:: Waylander - Honour Amongst Chaos

Waylander

It only takes one act that has had some success with something quite unique and different for the genre to become quickly saturated with an endless line of clones. Such is the case of the broadening Celtic/Pagan/folk metal scene over the last few years. Where once there were only a few trying their hand at the relatively untapped sound, there now appears to be a growing number of acts on the scene, with bands such as Finntroll, Turisas and Ensiferum leading the way for others to follow. Another band making their presence felt in the current scene is Irish act Waylander, who happened to be one of the movement‘s earliest founders alongside Skyclad back in the day, but soon disappeared after releasing two critically acclaimed full-length albums. Armed with a new line-up, Waylander return after a lengthy seven year absence with their third album 'Honour Amongst Chaos’. Unlike most of the newcomers to the Celtic/Pagan/folk metal scene, Waylander's sound is essentially rooted in the melodic death metal sound for the most part, with their folk influences being worked into the song structures.

What this essentially means is that musically, ‘Honour Amongst Chaos’ more than stands up on its own, rather than falling apart when the folk influences are stripped away. Both musical styles work seamlessly with each other throughout the album as all of the nine tracks are filled with huge blackened riff and exotic instrumentation, with ‘As The Deities Clash’, ‘Walk With Honour’, the epic ten minute centrepiece ‘To Dine In The Otherworld’ and the anthem like closer ‘Brú Na Bóinne’ the true stand outs on the album. A lot of today‘s folk metal acts drift too far into the cheesy side of things to have any real impact or longevity. But in the case of 'Honour Amongst Chaos’, Waylander have proven that folk metal can be powerful, without resorting to the standard cliché or corniness of the newcomers.