It has taken a few listens to try and get past the sing-a-long chorus’ on “Land”, in fact, the whole of this Viking/pagan pride resurgence in the metal world, really strikes me as quite silly. Ultra happy chorus’ with gang singing and ale swilling carelessness is at the core of this and it’s really hard to take seriously. Especially when going to a fest like the Heathen Crusade (RIP), seeing Midwestern adolescent males wearing Braveheart styled war facepaint and kilts, kinda takes a bit of the sincerity and cultural meaning away from the musical intention. Regarding Tyr… perhaps they’re not to blame for upholding this stylistic genre, for they didn’t invent it, but when the basis of their music is centered around the clean vocals and each hook of the song being the hokey chorus’ in which I have been venting about, it becomes a tall hurdle for me to clear. Especially when their music is so subdued and simplistic… it feels like “Land” isn’t flashy enough to fit within the power metal realm where technical drum and guitar work takes center stage. In fact, the drumming on this album is really basic and rather neutering to the whole body of work. The guitar work follows suit, falling into predictable note runs and power chord dominant riffs that act as a lackluster foundation for the pitch singing to attempt to tow the line. Subtle solos do creep in on occasion to offer a bit of color, but it’s simply not enough variation or depth in the music for one to warrant the amount of coverage and recognition this band has received over the past year. “Land” definitely isn’t airy or majestic enough to fit into the battle or epic metal genres ala Manilla Road either. It’s like Tyr are content to blindly follow the Viking metal trend as the short lived wave it will eventually prove itself to be, leaving the band listless and lost at the end of the day without a concrete identity to call their own. Tyr sound like warriors without a country and when the smoke clears, there really isn’t enough on display here for them to be remembered. Average at best, “Land” is an emotionless and uninspired listen, which really seem to be the combination these days that sells a decent amount of CDs. Tyr should send their publicity staff a fruit basket or something. –Marty
Napalm Records
Worm Gear 