Reviews

Maelstrom zine (www.maelstrom.nu)

Cor Scorpii - Attergangar
Reviewed by Roberto Martinelli June 2006.

Windir’s demise at the death of its leader, Valfar, has now been pretty well romanticized and documented. At least the band bowed out at the possible height of their creativity, no doubt further whetting the collective appetites of Windir-supporters for someone else to take on the Viking metal mantle.

As far as carrying on the torch of the now-defunct Windir, Vreid just isn’t working out. Sorry. Even in its own right, that band’s material is far too one-dimensional and half-baked for its or anyone else’s lasting good.

Let there be another. Cor Scorpii is definitely a more worthy choice. Made up of Windir’s keyboardist, lead guitarist and drummer (who’s also in Vreid), along with three guys who have had no connection to Windir until now.

The skinny is that the four-song Attergangar demo is essentially a continuation of Windir’s work, 100 percent. Ok, sure, you can nitpick here and there, like saying that the keyboards sometimes take on a more romantic or even Gothic flair now and again, and that the arrangements aren’t quite as good as Windir’s, but it’s the same animal: the same style of melodic chord progressions, the same sort of "Heathen pride" approach to the application of classical scales and harmonies, the same penchant for long melodies and songs, and the same flavor of interplay between harsh vocals and choral clean sections.

The existence of the triumvirate of Windir-related bands is fraught with irony. For one, the band that should be satiating bereft Windir fans is schlepping its music through CDR demos, and the band that isn’t cutting it is signed to Candlelight Records and has pro production, which is is certainly the biggest chasm between Cor Scorpii and Windir.

The even more curious aspect about Cor Scorpii is that, for all of its undeniable similarity to Windir’s last album, Likferd, no one in the Cor Scorpii lineup is credited with having written any of Likferd’s material, which was co-written by Windir’s bass player, who is in... yeah, Vreid. Weird.

So be it. If you wish there were more Windir albums, fully embrace Cor Scorpii. That’s one of two benefits this band presents. However, it’s best if you don’t even try to differentiate the two – it’ll just lead to feeling like you’re listening to a clone, which isn’t necessarily fair. Is this is the music these Norwegians have in their hearts, then let ‘em run wild. The other benefit? You can stop trying to like Vreid.

7,5/10
 

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