Scythia – For the bear

Canadian folk metal band Scythia released their latest EP “For the bear” at the end of September.  The stated aim of the EP is to give the EP the sound the band have live, so they’ve opted not to use any guest musicians or to use post-production sound effects and kept things simple.
Three of the songs on this EP were on the band’s debut release (Of war…), and appear here in a re-recorded and re-mixed form to make them more accurately reflect how the bands current lineup sound in concert.  As a result these versions are faster and heavier with more power and energy.

I really enjoyed the band’s last album (Of exile…) when I reviewed that, so was looking forward to hearing this new EP.    Comparing the two they are very different beasts – the album is more polished with more sound effects used (on the EP it’s only the first track that has noticeable sound effects), a slower pace, and more gentle interludes.  The EP really does have a live gig feel to it with a much more raw sound.  So they’re both very different, but equally have a lot in common – the songs are still the same folk metal songs, but as with most folk metal bands, when played live they sound much heavier.

Opening track “Sailors accolade” is my favourite track on the album, and while it’s still clearly folk metal it does have a nautical feel to it – almost Alestorm influenced.

A close second is “For the bear” – another excellent track and one that I can see being a great live song.

This is an interesting release – it’s not a live album, but it’s certainly got that live feel to it, so it’s half way between a full-blown folk-metal studio album and a live album.  It’s a great release though, and unless the band decide to tour Europe then it’s as close as some of us will get to hearing them play live in the near future.

A great release thats recommended for folk metal fans.

Rating: 8/10

Scythia are:

Celine Derval – Drums & vocals
Dave Khan – Lead vocals & Guitar
Morgan Zentner – Oboe
Terry Savage – Bass & backing vocals

Track listing:

1. Sailors accolade
2. Fierce riders of Scythia (remix)
3. For the bear
4. Black death  (remix)
5. Dies Irae Pt 1 (remix)
6. Mattawa reel
7. Video game medley