Review of "Aus Der Asche" by Saltatio Mortis

Medieval rock with a twist.

I don't want to step on any toes here, but let's just get this straight once and for all; I don't find t

Discography
Aus Der Asche	2007.09.03

he German language particularly beautiful. When spoken it can sound rather nice and even cool at times, but when used in songs, I tend to cringe a bit due to the rather harsh sound of certain sch- and ch-sounds.
With that out of the way, I can take heed to write a bit more serious and fair review of what's offered by the German (duh) band Saltatio Mortis on their epos Aus Der Asche.Napalm Records tend to characterise them as medieval rock, and for once, I have to agree with their genre-pinpointing. The songs are upbeat in mostly mid-tempo, with clean vocals underlinining melodies that are both happy, catchy and strong at the same time,
while a bagpipe always lurks somewhere in the background. The opening track Prometheus is a strong one, while others seem to suffer a bit from rather repetitive chorus-lines, and a general similarity between the 13 songs offered.

Here we're closing in on one of the main problems of the album, it's simply 10 minutes too long. Had it been all over after 40 minutes instead of 50, I could've maintained my interest all the way through, instead of finding something else to concentrate on around track 8 or 9. Now, I reversed the playlist a few times, starting at the last song, as to check if the material is as strong all the way through, and sadly I found that the first
3-4 tracks are indeed by far the strongest of the lot. Not a phenomenon I'm unfamiliar with.

I haven't the faintest idea as to what the lyrics deal with, since my knowledge of German is rather scarce after 4 years of slacking around in high school. However, I both snicker and shudder at the same time,while hearing the band singing "Uns gehört die Welt". Hey, just don't go there, hmkay?

I guess I kinda like what Saltatio Mortis do here and there, though some of the melodies feel a bit too sugar sweet now and then. The album is highly recommended for parties though, if the crowd is right.
If you like folkish heavy metal with melodies that'll stick to your brain, you might as well check 'em out. It's not the best thing in the world, but it's far away from being the worst.

Rating: 65/100

Written by Ole Kristian Mastadøy

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