Týr

Live at The House of Blues

West Hollywood, California

April 2nd, 2013

Review and Photos by Travis Baumann

Týr join us for Paganfest IV and give us an awesome show. I have seen these guys play quite a few times but this has to be one of my favorite sets they have done, touching upon many of my top songs.

Týr promote themselves as a heavy metal band that at times do pagan styled music influenced by traditional songs from their homeland but on this particular event they really focused a lot of the set on these types of songs.

They started the set out with "Flames of the Free". This is a great song that comes from "The Lay of Thrym" album.

"Tróndur Í Gøtu " was up next and while I don't speak the language, this song is really moving. You can feel the historical context just in the intonations of the four men joining their voices.

One of the many aspects of Týr that make them so enjoyable is this choral effect that they use on many of their songs. It is apparent that multiple voices raised in harmony have a powerful magnitude to them that elevates songs in the Pagan Metal genre in general as it is an often used theme. Týr use it to perfection .

They continued the set with one of their non-traditional songs but a poignant one none the less as it addresses the stigma of the past with "Shadow of the Swastika". This song illustrates their modern metal sensibilities as well as their intellectual look at our world today.

Up next is one of my all time favorite songs of theirs, "Hail to the Hammer". This song is very much the epitome of Pagan Folk music, it is not the harsh, growled variety that some bands perform, but a very melodic tale that seems to pull you back in time.

"Ramund Hin Unge" is another song sung in their native tongue. Týr hail from the Faroe Islands which lie in the ocean between Iceland and Norway, due north from the northern most point of Scotland. I imagine in times of the Viking this was a harsh and hostile land.

They played another one of my all time favorites, "Regin Smiður" which perfectly illustrates the choral effect mentioned earlier, all four men joined in harmony (and in their native tongue) really impacts the listener despite not being able to translate the words. The impact and emotion of the song are very strong and this was one of the songs that first endeared Týr to me.

They have two "hammer" songs and tonight we got both of them. The song that I tell nearly anyone wanting to check them out is "Hold the Heathen Hammer High". It is a very fast but not harsh song and the chorus is very catchy. It reigns as a Pagan Folk Metal anthem for me and is a great encapsulation of everything I love about Týr.

With multiple bands yet to go on this night of the Paganfest, their set was drawing to a close. They gifted us with one more song, the title track of their latest offering, "The Lay of Thrym". It was a great show and really stood out from the other bands in terms of style and sound.

I love Týr and cant wait for them to come back and give us more but for tonight, I could not be happier with the experience.

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