Maximum Metal Rating Legend
5 Excellent - Masterpiece. A classic.
4.5-4 Great - Almost perfect records but there's probably a lacking.
3.5 Good - Most of the record is good, but there may be some filler.
3 Average - Some good songs, some bad ones at about a half/half ratio.
2.5-2 Fair - Worth a listen, but best obtained by collectors.
1.5-1 Bad - Major problems with music, lyrics, production, etc.
0 Terrible - Waste of your life and time.

Note: Reviews are graded from 0-5, anything higher or not showing is from our old style. Scores, however, do not reveal the important features. The written review that accompanies the ratings is the best source of information regarding the music on our site. Reviewing is opinionated, not a qualitative science, so scores are personal to the reviewer and could reflect anything from being technically brilliant to gloriously cheesy fun.

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The best way to determine how much you may like certain music is to listen to it yourself.
Band
Miellnir
Title
Incineration Astern
Type
LP/EP
Company
Stygian Crypt
YOR
2014
Style
Heavy/Extreme
12/16/2015 - Review by: Greg Watson
Miellnir
Incineration Astern




Company: Stygian Crypt
Release: 2014
Genre: Extreme, folk
Reviewer: Greg Watson

  • Very deft and smoothly fluent



  • It's odd to consider a band to be Viking Metal when they hail from the Ukraine, yet that is exactly what Miellnir professes themselves to be.

    Regardless of their locale, "Incineration Astern" is an album festooned with Viking Metal moments, black metal blasphemies, death metal dirges and just an overall epic sound befitting of the Norsemen. Combining what I assume to be native instruments of the band's region with buzzsaw guitars, venomous vocals, ground-shaking drums and the occasional symphonic backing, "Incineration Astern" is a very entertaining listen.

    With a clear grasp of the Viking lore, Miellnir forge a path that is less trodden than the typical folk/Viking metal outfits in the fact that they have a more varied sound throughout the album rather than sticking to the more traditional sounding instruments and leaving out more modern sounds like other bands in this genre do. Tracks like "Prey", "Legend of the Fallen" and "Stand Against" incorporate the aforementioned styles in a very deft and smoothly fluent sound that gives the album an ambience all its own. The differentiation in the vocal delivery also proves to be a smart move as well with vocalist Frozensoul seemlessly moving from black metal to death to clean vocals. "Legends of the Fallen" is a perfect example of this as all three of those vocal styles are used in this song and are done so with polish and ferocity. The production of the album is a bit muddy at times to give the album a slightly raw feel, yet it is quite clear for the majority, which makes me wonder if those muddy sections were done particularly for that point.

    At the end of the day, Miellnir have a sound that is incredibly their own in a genre where almost all of the bands sound similar to one another. Hopefully, this separation will allow Miellnir to get the interest the band deserves and not be cast aside because of the stigma associated with Viking Metal and the rampant repetitiveness associated with the genre. I was thoroughly taken aback and impressed with Miellnir and look forward to digging deeper into this album and hopefully more albums to come.


    • 1 :REVIEW COUNT
      4 :AVE RATING

    ALL REVIEWS FOR: MIELLNIR
    TITLE
    DOR
    COMPANY
    REVIEWER DATE MADE RATING
    Incineration Astern
    2014
    Stygian Crypt
    Greg Watson12/16/2015
    4

    ALL INTERVIEWS FOR: MIELLNIR
    INTERVIEW INTERVIEWER DATE TAGLINE


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