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Review by Felix on June 29, 2025.
Skyforger – first of all, I want to express that I am truly happy to know they are back. Ten years without a new full-length from the very respectable representatives of their homeland was a long time and I feared they would never return. But here they are with “Teikas”. The booklet lets me know that this word means “Folktales”. Thus, the band presents some mythical stories from their country. No doubt, this approach guarantees a very well-fitting concept for this patriotic horde. Thankfully, the booklet also explains the Latvian lyrics in English and so we get both authentic vocals and an idea of the lyrical content. This is exactly how it should be, at least in my humble opinion. But to continue with the positives, let’s scrutinise the production. The sound of “Teikas” blows a fresh Baltic see, strong, tart and full of energy. It’s a pretty clear mix, forged with a lot of passion. All instruments (including the comparatively exotic ones like bagpipes, mouth harp and, little joke, bass guitar) contribute to the muscular appearance of the album and the mature, very male vocals do the same without marginalising the instruments. No one needs to love the musical content of “Teikas”, but a metal fan who does not appreciate this production is, forgive me for being so apodictic, no metal fan at all.
In terms of harshness and vehemence, the powerful 'Dieva Suns' marks a perfectly representative opener after the stage-setting intro. The tension is palpable from the outset, the partly galloping guitar lines are almost smooth, but the drummer and the lead vocalist contribute the necessary basic heaviness. A well-introduced break leads to a mild yet great solo part – in a nutshell, everything fits. So now that we know the middle of Skyforger’s road, let’s take a look at the edges of the path. Their most brutal album is “Latvian Riflemen / Latviešu Strēlnieki” and tracks like the unleashed 'Spēlmanis' harken back to this work. Skyforger are able to vary their style without losing one iota of their credibility and this is probably the most crucial factor for the fact that “Teikas” does not spread any kind of boredom. The almost 55 minutes go by far too quickly, although in 40 years of listening to metal, a playing time of 45 minutes per album has proved to be ideal for me. This is partly the “fault” of 'Rex Semigalliae', another adventurous high-speed grenade which tells us a destructive story from the 17th century. Don’t be fooled by its lenient intro; it is just the prelude to hell. No doubt, this demonic eruption belongs to the highlights of “Teikas”. I must also mention 'Lietuvēns' in this context due to its wild, disturbing rhythms and its partly dystopian mood.
On the other hand, we have 'Mājas Kungs' with doom-like, extremely heavy riffs, but a mild folkloric solo part. 'Svētbirzs' even goes one step further. For my German ears, it lies in close proximity to the better songs of the medieval rockers In Extremo. The serious songs of Korpiklaani also come to my mind. Anyway, the bagpipes and whistles dominate some sections of this lugubrious, slow-moving piece. The polyphonic singing at the end underlines the sadness of the song. But let’s get back to their most typical pieces. The band has developed a kind of signature riffing which is shown at the beginning of 'Velnakmens', to give but one example. Their most personal riffs combine almost light yet never happy melodies with an intrinsic depth and a north-eastern flavour. But no matter which approach the band picks up, everything leads to amazing results, not only because of the more or less perfect balance between Pagan sounds and black metal magic.
The compact 'Pelīte', a nice, non-folkloric and direct kick in the teeth, and 'Vecie Latvieši', a number that combines pleasant harmonies with pumping yet not dominant guitars, bring an album to the end which is nothing less than the best work of the Latvians so far. Ten years without a full-length are a very long time, but at least they have used it to create a really fantastic output without any filler. The artwork also fits very well and so I really do not have any serious point of criticism. But even a grumpy German is allowed to praise sometimes, right? So best regards to Riga – if you return in five years with an equally strong EP and in case that I am still alive, I am sure that I will enjoy your music one more.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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