Pagan/Folk, and Viking Metal is the current popular trend today with Finntroll, Eluveitie, Ensiferum, Korpiklaani, Turisas, Moonsorrow, and Skyforger (since 1995) leaders of the movement. Like their peers, Skyforger use woodwinds, percussion, bagpipes, accordion, and other Latvian (where they are from) instruments to create their sound.

More so like Amon Amarth, Skyforger base their music in riffs and gruff vocals like on ‘Son Of The Mare’ and the cruncher ‘The Nine-Headed’, and less on floofy folk melodies. 39 second ‘In The Yard Of The Father’s Son’ is stripped down semi acappella, minus the guitars and pounding rhythms. ‘The Devilslayer’ has a very Euro power metal (Blind Guardianesque with the bagpipes) feel to the upbeat tempo, and dark black metal fashioned riffs and keys (I think) are combined with the deep death vocal for ‘The Stone Sentinel’. ‘In The Underworld’ pulls in more instrumentation from their native homeland to create the melody behind the plodding riffs and reminds me a little bit of Type O Negative. As it begins, ‘Black Rider’ utilizes more of a black metal vocal and sprinkles it in later on for the quicker paced beat.

Skyforger have stepped it up on their first record for the mighty label and delivered strong Pagan melodic death metal.