“Sorcery weaves the fable
magic fairy tales
warriors of valor assemble
the story begins…”
These are the first words that are heard entering the world of RINGLORN when after the roaring of a thunderous sky and the enchanting acoustic prelude, the galloping guitar riffs burst out to offer us the true feeling of “Death With Honor”.
Title-song “Ringlorn” follows and there can be no mistake about what the band is determined to play – this is EPIC HEAVY METAL as lyrical and mystical as it gets! Hauntingly melodic and unyieldingly true to the underground arcane legacy, RINGLORN bring to mind legendary groups that defined the genre, such as MANILLA ROAD, LORDIAN GUARD and WARLORD but also a few other distinctive Greek bands like VALIDOR and BLACK SWORD THUNDER ATTACK.
In the remaining two songs, “Beautiful Witch” and “Warlord”, we listen to piano and church organ intros, before the majestic guitar work, fortified by strong, unfailing rhythm section, develops the compositions in full glory. There are a lot of things to praise about the songwriting; some really nice solos, excellent guitar arrangements, warm vocals and yes, story-telling lyrics inspired by sword and sorcery – what more can anyone who loves epic metal ask for?
Nothing at all – or maybe, SOME MORE, PLEASE?
Twenty minutes of PURE and SHINING STEEL – that’s what Gabriel Leirbag (bass & backing vocals), Takis Jnm (guitars) and Harbinger (vocals) offer us in RINGLORN’s “Chapter One” EP; but thankfully, there IS more to come as you will find out reading below…
You may not know that RINGLORN is a neologism; both the meaning of the word and the essence of the band can be found in John Koening’s Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows: “the wish that the modern world felt as epic as the one depicted in old stories and folktales—a place of tragedy and transcendence, of oaths and omens and fates, where everyday life felt like a quest for glory, a mythic bond with an ancient past, or a battle for survival against a clear enemy, rather than an open-ended parlor game where all the rules are made up and the points don’t matter.”
THAT’s really awesome, isn’t it?
RINGLORN’s first EP, “Chapter One” will pave the way for the band’s first full-length album.
So, there’s definitely a vision and a plan on behalf of RINGLORN about how they desire to introduce themselves to the metal community and “Chapter One” seems PERFECT to make the necessary recommendations, leaving a GREAT first impression.
Last but not least, it should be mentioned that the production creates the right sound that’s appropriate for all the magic to happen; nice job on that too!
“Ringlorn – Chapter One” will soon be self-released digitally on Bandcamp.
Check the discussion about the album in our forum pages.
