I love folk metal when it is done well. If you have figured me out at this point, you know that any metal that appeals to me most does its core elements exceptionally while adding in good variety, technicality, and some uniqueness. I was introduced to Australia’s Valhalore earlier this year not long after they released their sophomore album, “Beyond the Stars,” 8 years after they released their debut (with an EP and a handful of standalone singles in between). I gave it a cursory listen and enjoyed it, but I moved on to other things. It probably didn’t help that I was obsessed at the time with the brand new Eluveitie album, my personal standard for epic folk metal.

Fast forward a few months, and I am planning a trip to London. I am excited to discover that Aephanemer (who I have never seen live) is playing when I am there, and lo and behold, Valhalore is not only supporting them but playing Europe for the first time ever. I return to their April release to prep for seeing them live, and now I feel like an idiot. How have I not been listening to this all year? This is incredible symphonic folk metal, with a cinematic quality, great dichotomy between brutal growls and fantastic melodic cleans (and wow those harmonies!), fabulous use of flute, other woodwinds, and strings to add that folksy feel, and metallic power from the guitars and drums. You can definitely see influences from the likes of Eluveitie (the harsh vocal sections remind me a lot of Chrigel), but this is less intense from the death metal aspect and a bit more melodic, while taking on a different shape with more focus on woodwinds as the primary non-traditional instrument. They do a great job with contrast across the album, including well placed shorter instrumentals that pivot the course between songs in an intelligent way and almost break things up into subsections. The songs are super catchy with memorable melodies, and I find myself getting lost in their infectious tunes. The song flow is incredible, and the album is such a great listening experience.

The album starts out with the cinematic instrumental opener “Life,” which makes me feel like I am roaming around Morrowind, taking in the surroundings while wondering what I might encounter. This flows perfectly into “Edge of Forever,” one of my favorites, with a driving metallic folk melody that features fantastic flute over guitars. The clean vocals sound so big and epic, and the chorus is phenomenal, layering in some growls for added effect. The throwdown like transition featuring growls over a flute driven melody bleeds into a killer guitar solo, before finishing out in grandiose fashion.

“The Storm” starts with a beautiful picked guitar underbelly with a soaring flute, emulating a brooding storm, before things kick into high gear, with a heavy melody paired with brutal vocals and background choral vocals. A brief transition featuring clean vocals and guitar breaks things up temporarily before reprising the chorus, leading to an incredible flute solo that also features some strings work. It is a fabulous ride full of technical prowess and amazing musicianship. “Within the Fire” has a big intro and does a great job melding driving melodeath and folk melodies, even bringing in some thrash vibes with occasional gang vocals. The chorus is quite memorable and doesn’t appear until halfway for the first time, and then transitions into a cool folksy breakdown. The symphonic choir ending is bombastic and serves as a nice segueway into the short but gorgeous piano/strings instrumental “Dusk,” which reprises that choir melody before having the listener enter The Shire in “Wayfinder.” This is the first true slow song on the album, with a beautiful picked guitar melody and incredible woodwinds and strings. The song takes its time building, finding majesty at just over two and a half minutes. There are only clean vocals on this song, and they are so emotive and just hit perfectly. The song placement is perfect, allowing the listener to breathe and take it all in before driving ahead again.

Your ears get more folksy melody with the alluring sound of water in another short instrumental, “Dawn,” flowing into another favorite song, “Horizon.” Valhalore makes great use of dynamics and tempo shifts, such as growls and blazing blastbeats before stopping on a dime and treating your ears to an epic harmonized vocal feast. This song has so much variety, with a consistent folk melody, plenty of heft, killer melodies, and technical proficiency. “The World Between” rounds out my top 3 songs. I particularly love the melodies throughout, and the chorus is an absolute earworm that stays lodged in my brain. The heavy parts are fast and furious while still melodic, there is nice use of dueling vocals, and the symphonic folk elements add a lot of depth, including reprising some previous choral parts. The proggy instrumental break is super cool, as is the extended guitar solo with supportive woodwinds. The dynamic contrast in this song is used well, adding richness and depth. It honestly feels like it could have been the album closer with its big epic feel.

But no, there are 3 songs to go. You get another short folksy instrumental in “Aether,” which has a beautiful melody and sets up “Heart of the Sea,” which starts out with amazing vocals from previous Eluveitie female vocalist / hurdy gurdy player, Anna Murphy. The song has a big feel, staying mostly mid-paced with anthemic clean vocals from Murphy and Valhalore, but sprinkling in some heavier sections and great guitar and flute work. The album closes with “A Walk Among the Stars,” and much like “The World Between,” it has the feel of a closer and is a great track to end on. Big anthemic cleans, fast blastbeat-driven sections with flute-focused lead and growls, subdued acoustic sections with emotive cleans–this song has it all. It navigates its various layers well, stitching together a fabulous song that is bombastic and cinematic.

This is a fabulous album with rich depth and fabulous melodies while not compromising on the heavy. If you like folk metal at all, and even if you don’t, you must listen to this.

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