Neithan: Voluspaa is the pagan band by Freddy Skogstad, a Norwegian musician from Hønefoss (known as the demon’s lair that spawned Urgehal). After two demos since the band was resurrected in 2005 (‘En Tid Tilbake’ from 2007 and ‘Norwegian Metal’ from 2008) it was finally time for a debut album and it is called ‘Asa’. Regarding the band’s origin you might expect black metal, yet that is not true. Voluspaa in a way follows the footsteps of that famous and revolutionary one-man-project from Sweden that is regarded as the founder of Viking metal. I won’t give away that much, but let’s say that ‘Hail to the hordes’ is a yell fit to use for this album without Voluspaa being a mere copy of the original!
Live Voluspaa has a full line-up, but in the studio Voluspaa is Freddy Skogstad; nevertheless the man got help from two women while recording the album: Hildr Valkyrie en violin player/ singer Sareeta (Ram-Zet, In Lingue Mortua). Do not expect such a pagan album filled with cheesy women wailing and an abundance of acoustic instruments, because at moments the album rages like a storm at the Northsea, but even then it can in no way be categorized as black metal. ‘Asa’ is a very modern album, with its roots deeply in the past. The concept goes back to the glorious viking age, the music has links to good ole heavy metal and beyond. Opener ‘Av Sin Klokskap’ is a great business card for what to expect: a modest sibling intro, then an epic part with vocals that remind me of the ‘Nordland’-albums by Bathory (just without vocals out of tune, and I know that saying this is blasphemy!) and intense and furious passages, all packed in about six minutes. What a way to open an album! The same way of working is applied in songs like ‘Hvorfor…’ (a very important word if you are learning Norwegian, take my word for it) and closing track ‘En Tid Tilbake’.
The magnificent thing about this album is that all fits together like a glove, yet is has a great versatility and is worked out in a high quality. Even the running order is in balance: most intense songs ‘Reis Deg Min Herre’ and ‘Min Plikt Som Far’ are put at strategic spots on the album and the (acoustic) participation of the guest musicians is not too abundant yet purely in service of the songs: horns up for Skogstad! And that versatility goes also for the male vocals: from clean Viking-like (yep, this is Viking metal) to extreme vocals and there are a lot of things to be noticed on ‘Asa’, even after several times of playing the album.
The only comment I have is about the production, which sounds rather common. On the other hand, it is not fair to expect a mega production when taking the means of artist and label in consideration: as such Skogstad managed to get the maximum out of it all. So if you think that real high quality is not being made anymore since Enslaved went for a more progressive course, eat your heart out: Voluspaa is the name to remember, ‘Asa’ the album to buy and prove that the Vikings are anything but dead and buried in beautiful Norway. A highly succeeded debut, and I hope that many more albums from Voluspaa will follow. Skål for faen!
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