![]() A final note is that fascism has a definition, and that definition is not “racist.” It strikes me as very weird that researchers (from Europe no less) would conflate the two. Racism is rooted in deep, cultural constructions of race that do not and have not simply dissipated and that are currently used by anti-immigration parties. Further, we should all be careful about claiming that racism is a thing of the past, or implying that racism was born or died with Nazi Germany. That said, I still think that one needs to be very careful when claiming that one’s political position as “apolitical,” particularly when one’s culture is used to support claims of “biological race,” which much of the nation-state in Europe has been supported by. I was unfortunately “clueless” about the situation myself. To this, Týr and Moonsorrow released a video rebuking the claims of fascism. The German Berliner Institut für Faschismus Forschung (Berlin Institute of Fascism Research) had apparently been circulating information about the bands on the Heathenfest tour as fascists. Apparently there was a lot more to “Shadow of the Swastika” than I realized.Don’t come in and argue about ‘white guilt’ with me. Tracks to Check: ”Mare of My Night,” “Grindavísan,” and “Fánar Burtur Brandaljóð” are my favorites. No pooches were screwn in the making of this record. Hell, even the cover art ranks among my favorites of the year. It will not only give you your Viking metal fix, but it’ll be one of the most addictive records you hear this year. If you haven’t checked out Valkyrja, you definitely need to. It’s not easy to do power metal in 2013 and make it sound interesting and original. Valkyrja is not only a triumph of writing, but of taste and performance. It’s chorus loaded, but the verses do a great job of getting you want to go (see: chorus-loaded), with the occasional bursts of brilliance from the guitarists-who actually seem to prefer an Iron Maiden kind of two guitar approach rather than a Malmsteenian guitar solo orgy like a lot of modern power metal bands. #BLOOD OF HEROES TYR PROFESSIONAL#The writing is slick, professional and heavy. Tracks like “Blood of Heroes,” “Mare of My Night,” and “Grindavísan” all show the interested listener what’s good about these guys. Though, of course, the vocalist shouldn’t get all the credit here. Heri Joensen lifts what is great writing and ties the very manly, metal bow on an addictive and enjoyable record. Instead, his voice is powerful and clean like the Gjallarhorn signalling the end of days. He has none of the baggage of David Coverdale worship or German thrash that so horribly mars the performance of tons of what would be otherwise excellent bands and that is so avidly worshiped by tasteless power metal fans everywhere. What’s cool about Týr is that while you can dump them in “power metal,” they have the Viking metal undertones and, maybe most importantly, one of the most non-cliché metal vocalists in the genre today. And that cautious optimism was turned into real fandom when Týr pumped out some of the best songs of their career on Valkyrja, with driving drums and slick riffs, they make the power metal geek in me jump for joy. While I found their earlier material to be a bit underwhelming, The Lay of Thrym started to change my mind about these Faroese Viking types. While they’re unfortunately clueless about issues of privilege and racism, which caused me to feel a bit of a negative crankiness in their direction (Angry Sociology PhD Student™ and all-) 1 2, I have still had a hard time ignoring their incredible growth as a band. Týr is a band that has been getting better with every record. Well, those of you who watched are going to finally get your review. Possibly the greatest of these oversights this year was Týr’s Valkyrja, which was so good that I made it a Record o’ the Month for September. But, unfortunately, this means that some big records I stepped up to review never got reviewed. As the one is-and will hopefully lead to-gainful employment, and the other is an avocation, you can probably understand that I have been working hard at the former. In fact, having become an Angry Sociology PhD Student™ has taken away precious time from my blogging gig. As an Angry Metal Guy, I have truly been off my game this year. ![]()
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