I didn’t get off to a very good start with Graveland. The classic albums, which are fawned over so much, hit me with a resounding “meh”. I have gone on to develop an appreciation for albums like Thousands Swords but some of those early records are still so laughably bad that I cannot to this day understand what all the fuss is about.
Mid/latter period Graveland however, has u-turned my scepticism around the group and solidified me as a fan of Darken’s music. The hat trick of Creed Of Iron, Memory And Destiny and now Fire Of Awakening has sealed the deal. Darken and his legions were on something of a roll in the early 2000s. Production is not hugely different here nor is the style of songwriting, but the tracks are just phenomenal, especially album closer “The Four Wings Of The Sun” (mmm I wonder what they could possibly be talking about there), which is probably my favourite Graveland track to date.