough faffing, we clearly have a conflicting view of what good metal is, so yeah, again we will leave the fight until another day.

Written by Guest on 11.10.2009 at 14:53

And finally saying "youre right on one thing", It can be misconstrued that you think youve been right on all other points, which again is hypocritical to your attitude of "its all a matter of opinion" and theres no right and wrong.

See how easy it is to use this "its a matter of taste" as an alibi within just about anything? But enough faffing, we clearly have a conflicting view of what good metal is, so yeah, again we will leave the fight until another day.

You misunderstood me here. When I said "you're right on one thing", it didn't mean you were wrong on other things. It only meant that this time it wasn't a matter of opinion or tastes, but a fact that I'm into Black Metal and not Powermetal.
There's no contradiction.

Ah alright, but yeah like I said, in the end the whole "a matter of taste" makes any argument for something being better than something else obsolete because noone has a right to call something better or worse than something else. Thats the only problem I have with it....someone can make shit music or say the sky is green and the ocean pink and noone can comment on it because its their opinion. I find that extremely frustrating and just underlines the flaw in discussion over metal, no matter how subjective the person's opinion is or on what aspects he based his argument. In the end "i think its great because I do" will always triumph over an argument based on a deeper comparison - which is disappointing.

Written by Guest on 11.10.2009 at 15:10

Ah alright, but yeah like I said, in the end the whole "a matter of taste" makes any argument for something being better than something else obsolete because noone has a right to call something better or worse than something else. Thats the only problem I have with it....someone can make shit music or say the sky is green and the ocean pink and noone can comment on it because its their opinion. I find that extremely frustrating and just underlines the flaw in discussion over metal.

I get your point. And that's why I don't like arguing too much on matters related to metal music. Opinions are based on tastes. And, as tastes differ from one person to another, opinions differ too. And this leads to useless debates or even fights. However, I don't think there's a miraculous solution to this situation.

Music is art and like any other form of art, is subject to personal perception. For example, a painting by Pablo Picasso is a priceless piece of art for some people, while I think it looks like a young child had fun throwing paint randomly at the canvas to me.

Well it's like comparing Rowling and Tolkien....Tolkien can be very difficult to read and it can turn boring and require lots of previous knowledge to read whereas Rowling is so easily-readable that you actually can read a 800 page book through non stop all night and you won't feel even tired....but if it's about literary value then Harry Potter's a bestseller but Tolkien's works are classics and much deeper in meaning....

I haven't been listening to "Ragnarök" lately....I'm just not in the mood....although I love the album I do admit that one needs to be in the mood for listening it....it's a wonderful work nevertheless....just like with lots of bands...."Wish I Had An Angel" is catchy'n stuff....but you need to be in the mood for appreciating "Angels Fall First", "Forever Moments", "Etiäinen" and lots of other "not that popular" songs like this....

Written by Ernis on 11.10.2009 at 15:50

Well it's like comparing Rowling and Tolkien....Tolkien can be very difficult to read and it can turn boring and require lots of previous knowledge to read whereas Rowling is so easily-readable that you actually can read a 800 page book through non stop all night and you won't feel even tired....but if it's about literary value then Harry Potter's a bestseller but Tolkien's works are classics and much deeper in meaning....

I haven't been listening to "Ragnarök" lately....I'm just not in the mood....although I love the album I do admit that one needs to be in the mood for listening it....it's a wonderful work nevertheless....just like with lots of bands...."Wish I Had An Angel" is catchy'n stuff....but you need to be in the mood for appreciating "Angels Fall First", "Forever Moments", "Etiäinen" and lots of other "not that popular" songs like this....

high 5 for epic analogy...welldone

Nice post from the band

Týr
17 mins ·
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