Hildr Valkyrie - Revealing the heathen sun (CD)

"In a large step towards female empowerment in the male dominated world of metal, Hildr Valkyrie - the namesake of the band - who is based in Greece, is seeing a grand re-release of her second full-length record of folk/Viking metal "Revealing the Heathen Sun" originally released in 2017. Going into this album and seeing that the band is a self-proclaimed one woman outfit, HILDR VALKYRIE seemed like it may lack finesse, but I experienced quite the opposite on "Revealing the Heathen Sun". The album begins with the rather mundane "The Primordial Sky God" which revels in repetitious Celtic folk chanting tradition. But the sound of thunder rumbles in for the introduction of "Over Lands, Mountains and Shade" and ushers in a droning, nearly symphonic metal track that hits you by surprise that soon settles into a more folk/Celtic track ala Viking Metal. "We Are Heathens" leans heavily toward power metal at the start but drops out for a piano melody interlude halfway through the song. By now, you may get the feeling that the style is a bit all over the place and you wouldn't necessarily be wrong in assuming that. Valkyrie herself has admitted on her Facebook that she writes music based on what her soul decides and so, the result is a giant melting pot mix of several styles. You'll even hear both screaming black metal and more death metal vocal stylings on some of the tracks." (metal-temple.com)