Sometimes you are amazed at how long a band has been building its way. Nytt Land caught the eye of Napalm Records a few years ago, which gave the band a record deal and Ritual increased the name of the band’s recognition in 2021. However, the band has been around for about ten years and is quite productive. I count about ten releases, including seven long players. Still, the band remained quite under the radar, but the band may have been able to ride on the success of Heilung.
After all, the concept is very similar. These Russians come from Kalachinsk, a stone’s throw from Kazakhstan, and mix Old Norse with Khanty, the tribal language from Siberia. An interesting combo that is of course linked to a suitable theme; in this case ‘Torem’ stands for ‘the great heaven’ where the ancestors reside and the souls of people and animals become birds in the form of a reincarnation.
Like those souls, you undergo this process best on Torem and don’t analyze it according to the standards of a metal magazine. Just like Heilung or Wardruna, it is about the pagan approach, the shamanic vibes and folklore ambient. If this mix is your thing, then you will go crazy to the music of Nytt Land. Compared to the older work, there is more cadence, although this duo focuses even more on repetition than other bands mentioned. Sometimes a bit too elongated, if you ask me, but not that it ever really gets boring. The instrumental layering and the interaction of ritual guttural sounds and folkloric tunes is wonderful to follow.
This produces a special result that is great to enjoy and also takes you on a unique tour through Eurasian ice deserts and endless plains. If Wardruna, Heilung or even The Wu manage to delight the masses at the summer festivals, then I can’t think of any reason why things would be different to Nytt Land. It already worked at Hellfest, among others, so ‘the great sky is the limit’.
Score:
80/100
Label:
Napalm Records, 2023
Tracklisting:
- Olenmet
- Nord
- Risu Raknar
- Johem Ar
- Manito
- Huginn ok Muninn
- Rise of Midgard
- Torem
- Iavel
Line-up:
- Anatoly Pakhalenko
- Natalya Pakhalenko
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