The oft-disputed subgenre of Viking metal is something I’ve always found hard to define in metal. Is it really a subgenre or just slightly blackened folk metal? Whereas Enslaved, Falkenbach and maybe Månegarm are sometimes referred to as being viking metal, I think Ereb Altor actually really encapsulates—I don’t want to say the sound—but the essence and idea of viking metal really well. The Swedish band is, much like the famous Christmas goat, based in Gävle, a town that’s definitely not pronounced how you think it is. The band’s new EP Eldens Boning features only four songs so that means we get to focus on each and every one of them.

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