I absolutely love the new album, for me it easily tops the debut. Can't wait to get my hands on the real thing as soon as possible, especially to read the lyrics. As a hobby historian I especially enjoy the era that The Varangian Way is covering, and I read anything I can find on Constantinople and things that went on around there. That might have something to do with my enthusiasm for the album, but also musically, for me it's perfect.
Some might argue that it's less aggressive and slower than Battle Metal, which I guess it is. Some parts of the Varangian Way sound almost...operatic? That's right up my alley musically speaking, so... I have to say that for me at least, it tops Battle Metal in every way - an achievement that I didn't think was possible, and something that made me register here to say (haven't bothered to do so since the switch from Trolleve
).
So here's a beer to hopefully seeing you play live next month in Finland!
