SuidAkra - Realms of Odoric

There's a genuineness to their music, steeped heavily in the world of Celtic folklore and warfare (although I could swear there's a sitar that makes occasional appearances). The sound of the record is in constant flux. There's a battalion of different voices from verse to verse and song to song. Growling, clean, male, female, spoken - - it's all here. There are some fast-tempo moments when the Metal side really breaks through, but otherwise, the strongest pieces are the quieter, more cinematic pieces, which evoke imagery of armored horsemen shrouded in mists, atop rolling green hillsides. The final few tracks on the album do an excellent transition from their best heavy stuff to two quiet, powerfully moving songs: ‘Cimbric Requiem’ and ‘Remembrance’. Aside from these, ‘Pictish Pride’ is a good energetic one from the earlier part of the album, if a tad bit hokey.