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"I don't really think that Lumsk sounds like any other band of this scene, which is nice, they are a very unique sounding band!"
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Norwegian Lumsk is one of the most interesting and unique acts of the folk music influenced metal scene. Their debut album "Åsmund fregdegjaevar" is based upon an old Norwegian tale, re-arranged by Lumsk. The story in short is that the daughter of the king, Ermelin, was kidnapped by trolls and the brave warrior Åsmund is volunteering to bring her back home again. So he sets sail with the famous battleship Ormin Lange and travels up north to free her! A nice old tale which Lumsk made a good job of re-arranging and adapting to their music. The lead vocals are performed by the amazing Vibeke Arntzen, accompanied by male vocals from Espen W Godö (also synth and organs). Vibekes vocals are stunning, almost angelic, and with the assistance from Espen it sounds very intriguing. When it comes to folk metal, it's common to sing with their native tongue, and Lumsk of course performs everything in the Norwegian language. For those of you who aren't too familiar with the Norwegian language, they have added short descriptions for every track in English, so that you still can follow the main storyline of the music. The music is mostly midpaced, with a foundation consisting of heavy down-tuned guitars and bass, and the atmosphere is created with assistance from instruments such as hammond organ, church organ and violins. I especially enjoyed the beautiful violins performed by Siv Lena Waterloo Laugtug together with guest musicians. If you listen carefully, you will also hear instruments like cello, contrabass and flute! Everything is performed and arranged beautifully, no second rate musicians in sight! I don't really think that Lumsk sounds like any other band of this scene, which is nice, they are a very unique sounding band! They incorporate old folk music traditions into their metal platform in a way that immediately made me assume that many of the participants started out their music careers with folk music, and only later developed it into a metal formula. I came to this conclusion while thinking about how good everything is performed, I guess you have to listen for yourself! It's difficult for me to pick out any highlights from this release, I really think you ought to enjoy "Åsmund fregdegjaevar" as an album, a unity, instead of trying to find those single tracks! All tracks work together telling the story, both lyrics and music are based upon the progression of the story. I am impressed by Lumsk! They are exploring new paths of metal, paths which noone ever followed before! Together with bands like Asmegin, they are the future of this particular scene! 9/10 p
Tommy Lejon
Urkraft Webzine
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