Reviewed by Ian Webber

Folk metal is a genre that may be new to some, but this title describes Oskord's music down to a tee. Having been formed from the remnants of Holy Blood, 'Weapons of Hope' is a polished debut that combines jarring metal with ethnic Ukrainian folk elements in a unique fashion. At times sounding medieval, there are influences of Jethro Tull and other progressive rock bands. The flowing instrumentation of the "Intro" is brutalised by the addition of some heavy guitars and the delivery of vocalist Grigory Nazarov in the following track. Growling and rasping he chews his way over the top of some intricate flute and whistle work. There are hints of black metal as he spits out Russian language lyrics with venom. This is really an interesting listen that is full of surprises that usually work well together. I did find the addition of clean vocals sitting at odds with the aggression of a couple of tracks such as "The Serpent Of Brass", but Oskord manage to pull the various elements of their music together surprisingly well. With crisp production, all facets of the album's instrumentation can be picked out, including the solid drumming and tight riffing. Oskord have picked up where Holy Blood left off and will appeal to fans of Slechtvalk and other Scandinavian metal outfits.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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