Album Review: Brymir – What We Leave Behind

Album Review: Brymir – What We Leave Behind

Reviewed by Oli Gonzalez

On October 2nd, two Scandinavian melodic death metal bands with Viking and Norse themes engraved into their music will release new albums. One very much at the peak of their career, having played every festival worth playing and selling millions of records worldwide. Of course, we’re talking about Amon Amarth. The other may not get the headlines on this day, but sure as hell deserve just as much praise.

The band in question, Brymir. Not a band many will know, as a discography of 4 albums seems fairly light. Then again, Napalm Records don’t sign nobodies! “What We Leave Behind” will be the fifth and ‘most sinister yet’ in the words of the band. Curiosity is now at its peak.

Maybe not quite sinister in the same way a black metal band like 1349 or Emperor would be (well more on that later). Though there’s something very exciting about Brymir’s sound! See, there’s a solid melodic death metal spine running through the early stages of the album, especially during ‘Sleipner’, achieved through the sharp yet aesthetically pleasing guitar riffs driving the sound. There’s a subtle symphonic edge too, with the synths and choir like backing vocals adding an epic feel to the mix. Though they take that epic feeling and up the ante several notches in ‘Tempest Bound’!

“Marching, banners high For Ares,
Tyr or Mars
Like children on an isle
As all true deities cry”

Listen to that chorus on full volume and see how quickly you want to grab your shield and sword, and dive straight into battle! The verses are just as impactful too! Then it’s just an all out frenzy for the album’s title track ‘What We Leave Behind’. What a blistering lead guitar solo, and stunning chorus that will have strangers singing together in unison in arenas! Though the distorted guitars can provide plenty of bite when called upon!

See, there’s an underlying cinematic edge to the album. It’s almost as if there’s a guy in the band who works in the cinema industry as a sound designer…OH WELL there is! Whilst this is his day job, Viktor takes the lead vocal role by night for the band, and uses every ounce of his industry knowledge to give Brymir an almost unparalleled advantage.

Now, Brymir are far from a one trick pony. They can flex their black metal muscles, and shift the focus to becoming abrasive, dissonant, and sheer terror-inducing in songs like ‘True Darkness’ and ‘Buried Legion’! Think Emperor, especially with the underlying symphonic edge. This also gives an opportunity for Joona to show off his guitar skills…and he has every right to! Now their claims of this being their most sinister album starts to make more sense!

With such high intensity output, it’s easy to become fatigued and overstimulated. That’s why the clever deployment of a few ‘breather’ songs like ‘Thy Self The Highest Love’ and the aptly named ‘Moment Of Silence’ are essentially low stimulus instrumentals to give you that much needed time for reflection and opportunity to process everything that’s just bombarded your senses. After all, sometimes what a band DOESN’T play is just as important as what they do play. As paradoxical as that sounds. ‘The Roaring King’ also plays into that theme of low stimulation and whilst the full band return here, this is by far the slowest song on the album. Yep, Brymir understands human psychology!

Now the final song. We have a full blown power metal anthem ‘How Much Is The Fish?’’, a Fintroll or Korkiplannin style rawkus drunken tavern dance along to end the album! Hang on… it’s a Scooter cover?! Shows what I know! Well, I’m not normally into covers but if you can take an internationally renowned powerhouse of a Eurotrance artist, take their song and completely reimagine it your own unique style, then cover as many as you want!

Well, that was a journey! A multilayered complex package and a fully guided tour around several sub genres of metal that should be at opposition with one another, yet somehow gets melted into one easily digestible and thoroughly enjoyable package! This is easily in my top 10 metal albums of the year! Hopefully “What We Leave Behind” doesn’t get left in the shadows of Nordic giants Amon Amarth on October 2nd…

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