Time Signature
Fire of freedom...
Genre: pagan metal
On their second full-length Dutch folk metallers Encorion once more take the listener on a journey into the earthy universe of pagan metal. This is admittedly a genre that does not always click with me, as I do not always think that the folk elements and the metal elements are balanced in a way that does service to either types of music.
On the face of it, Encorion's music is epitomic of standard pagan metal, containing all the elements that characterize the genre. Thus, you have an ensemble of folksy-instruments, such as fiddles and flutes, performing folk melodies on top of a relatively simple backdrop of metal instrumentation, while the vocals are primarily harsh.
That being said, the metal instrumentation is mildly more interesting than other pagan metal releases I have heard, as the guitars are allowed to play actual riffs every now and then (as in 'Farewell to the Living'), and there is a mild touch of black metal, which creates a nice sense of tension. So this is definitely an enjoyable listen - if you can live with the fact that the opening (after the obligatory atmospheric info) of the very first track, 'Our Pagan Hearts Reborn' sounds like the 'Macarena' song.
Fans of pagan metal are bound to love this release, simply because it observes all the prescriptions of the genre.