Thorondir – Wächter des Waldes

Released through Germany-based label Trollzorn Records, Wächter des Waldes is the fourth studio full-length from a Bavarian pagan act Thorondir. Current line-up of the band is comprised of six members (who are not hiding behind a pseudonym or staying anonymous); Kevin Wienerl (vocals), Dominik Hautmann (guitar), Michael Ney (guitar), Florian Striegl (drums), Alexander Göhl (drums) and Fabian Wienerl (keys/synths).

Wächter des Waldes (english; Guardians of the Forest) consists of 11 well-crafted tracks, all in their native German. The main features that define their sound are: nature, myths and ‘…the stories that continue to resonate with us today’. The album combines raw energy, musical diversity and epic soundscapes where they successfully blend this raw power with melodic and atmospheric passages. Riffs are majestic and two guitars deliver numerous catchy rhythms, melodies and powerful breaks. Furthermore, Wächter des Waldes features a thunderous drumwork, sharp and clear vocals, nice keyboard interludes, and finally a bit monolotic yet steady basswork. The sound itself is not groundbreaking or unprecedented, but overall Wächter des Waldes is offering enough variety and strength to keep listeners engaged and entertained throughout the 55 minutes of playing time.

For me, there’re two highlights from the album, namely; “Blut und Ruhm” – perfectly blending energetic and melodic elements, and “Zur alten Taverne” mainly due to its inspiring pagan-metal-style melody at the beginning of the song, but also due to its many twists that will come later as the song progresses.

Despite of the aforementioned raw energy and intensity of the album, the sound is pretty clean, polished and well-balanced. On the other hand, as a minor drawback, one might find the production a bit too loud, creating an overwhelming and massive ‘wall of sound’ that sometimes tends to obscures individual elements like the above-mentioned bass. One of the pros of the release is the fact that the whole concept of the album is perfectly represented on the cover artwork (created by Jan Yrlund of ‘Darkgrove‘) – evoking the mysteries of the deep forest and everything hidden within it.

To sum up; Wächter des Waldes is an intense sonic journey that will make every pagan metal worshipper’s heart beat faster! The album marks a strong comeback after a six-year hiatus, delivering a piece of melodic/epic black and pagan metal that feels both brutal and atmospheric. Thus, Thorondir, and their latest opus Wächter des Waldes, is recommended for fans of early 2000s melodic black and pagan metal but also the likes of Bathory, Immortal, Einherjer, and their fellow countrymen from Black Messiah, Finsterforst and Equilibrium.

More information on this pagan/black metal sextet visit https://www.facebook.com/THORONDIRofficial/