It took about 3 seconds to confirm everything I had heard (and that you probably have as well) about Otyg - this is complete and total Storm worship. And I don't mean this sounds a *little* like Storm - we're talking the whole nine yards - save for the inclusion of violin, mouth harp, and some sort of flute like device (no skin jokes please), this is about as close to Storm as anyone could get (any closer and you would just have to assume it was Satyr and Fenriz adopting new handles to mask themselves). Reviewing this is almost pointless : if you liked Storm, you'll like this, if you hated Storm, you will hate this (and if you haven't heard Storm, you should have your bowels prodded with a nine iron). Now that I've gone on about how completely similar this is, I'll point out the very minimal differences : the guitar sound is cleaned up quite a bit, but not to the point where it becomes flaccid...female vocals are quite minimal (I can only recall 2 songs in which I even noticed their presence), and the violins are sometimes on par with the guitars in overall volume, making for a more atmospheric, but less intense listening experience than the classic Nordavind CD (of course, the mouth harp & flute also changed the atmosphere a bit, but not as much as the violin)...and lastly, the overall production is quite a bit cleaner, but much like the guitar sound, not to the point where it robs the music of it's energy.

And that about wraps everything up - recommended for Storm fans...period. I will say this though : almost everyone I have spoken to has said this was superior to Storm - I don't know if this was based on anti-Satyr feelings, or a genuine enthusiasm for this release, but *I* personally feel that the Storm CD is a superior product - this CD IS more atmospheric, but personally, the dirtier, more energetic Storm sound strikes more of a chord with myself...but then again, to each their own...

© 1998 chorazaim