Looks like I haven’t done one of these since the last time I saw Panopticon live! I’ve just returned from another incredible weekend in Minnesota in which I not only got to see their tour-closing homecoming show in St. Paul with Exulansis and Primeval Well — two bands you should definitely be checking out in addition to the one below — but I got to imbibe some fantastic beer from Austin Lunn’s own Hammerheart Brewing Co. I won’t be doing a show review this time, but let’s dive in with more black metal and brews with Seid‘s Hymns to the Norse and Herbstklagen.

The Tunes: Seid — Hymns to the Norse

Hymns to the Norse is the fifth full-length from Swedish pagan black metallers Seid, who on this album take some classic black metal sounds and infuse them with folky melodies, yet without going full-on folk metal in the process. These melodies often present themselves in the form of lush, high-register atmospheric leads — the intense reverb applied regularly transforms their sound into something otherworldly, like a chorus of trumpets heralding a great host straight out of Asgard. Softer moments in tracks like the extended opener “The End of Days (Monolith II)” and “Light Up the Sky” break up the blackened romps with ethereal clean guitars, continuing the lush sound and drifting a lot closer to a blackgaze sound than most pagan black bands would dare to.

Seid’s biggest asset is the drum performance of Pär Johansson (also of Craft), who elevates the rest of the band with frequent rhythmic changes and small, but effective flourishes that really brighten the overall sound and make the music feel less repetitive than a less-skilled drummer would. Hymns to the Norse is additionally aided by a pretty raw, but organic production that has a very “live in-studio” feel, the opposite of totally polished and overdone like a modern folk-inspired band might do. Seid aren’t breaking any new ground with this album, but if you’re looking for epic, grandiose energy without an entire pagan symphony then I think your thirst will be satiated with Hymns to the Norse.

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The Booze: Hammerheart Brewing Company — Herbstklagen

Herbstklagen was the only Hammerheart beer I could find in stores during my trip to Minnesota, and like every other beer I’ve had from the brewery it did not disappoint! This smoked festbier — named after Waldgeflüster’s first album, with Austin Lunn’s artwork inspired by their logo — is brewed annually for Oktoberfest with beech and cherry wood-smoked malts, with a deep amber color. As with every other smoked beer I’ve had (all which are courtesy of Hammerheart, of course), the smoky taste is the first thing I notice. Still one of the best tastes to find in a beer! Further down the line it has a full, malty taste with some very light fruity notes to finish it off, with the flavors revealing themselves more and more as the beer warms up from being in the fridge. I’ll be perfectly honest, Herbstklagen is probably the least flavorful Hammerheart beer I’ve ever tried… but that still places it miles higher than what a vast majority of craft breweries are doing. Their beers are just that damn good. Their distribution only seems to be happening in Minnesota for the time being at least, but if you find yourself in the land of a thousand lakes you owe it to yourself to seek some of their beer out. Your taste buds and soul will thank you.

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Cheers, and be good to each other

— Colin