Fir Bolg`s Towards Ancestral Lands Reviewed

It is a good thing that I heard the music on Fir Bolg`s debut album Towards Ancestral Lands before I saw the cover, cause I'm not a big fan of folk metal and what have you, and in my opinion this bands imagery screams folk metal. But what we are given on this album is instead black metal and very good black metal at that.

The songs on this albums are long, most of them clock in around six minutes, but the good thing is that they don't feel long, they all have a good pace to them and they never sound drawn out or boring. Thanks to very good song writing this Frenchman has done a great black metal album that is not super long but still a good 49 minutes and it all holds up and keeps you interested.

Dagoth

So what does this all sound like? Well prepare to be name dropped! While listening to these songs I hear so many influences.  Immortal was one of the first that came to mind, listen to the song Blood Heritage and tell me that this does not remind you of the Norwegian forest trolls! I would like to say that this album sounds like a mix of Swedish and Norwegian black metal. We have the more modern Satyricon punkish parts, some Darkthrone parts here and there as well. I also get a Mitothyn vibe from some parts, and to top of it of some Setherial and Naglfar. So this album is a bit of a mixed bag of Scandinavian treats. So finding out that this  is an album from a Frenchman playing "Celtic Black Metal" I was "hm ok". To be totally honest I would not really know what Celtic black metal would sound like, I guess like Primordial. And I guess that it does to a bit. But for me the Celtic thing is mainly in the imagery.  The song Final Battle On The Frozen lake is at least to my tired old white ears the  most folksy song. In that one there are some riffing that I would categorize as folksy or Celtic. But what do I know. There are some parts played on a acoustic guitars here and there that I sounds kind of Primordial as well.

Fir Bolg is a French one-man band, with the exception of the drums that is done by outside help.  The multi instrumentalist helming this battle ship goes under the name Dagoth. And I must say he does a cracking job. Everything is played very well and tight, there is no surprise when I read that Dagoth have been active for a long time in the black metal scene.

Besides being a stellar musician Dagoth has a wicked voice and he sings very well, I really like the vocal arrangements and the vocal lines. If I would compare his voice I would say that he sounds like a mix of the bands I mentioned earlier. Changing his style often keeping it all interesting with different variations on the black metal theme. Using different style of black metal voice to fit the individual song.

The overall production is really killer on this album, everything is fat and juicy! I haven't that much to say about it besides it is really good. It sounds like a modern black metal album should sound, think later Immortal albums and you will be pretty close.

So yeah, do you like the more melodic side of black metal? Then this album is a keeper.  Maybe not the most original release out there but I like it just the same, and so will you!

Sweden`s Wilhelm Lindh*, "Portuguese by adoption," guitar player,  composer and owner of the Doom / Death Metal band The Gardnerz, reviews here in HeavyHardMetalmania.net. Careful and professional analysis to the music and albums with suggestions of what there is to see and hear ... not to be missed. "The wisdom is found in the extremes, all extreme Metal here!".

01. Intro

02. Behind the Great Oppidum

03. Blood Heritage

04. Banshees

05. King of Wallachia

06. Strong Old Megalith

07. Final Battle on the Frozen Lake

08. Mag Tuired

09. Dun Aengus

Solo-artist Dagoth founded FIR BOLG back in 2006 to create his own vision of Celtic Black Metal. In the same year the Frenchman, who does the vocals, guitar and bass started together with the support of session musicians to work on his first four-song demo. In the summer of 2008 the solo project's first MCD "Paganism" was released by himself in an edition of 500 exemplars. In 2009 the German underground label Schwarzdorn Productions became aware of FIR BOLG and signed the project quickly.

FIR BOLG started to work on the first full-length album in 2011. Together with his longtime session drummer Abaddon, Dagoth recorded "Towards Ancestral Lands" in different international studios.

The mixing was done by Damien Rainaud (Omen Recording) in Los Angeles. The album was mastered by Markus Stock (Empyrium, The Vision Bleak) at the Klangschmiede Studio E in Germany. "Towards Ancestral Lands" impresses with a powerful production, fast Black Metal, stormy leads and wonderful epic moments. Dagoths fondness for Celtic music becomes manifest in the acoustic parts which are responsible for atmospheric interludes. Follow FIR BOLG on a stormy but also atmospheric as well as passionate journey into the Celtic mythology

FIR BOLG "Towards Ancestral Lands" coming soon, set for 21.06.2013.