Review Summary: Another winner from Estonia's Tharaphita. More mature and dark than predecessor Primeval Force, with even more viking elements and truly epic moments. Play this next time you go into battle.
There’s something in the water in Estonia, and it seems to be infecting the pipes at Nailboard Records’ headquarters. How else can one explain the dozen or so decent to excellent bands of all genres currently signed to one of the coolest success stories in recent heavy music history? (According to the official website, the label sold more than 1,000 copies of its first release in a nation of around 1 million people. No small feat considering that Britney Spears’ best of compilation has only sold around 300 copies.) And better yet, how did this success seem to happen overnight (the label has only been around for about three years now)? Well, for starters, the powers that be at Nailboard have been signing bands like pagan black metallers Tharaphita here, who, in turn, have been crafting excellent albums like Iidsetel Sünkjatel Radadel.
And while the album deviates from previous album Primeval Force’s thrashed out German vibe (think Kreator if they wore corpse paint), it’s all the better for it. Heaps and heaps of melody greet the listener with intro/title track “Iidsetel Sünkjatel Radadel,” evoking a decidedly Thyrfing-esque Viking metal epic feel that settles its longship upon the album’s shores more than a few times. The melody (both electric and acoustic) is exactly what Iidsetel Sünkjatel Radadel’s 2005 precursor needed, and thankfully Tharaphita has delivered on all of this album’s tracks. The German thrash is still there, as are the double kick driven battle hymns like “Vahkturm” and the perfectly placed ballad “Surmatalv,” which acts as a sort of median between the two halves of this short (under 40 minutes!) but nonetheless massive full length.
Though it’s not the best black metal album of the year, Iidsetel Sünkjatel Radadel is guaranteed to sate the wearers of war paint and corpse paint alike. Yet another great album to tack on to Nailboard’s growing list of solid releases.
