I will openly admit that Nordic Ritual Folk is not a style of music I have had much (any?) exposure to, but I won’t let that stop me from talking about this little compilation released on the Leidungr Bandcamp page. My Facebook friend Torgny Neofolksson has been kind enough to tag me on some recent releases from Leidungr and others practicing in this genre. My overall takeaway is these artists seem to be using ancient Scandanavian culture, lore and, perhaps, some old pagan rituals as inspiration for their music.
Puissance is a Swedish group (Henry Möller and Frederik Söderlund) that has been putting out music since the 1990’s. This particular release is a compilation of four of their songs from a couple 7-inchers, plus a bonus remix. “A Call to Arms” is a great example of what I’ve been hearing dipping in and out of the Leidungr page; it includes elements of classical choral, goth, piano and electronic keys, military drumming and spoken word rolled into one awesome, inspiring track that will get you ready for battle. (It’s also here in a remix form.) ”Religion of Force” starts off quietly like a lost Joy Division song, but builds up into something heavier and, at times, a bit experimental. Meanwhile, the last two songs deliver what could be a theme song for some epic film (“Transgression”), and some dark and haunting soundscape music (“Biological Waste”), maybe for that same movie soundtrack.
Even though these songs are not necessarily a fast tempo, you may still find they will get your energy up to face challenges ahead. Great compositions all.