Heathen Foray is a Austrian viking metal band that formed in 2003 and have released two albums to date. They play more of a melodic viking metal as the guitar and keyboards help to craft the melodies. Rather than growls they've got kind of a raspy screaming thing going on and it works well. There first album, The Passage was solid as I really enjoyed the instrumentals and transitional high and lows (ancient secrets is a great example as it has a very epic feel). Armored Bards was there second album and right away you'll notice the difference in clarity between the this and the previous album. While remaining very melodic the inclusion of folk tones was an added surprised as the passage had an crusty edge musically. It was a decent album, though I preferred the previous as it kinda felt like they were trying to do a rehash. The vocals are kind of an acquired taste so you are forewarned, but if you haven't heard The Passage at least give that a go.
Album Quality:
The Passage (2009) - V0 MP3 / VBR
Armored Bards (2010) - V0 MP3 / VBR
