Icestorm – The Northern Crusades
Release Date: 24th February 2023
Label: Self-Released
Bandcamp
Genre: Melodic Death Metal
FFO: Amon Amarth, Blind Guardian, Turisas.
Review By: Paul Cairney
From the very first seconds of their 4th album, Spanish melodeath outfit, Icestorm make you aware that The Northern Crusades is a concept album. Based on the Knights of the Teutonic Order, a Catholic Religious institution founded in the 12th century, the album features epic songs of battle!
The opening track is essentially spoken word, introducing you to what the album is about. Basically, it tells you it is a concept album and spoon-feeds the concept. Initially, it is somewhat frustrating, as bands such as Amon Amarth do not need explanations for their Viking Metal, they let the listener experience the songs. The fact other songs feature this spoken word midway through the riffs. I found that early listens, on my Bluetooth speaker, were slightly infuriating.
Then, a few listens later, it clicked. I don’t know if this was because I listened with headphones, or if it was just I let my initial frustrations drift away, but subsequent listens had me looking up Wikipedia to find out more about these crusading knights. Suddenly, The Northern Crusades made sense, even on further listens on my speaker.
We should make no bones about this, though. There are serious Amon Amarth tones throughout the 10 tracks. If you don’t like the melodic Swedes, then you should avoid this.
However, if you give this one a spin, you will find riffs galore, insightful lyrics and a concept that genuinely wants you to do a bit of research. Each track features real events, perhaps exaggerated for artistic purposes, but it means the album has a fascination that almost makes up for the slight lack of musical originality.
There are a lot of melodic death metal bands out there that don’t have the confidence to deliver a genuine history lesson in their concept albums. Icestorm have self-released an album that, whilst it may not be anywhere near your favourite album of the year, it will definitely see you dipping into the album throughout the year.
(3.5 / 5)
