ASPHYXIUM ZINE

Friday, December 29, 2023

EP Review: Månegarm "Urminnes Hävd (Remastered)" (Black Lodge Records) by Devin J. Meaney

Band: Månegarm
Location: Stockholm
Country: Sweden
Genre: Pagan folk
Format: Digital, CD, CD box set, vinyl
Label: Black Lodge Records (Stockholm, Sweden)
Release date: September 25, 2015
Urminnes Hävd (Remastered) by Månegarm, or “The Forest Sessions”! This is the first release by Månegarm that I’ve owned physically, aside from a few dubbed tracks on cassettes my friend Cernunnous gave me (In fact, it was Cernunnous who bought me this album as a present for Christmas 2023!).
My favorite release still is the untitled album (the one with the reddish backing and the wolf as the main image) but this EP is pretty nifty. It is very much a mellower side of Månegarm, with acoustic tracks throughout, featuring different instruments played to peak performance. With that said, there is as much talent on this cassette as there is within the realms of their heavier stuff—and the only negative thing crossing my mind after listening for the first time was this was not long enough! Featuring six songs, this is much shorter than their other albums. Either way, I’d still consider it a valiant winner!
To keep my word sloshing to a minimum I will just suggest that you give this a listen. Metal fans should appreciate this, but so should fans of folk/folklore and anyone that wishes to shine a light upon “heathen roots”.
The cassette is available through Black Lodge. Get it while you can, and may Odin bless you all! -Devin J. Meaney

Lineup:
Markus Andé: Guitars
Jonas Almquist: Guitars, songwriting, lyrics
Janne Liljeqvist: Violin, cello, flute
Pierre Wilhelmsson: Bass, lyrics
Erik Grawsiö: Drums, vocals, songwriting

Track list:
1. Intro
2. Immelsfursten
3. Utfärd
4. Älvtrans
5. Hemkomst
6. Döden
7. Vaggvisa

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