Review by Felix on June 27, 2024.

Ha, it took three days, but now that I have found the “Ú” in my laptop, I can start to write the first review for (yes!) Úlfarr’s first length. At the same time, I beg your pardon that the review is not written in Old English, although the lyrics of “Orlegsceaft” revitalize this form of English. But my modern English is bad enough and you can get a review in Deutsch if you really want, but not in Old English. So it goes without saying that I cannot say something about the lyrics, but there is another language I understand – the language of black metal. Úlfarr celebrate it in its purest form with hardly varying, extremely raw vocals, they reduce the style on its essentials, they perform their songs passionately and the artwork sends greetings to "Blasfemia Eternal", the strong Ancient Rites album from 1996. Is there anything else one can demand? I don’t think so.

Just take the sinister high velocity devastator called “Trollblót“ (needless to say that I needed two further days until I had found the „ó“). Its flow is nearly perfect, because it has such a natural feeling that it has to be exactly the way it is. The smooth yet hellish approach of the song is as irresistible as the best flowing tracks of Darkthrone on „Ravishing Grimness“ (which is a great work from my point of view) and the riffing is also not too far away from this album. The riff after the break at 4:20 is not only absolutely fantastic, it also underlines the affinity for Darkthrone as well. Due to the nearly absurdly throaty vocals, there is also some „Transylvanian Hunger“ represented in the sound of Úlfarr – I can definitely imagine worse references. Or put the focus on “Wælgæst wæfre”. (Hooray, I had used “æ” already before, it was no problem to find it!) Its seven minutes are filled to the brim with aggressive, explosive eruptions. But there are also nearly thoughtful sections and they and some mid-paced parts develop depth and despair. The song shows impressively the talent of the band to give its songs the right quantum of melodies and, even better, the guys are able to write very strong, expressive melody lines.

Admittedly, “Orlegsceaft” does not consist of highlights exclusively. Some tracks are robust and solid without meeting the highest expectations. They do not lack substance and show no signs of obvious weakness, they just have to accept that they cannot fully compete with the best tracks here. So one can sit down with a good drink and press the start button or guide the needle to the record – there is no song that will hurt the comfortable scenario. The production is also nothing one has to fear. I do not know whether there is some national black metal guide line, but the sound of the album is comparable with those of Frosten’s and Hellvelyn’s debuts. Nuances are missing, maybe the guitars could sound a bit sharper, but come on, it is a pretty simple yet adequate and vigorous sound. Unfortunately I cannot hear the bass guitar, but I am not able to say whether this is a weakness of the production or a consequence I have to suffer after more than 40 years of metal consumption. Either way, Úlfarr’s full-length debut continues the sound of their EPs and deserves respect and attention.

Rating: 7.8 out of 10

Review by JD on November 19, 2010.

I love the works of Stephen King for most of my reading life. Perhaps the reason why, is that he is the literary equivalent of Death/Doom/Black Metal. For me, that is not even a stretch to imagine.... a good story that scares the living shit out of you is amazement in my books. Ready for a scare? Cryptic Tales is the one for you, and this band is even more scarier than any of Mr.King’s writings.

Black Metal is all about telling a tale of deepened darkness, abomination of the soul, pain, and of Satan... and not in that order. In the world of powerful Black Metal today I am thinking that Poland’s Satanic sons Cryptic Tales are of the best of the newer bands out there. They have taken insight and lessons from previous band and then make it all of their own.

Atmospheric, powerful and unquestionably darkly powered Cryptic Tales abhorrent tales let the masses hear Satan’s messages in all of his hate-fuelled glory. Songs like ‘Purgatory’ and ‘Set The Unholy Icons Free’ say exactly that -and much more as every malevolent word speaks the darkest of truths. It is raw, unrelenting and completely sadistically evil.. where the words send you to the places that archangels fear the most.

The band is great, and the raw production helps their brand of Black Metal to achieve this evil of vibes with delicious depravity. Cryptic Tales must be heard to be enjoyed. It’s fun to be scared... and this is some serious fun.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 8.5
Originality: 7.5
Overall: 8.5

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Wiley on January 30, 2010.

Black Metal... pure, unadulterated, 2nd generation Symphonic Black Metal. This is not to say this disc is inherently bad. In fact, to the contrary, this disc is well produced, coherent, tight, and would be a prime example of the stereotypes cemented by Dimmu Borgir and Borknagar circa 1996-2000. This might be why I am having such a hard time with this album. One can grade Black Metal based entirely on generation and time, however it does seem that around 2000 was where Black Metal finally nailed the coffin shut on this particular style - and for good reason too. But we will leave that for some other debate.

The vocals are the requisite slime throated scrape, note the Dimmu Borgir - "Spiritual Black Dimensions" movement on the guitars and fluid synth strings, drums with credible Nick Barker-esque bashes (though considerably less triggered sounding than any of his stuff), and bass that presents clear and tight like it should - you get an idea of exactly what is presented. There is a little disappointment in the keyboardist's use of patches, besides the strings (which are quite full); all other patches are weak from the piano to the silly harpsichord. The vocals also present with very little variation, where they probably could have carried with a little more genuine flare. Bottom line - if you are going to play Black Metal cultivated from this time period (and a decade late at that) you better do a damn phenominal job or you are going to get lost in the shuffle.

As previously stated this disc is not bad, it's just dated. Cryptic Tales could be contenders, if we had a time machine and could jettison this album with the band back to 1997. It's a shame to say that too, as I can tell they are truly feeling what they are doing. This is what they want, it's just nothing new, nor very inventive.

The package art itself is well thought out, rendered grayscale with a figure appearing from the background that looks in fact a little like Hellboy with Swampthing's skin leering at a stone angel below. This is very representative of the work contained within. Given that, the wardrobe has got to go. The band drape themselves in all manner of gothic crap on the back cover with expressions I hope are flooded with sarcasm, because... it's just goofy. The inner booklet photo is equally mismatched, like Saxon meets Cradle Of Filth. The rest of the cd art is very appropriate, but that does nothing to help the misfortune of the band photos.

Overall - props for effort, but your boat left the dock a decade ago.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 6.5
Atmosphere: 5.0
Production: 6.0
Originality:3.0
Overall: 4.0

Rating: 4.9 out of 10