Sebastian Komor - Vikings, Thrones & Dragonbones

Needless to say that when a man with a name that is recognized fairly well throughout the scene signs his own name to release an album, it's pretty much given that the album will be delivered on an epic scale. And, that's exactly what Sebastian Komor did. Tracing home to his Norwegian routes and allowing the pure Viking rage that ebbs in his veins come forth in a legendary way; step back to enjoy the pure, breathtaking scale of Vikings, Thrones & Dragonbones. Released as a digital download only, this ten track album collects eight original tracks from this man's mind, as well as two remixes to end off the album in a friendly bout.

Ginnunga comes in first, demonstrating a good feel of what's to come. With a bit of a build up among a little rhythm, the tone sets in well. As the electronic beat pours in with a healthy dose of bass, nice lines straight from a Viking opera take the stage. It's like Vikings of a forgotten age somehow discovered electronic music, and decided to create a powerhouse of sound for war.

Next up I was lured straight into a Dragons Lair. A nice amount of tones that suggested ill-omen and a fight for the ages rang in my ears. It's sort of odd how the song goes straight from such an epic tune to a fairly standard electronic sound; the piano touches, though slight as they are, were nice. But, I think if this song stuck with the slower notes rather than becoming more of a dance track, it would have ended off better.

Fallen Warrior was a fantastic dark ambient sounding track, filled with several random noises, the sound of a marching drum far off in the distance. A somber piano melody is played to enact a depressing mood, and the atmospheric, yet pressuring noise that sent us off just had an overall grim tone to it. Very well done.

Vikings On Parade continued on with some classic sounds, more hopeful, more admirable than the previous song. As if some great victory was to be heralded. That was for about half the song until a pretty hard electronic rhythm came aboard and through away all that was built in the first half of the song. I didn't understand why this happened, as it sort of ruined the mood, however, when the classically touched sounds combined with the electronics, it made for some really damned good moments in the song.

Angels Do Exist started off with some wicked electronic work, a nice steady rhythm pounding out with various notches here and there, and it broke off at around the fifty second mark into some really nice piano work. I found it awesome how he transitioned from classical piano music right back into more electronic keyboard riffs; I think that was the most exciting moment of the song.

Piano Overture In The Key of Grape provided an alright session with just classic slung out key notes, while a bit of a drone note laid beneath the surface. Not the most exciting thing in the world, but definitely something worth checking out.

Camels N' Monsters began off with some nice and decent chimes, a nice little build up with a mischievous ring into the synth backed rhythm that awaited just around the corner. A bit standard, but enjoyable to the ear nonetheless.

Right before heading into the two remixes, Lament came in with sample works and a bit of ambient sounds. Continuing on with the ambient sounds, piano work approached shortly after, the samples still going off in the background, and the synths got louder and more dominant as the song went on. It was pretty beautiful, and I loved it.

The remix of Vikings On Parade by Apollyon's Visage changed the positive vibe from the orignal into that of a more somber sounding track. The originally led synths do make a comeback in the mix over the ambient sound that prevails, and sort of makes it sound even better, with drum work to compare next to it. The final few minutes of the song hammered down on heavy atmospheric sounds, and was wonderful. Plus, they got rid of the random electronic sequence that sort of ruined the original, and that gave this remix bonus points.

One of Komor's other projects, Komor Kommando, gave a self indulged remix of Angels Do Exist. The two minute intro gave off ambience and piano work, while the rest of the song came out with a decent EDM fueled dance track. It was a nice way to let the album off, and quite a surprise to find on this album.

However, once all is said and done, I come off this album both impressed and equally puzzled. This album is one of those pieces where there are stands of genius littered everywhere, however, it's just not pulled off in the best manner. Practical nautical Viking antics and mythology blasted into an album that intends to play with the themes just sounds amazing altogether. However, where I found it hard to enjoy would be the division that was created between both classical sounds and the newer, harsher electronics that were well done, just not very well integrated into one another. I think that if he were to have combined the epic sounds with the harsh electronics completely instead of having it go on and off throughout the album, this could have been something not just good, but grand in every sense of the word.

However, the slower pieces, such as The Fallen Warrior, Lament, and the remix done by Apollyon's Visage were the highlights of the album. This man has absolute magic in his fingers, and he's using it well. In order to slam home this new sound, it just needs some tweaking, and it'll all be golden. Aug 18 2014