Reinvention is a difficult process for most bands. While the creative aspect of their work often draws artists to create music that inspires themselves, the dilemma faced when considering whether to continue down the path already known, or the one less travelled is often too much for many acts. German melodic death metal artists Varg have faced a similar conundrum recently, deciding to not continue down their current path and instead have returned to their roots with their latest album Zeichen.
It’s very easy to see why there have been a few years between Varg’s last studio release Das Ende aller Lügen and Zeichen. While the music still has the heavy guitars and catchy hooks that fans are undoubtedly craving, the band’s overall style has embraced a more pagan appeal. One need only to look at the film clips released so far to see that the band has cast aside its identifiable red and black body paint and tattered stage garbs for a more stripped back blood splatter and minimalistic body armour reminiscent of pagan times. This visual transformation on its own is nothing new, but when you combine this with the shift in the band’s musical direction, it acts as a vivid representation of the band’s overall transformation.
It’s not a difficult transition for them though as Varg’s music has always had a sort of pagan/folk vibe to it. While the earlier releases leaned very strongly into this style, the band somehow transitioned to heavier offerings that leaned more towards melodic death metal with their fast-paced shredding and barrelling percussion over their later releases. While their music may have become heavier, the band has always maintained an aspect about them which has embraced a more pagan and naturalistic style of metal. Zeichen remains true to this heritage, taking all the best aspects of their last decade and blending them with a genre that the band has always had a strong connection with.
Album opener “793” starts off strong, with its softer acoustic introduction subverting expectations before launching into an aural onslaught that barrels along at a breakneck pace. It’s the perfect opening for the album, and really sets a great time of what’s to come. The second track “Schildwall” will see people drawing very strong parallels to Amon Amarth, with its frenetic riffs and Schildwall cries, before anthemic track “Auf die Götter” draws listeners in from its opening note with a fist-pumping riff and catchy chorus harmony. This track really has everything in it, including an acoustic interlude, so it’s not difficult to see why the band has opted to use this as one of its singles leading up to the album launch.
It’s around this point where you realise that while the vocals haven’t changed much over the past decade, lead vocalist Freki manages to strike a brilliant balance between his shrill screams and deep growls into this offering, never deviating too far from what the listener would expect. The vocal surprise, however, comes in the form of newest member Fylgja who gets some very important showcase time during the tracks “Rán”, “Fara Til Ránar” and the title track “Zeichen”. While it seems quite abstract in blending such a calm and soothing voice as an opposite to the harsh nature of Freki’s vocals, it adds another dynamic which has helped differentiate these songs amongst the band’s back catalogue. Without the stylistic change on this record, it’s unclear if such an addition would have been as successful, but with the way the band has tailored their music on Zeichen, Fylgja’s addition is a more than welcome addition.
These tracks lead on to melodic masterpiece “Wildes Heer” which is perhaps one of the best examples of how the band has morphed their sound. It’s the overtly catchy choral hook is bound to have the most conservative listeners bouncing along, but the dark, grim and slower middle section of the song makes it the perfect marriage of the band’s past and future.
But with that being said, the slower nature of subsequent track “Feld der Ehre” does seem a little out of place in comparison to the rest of the album. That’s not to say that it isn’t good, but the slower pacing just feels a little different to everything that the album had offered up this far. However next track “Wanderer” brings the pace back with its bleak guitar tone invoking strong black metal vibes.
Penultimate track “Verräter” sits as the longest track on the album, with the band making great use of its duration by building from a strong starting position and transforming over its runtime, before title track “Zeichen”, closes out the album with its choral overtures and ambient pacing.
While Zeichen isn’t an album that is going to take over the world, it is an album that will move mountains for Varg and should continue to grow their profile and expose them to a greater audience. With the broadening of their sound and their unique take on pagan metal that is booming at the moment, the band is well-positioned to enter a new era in their career. Zeichen might be a deviation from the Varg that many know, but reinvention is never an easy thing and is very rarely done successfully, and if any band was after a template on how to do it successfully, then Zeichen is where they should be looking.