Estuary may have only been released just a day shy
of a year after Beorn’s Hall’s first album, Mountains
Hymn, but it proves to be a broad expansion of the band’s pagan metal
formula. The black/folk metal style remains dominant, but the lengths are
noticeably longer. The songs are largely driven by cavernous riffs and distant
growls that are occasionally coopted by Summoning-style keyboards and extended
acoustic segments, but they get more room to explore.
There may also be some epic doom influence that hadn’t been there before. The rather muffled production job has as much in common with late 80s Candlemass or Scald as with the stereotypical trash compactor sound and the more triumphant riff work on the title track and “New Hampshire Rain” draws comparisons to groups like Solstice and Doomsword. Of course, this is still a predominately black metal record and there are plenty of songs like “Dark Wood-Black Marsh” more preoccupied with fast blasting.
With all this in mind, the album probably would’ve benefitted from a bit more polish. The rough production results in a muddy sound that can make distinguishing layers difficult and the mostly acoustic “I Know You Rider” ends up taking a hit for its buried presentation. The song lengths could’ve also afforded to be trimmed in spots; “Roads Go on Forever” is an excellent closer but bookending it with a Robert Frost recital and nature ambiance seems redundant.
Overall, Beorn’s Hall could still use a few tweaks, but their second full-length album is a definite step up from their debut. The band’s performances are solid, and this doomy black folk style manages to be endearing, even if it would’ve been better with clean production and tighter songwriting. The New Hampshire duo will likely stick to this gritty approach, but I can still hope for something even more developed in the future.
Highlights:
“Estuary”
“New Hampshire Rain”
“Roads Go on Forever”
There may also be some epic doom influence that hadn’t been there before. The rather muffled production job has as much in common with late 80s Candlemass or Scald as with the stereotypical trash compactor sound and the more triumphant riff work on the title track and “New Hampshire Rain” draws comparisons to groups like Solstice and Doomsword. Of course, this is still a predominately black metal record and there are plenty of songs like “Dark Wood-Black Marsh” more preoccupied with fast blasting.
With all this in mind, the album probably would’ve benefitted from a bit more polish. The rough production results in a muddy sound that can make distinguishing layers difficult and the mostly acoustic “I Know You Rider” ends up taking a hit for its buried presentation. The song lengths could’ve also afforded to be trimmed in spots; “Roads Go on Forever” is an excellent closer but bookending it with a Robert Frost recital and nature ambiance seems redundant.
Overall, Beorn’s Hall could still use a few tweaks, but their second full-length album is a definite step up from their debut. The band’s performances are solid, and this doomy black folk style manages to be endearing, even if it would’ve been better with clean production and tighter songwriting. The New Hampshire duo will likely stick to this gritty approach, but I can still hope for something even more developed in the future.
Highlights:
“Estuary”
“New Hampshire Rain”
“Roads Go on Forever”
Final Grade: B
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