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ASGUARD :
WIKKA

Not quite sure what to make of this one. Asguard hail from Mogilev Belarus (don't worry, I majored in geography at university and I had to look it up as well). They have a CD and a couple demos previous to this extended EP, and have a new full-length called "Dreamslave" about to drop. This disc came out in Europe last year, but now Dark Reign has brought it to the shores of North America. We have a mixed bag here, some new tunes, some older stuff, a Judas Priest cover (Leather Rebel), and a re-mastered demo track. The jury deciding on the band's musical style is still out deliberating. At first, Asguard appear to be just another Black-Metal band, with the vocals adding much to this impression, but the strong emphasis placed on many other Metal sub-genres makes one think twice about that initial verdict. We have guitar solos aplenty, as well as a thick classic Power-Metal / NWOBHM vibe going on. Hell, one can even argue Thrash, or Viking-Metal if they want. The end result is an interesting, but slightly uneven listen. There are some good songs here, but I just don't know how to take the band. Style aside however, the most unfortunate thing about this platter is the production. It is excessively tinny, with virtually no bottom end to speak of. If they had been able to come up with a meatier production, it probably would have raised their score at least another point. In the end, if you think you'd like some classic Metal with a Black-Metal edge to it, this will appease, but you might want to wait for the new full-length, hopefully the sound will be better. For more info, you can find the band at asguard.metal4.com.
RATING = 6 Blackish-Metal (Released 2005)

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ASGUARD :
DREAMSLAVE

We have an interesting disc here from Asguard, sixteen tracks of thrashy Black-Metal, broken down into four separate "acts". Earlier this year I checked out an EP of theirs (see above), it was cool, albeit a bit uneven, and suffered from a thin, bass-challenged sound. Well, the good news here, is that this is a much more solid affair, with some killer songs, and some pretty impressive guitar shredding. The bad news however is that the tinny sound is still there. The abundance of symbol crashes sound like they're at the very top of the high-end register, and that if they were any higher, they would pass out of the range of human hearing! So to me, this is an issue. It all just sounds very metallic, cold, and overly Pro-Tooled. Sound aside however, there has been an interesting development with "Dreamslave", the band has crossed over (if you will) to the side of Symphonic Black-Metal. We have a large helping of keyboards, and some other little sonic oddities ...cello, bagpipes anyone? This will of course split their fan-base down the middle as it is well known that a large portion of the Black-Metal underground simply abhor any sort of "progressive" or symphonic elements creeping into their beloved scene. Those fans will abandon Asguard like a mouldy piece of fruit. Of course, on the other hand, there is a large crowd that loves this stuff. Let's face it, Cradle Of Filth, no matter what you think of them, sells records. Plus, truth be told, the band still shreds, and this seems like a natural progression, rather than a forced change. A good disc, I just wish we could get some bottom end for these guys. Where's producer Billy Anderson when you need him?
RATING = 7 Blackish-Metal (Released 2005)

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