Brothers of Metal - Fimbulvinter

Angry Metal Guy 70

While very, very few metal bands can please the entire Holdeneye family,¹ goofy and trve Swedish power metallers Brothers of Metal have the distinct honor of being a staple soundtrack for our family road trips. Nothing brings me more pleasure than driving a winding mountain road while Mrs. Holdeneye unconsciously and sincerely sings along while Brothers of Metal frontshieldmaiden Ylva Eriksson belts out the chorus to a song like “Powersnake.” I first fell in love with the band’s 2017 debut, and when 2020 saw these skalds releasing Emblas Saga, one of my top ten(ish) albums of that year and a much-needed bolus of epic levity for surviving one of the strangest years in human history, I became a wholly devoted fanboy. Thus, upon hearing that Brothers of Metal had third album Fimbulvinter in the works, my anticipation swelled until it was on the verge of catastrophic rupture.

If you’re familiar with Brothers of Metal at all, you already know how most of Fimbulvinter sounds, but if you aren’t, the band’s core sound is a very straightforward version of modern power metal (think Sabaton and turn-of-the-millennium Manowar) with some strong folk elements thrown in. Thick, muscular guitars lay the groundwork for most of these tunes, but the true magic occurs in the firmaments above this foundation, as the band’s songwriting prowess and musical talent clash in a storm of pagan lightning. I’ve embedded the video for the album’s epic closing title track because it shows each and every member of the band at the top of their game, demonstrating the ease with which Brothers of Metal can elevate an ostensibly simple musical style into something great.

These Swedish pagans can swing back and forth so quickly between musical styles and between the outright silly and the authentically serious—sometimes within the same track—that it can induce whiplash in the listener, and while some may see that as a downside, I see this diversity as a major selling point. After warming us up with two very good, if standard, power metal tracks, Brothers of Metal strike while the iron is hot with heavy bruiser “Giantslayer,” a song that never loses its deadly edge despite some hilarious lyrical interjections. I love the juxtaposition between songs like “Rivers of Gold” and “Nanna’s Fate,” tracks that could comfortably fit on one of Eriksson’s Good Harvest²³ albums, and “Berserkir,” a contender for my 2024 Heavy Moves Heavy playlist. And when Brothers of Metal casually drop a track like “Heavy Metal Viking,” country/rock bands across the US are all blown away like a shot from a gun—if you haven’t seen this video yet, please do so now.

The secret to Brothers of Metal’s success is twofold. First, they make music because they have fun making music, and the principle of trickle-down rockonomics passes that fun directly on to the consumer. The band’s genuine enjoyment of the songwriting process is infectious, and it takes a style and presentation that could easily feel gimmicky and lends it a satisfying authenticity. The second secret to their success is Ylva Eriksson. She’s simply a world-class vocalist, and over the course of three full-lengths, plus the aforementioned Good Harvest records, she’s become one of my favorites of all time. My one gripe with Fimbulvinter is that there’s just a bit too much of it. There’s certainly a great album tucked within its 57 minutes, but a couple of these songs, while still good, could have been axed to increase the album’s damage-per-second. That said, I don’t think I’ve encountered a 2024 album that has provided me this much enjoyment.

Based on the strength of their first two records, I had no doubt that Brothers of Metal would follow up with another offering that would be pleasing in Odin’s sight. Fimbulvinter won’t be every metalhead’s cup o’ mead, but at a time in history when societal anxiety seems to be reaching a fever pitch, I find music like this to be a soothing, calming balm. It’s comforting to know that when life overwhelms me, Brothers of Metal will always be there, standing together with hands in the air.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: AFM Records
Websites: facebook.com/brothersofmetalofficial | www.brothersofmetal.net
Releases Worldwide: November 1st, 2024

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