Review: Wulfgar - With Gods and Legends Unite

After true proven wicked success of their first two demo releases, the Swedish Viking death metal daredevils, Wulfgar, have returned and roared in the New Year with their debut signed release, With Gods and Legends Unite (Kampas Records). Five rocker warriors, speaking to the audience with less destructive representation of "axes," "hammers," and "attitude," Wulfgar definitely offers a fresh definition of heavy metal with like comparison of their musical instruments to instruments of war, emotions, elements, and characters personified in each song.

Viking death metal typically uses folklore and myth as a launching pad for each song to take off from, but Wulfgar has deeper imagination and a collegiate approach to lyric writing. Middle English literature, once driven by heroic code, shows up in traces of Wulfgar: Defend your leader to the death. Your battlemates are your brothers, and you will take a sword for them. Survival through cowardice is worse than death; it is better to die with honor. These and many more rules the early warrior lived by are depicted deep inside carefully crafted heroic couplet rhyme scheme - and let's face it; the sound is awesome, too!