Equilibrium

Waldschrein EP

Written by: MST on 21/08/2013 20:48:13

It's been three years since the German folk metal squad Equilibrium released any music. 2010's "ReKreatur" was a difficult album since it was the first after the band's former vocalist Helge Stang left the band along with drummer Manuel Di Camillo, but also because it followed 2008's "Sagas", an all time favourite of mine. Robert "Robse" Dahn was a decent replacement in the vocal department though, and although "ReKreatur" was a good album it paled in comparison to its predecessor. Three years after the release of that album Equilibrium are ready to release new music, but not a full-length album like many had undoubtably hoped for.

"Waldschrein" is an EP, and basically a bag of mixed goods that don't (necessarily) belong on a future full-length effort. It contains one completely new song (both with vocals and in shorter instrumental version), a re-recording of an old classic, a re-recording of an old demo song which has never been released before, as well as Equilibrium's cover of the main theme from the video game Skyrim. So for the crazed Equilibrium fanboy, there's definitely plenty of reason to get this release: the Skyrim cover (titled "Himmelsrand" here) has quickly become a live favourite for many, and the re-recording of "Der Sturm" from 2005's "Turis Fratyr" differs from the original not only because of the new vocalist, but the band actually play it different nowadays. The demo song, "Zwergenhammer" isn't really all that interesting, but the highlight of the EP for this writer is definitely the title track. "Waldschrein" is a great Equilibrium song, and one that could easily have featured on a full-length; the guitars and mid-tempo drums lay the foundation while the synths and keyboards make the song an energetic and festive track almost rivaling parts of "Sagas". It also surprises with clean vocals in the chorus which is something we haven't seen Equilibrium do before.

"Waldschrein" cannot really be compared to full-length albums because it's a collection of songs that are quite different, and it's hardly anything to get overly excited about, but the title track alone is enough for this to be a good investment. And for the Equilibrium fan plus Skyrim gamer, I guess it's pretty much a must have.

7

Download: Waldschrein, Himmelsrand
For The Fans Of: Finntroll, Ensiferum, Wintersun, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Listen: Youtube

Release date: 09.08.2013
Nuclear Blast Records

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