Brothers of Metal - Prophecy of Ragnarök (2017)

With macho metal legends Manowar singing on the last verse, it is time to look over the horizon and see if there are any other bands out there who can take over their crown as the most over the top, out of this world metal act of our age. There are certainly several candidates out there that has already lived out quite a career, but I might have found the worthy successors here in Sweden, a little band with the subtle name Brothers of Metal.

Just like Manowar, their sound is built upon epic power metal with grandiose choirs, sing along choruses, and confidence that almost cannot be measured. The only thing that really separates the two bands is that Brothers of Metal lays their lyrical foundation in Norse mythology, which seems really fitting since their town of origin is Birka, a very important city during the Swedish viking era. It is possible that they are not actually from there since the town is pretty small today, but the band live out their characters so much that I can overlook it.

Another thing I have to question is why this band is called Brothers of Metal when one of their singers is obviously a female. I am not complaining here, because Ylva Eriksson does a great job together with Joakim Lindbäck Eriksson and Mats Nilsson on the singing department, but I feel like this is gonna trigger some feminists out there. Oh well, this band does ultimately seem like a brotherhood, with a total of 8 members (three of them being lute guitar players!) cooperating in a great way. With so many minds in play, it can't be easy to create something cool without butting heads (just ask Slipknot about that).

Musically, it is pretty straight forward, with very few twists and turns. The music is most of the time catchy as hell, and they ride the Norse theme really well, even if sometimes they go out of their musical characters, which can be a hit or miss. A hit is definitely in the title track that has an intro that is more fitting in a Castlevania game, but it does pump up the intensity really well. One time it missed though is actually in one of my favourite songs, "The Mead Song". It is a great fun song about drinking, but a lot of the time it feels like they stole a lot of inspiration from the pirate metal band Alestorm (especially in that weird jig towards the end). Not too fitting, but it is fun, so it slides by.

And that is probably the best way I can describe "Prophecy of Ragnarök", it is a fun as hell album that is a little unfocused at times. The band needs some time to develop a stable sound that personifies them, but the foundation is certainly there, and the band knows how to create some great tunes and some good chuckles too. Not only do we have epic creations like "Son of Odin", "Defenders of Valhalla", and "Gods of War", we also have some more atmospheric songs like "Yggdrasil", and some blood pumping songs like "Siblings of Metal" and "Sleipnir" to bring some much needed variety. Yes, the album does get pretty corny from time to time, but it is nothing that you would not expect from an album like this. After all, you are here for the sing alongs, the over the top passion, and possibly the mead too. A very promising debut from the Brothers (+ sister) of Metal.

Songs worthy of recognition: Siblings of Metal, Prophecy of Ragnarök, The Mead Song, Fire Blood And Steel

Rating: 8/10 Sleipnirs

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