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VIKING QUEEN
Hail To The King

Sentralforlaget (2023)
Rating: 8.5/10

This release is of Norwegian origin and boasts some of the best epic heavy metal you’ll hear this year. Hail To The King features ten tracks which emerge from the fjords as well armoured battalions that somewhat act as a throwback to the strong Swedish scene of the mid-80s.

With no frills, Viking Queen is just powerhouse heavy metal glinting with steely delight and responsible for thunder claps everywhere. There are no trends here, just good old fashioned fist pumping anthems by the drove, and all led by the commanding vocals of Francis Lecquian who assembled his merry band to march across fens, moors and mountains armed with guitars that act as shields, and drums that boom throughout the ashen sky.

Oh how wonderful it is to behold such gimmick-free metal as opener ‘Fight For Glory’ casts great shadows on the horizon like a magnificent black horse mounted by a steel rider. These are the sorts of images that Viking Queen conjures up and it’s far from being cheese-ridden power metal. There is an unintentional level of doominess present throughout this organic thunder n’ roll as great strides are made with each booming instrument.

The twin axe attack of Robert Hoffstæter and Andreas Willhelmsen are the driving force behind this opus where thick rumbling riffs enable prime cuts such as ‘Punishment’, ‘Shadowhunter’ and ‘Berzerk’ to stand out from the crowds, especially when the leads fizz through. Coupling monolithic melody with bombastic power plays, the album ploughs great furrows as Izzy Prat’s drums lay down concrete foundations for the brilliant ‘Freedom Is Illusion’, the soaring ‘Valhalla Can Wait’ and the slow burning ‘Flight Of The Valkyries’.

Hail To The King is grandiose and majestic and yet sandwiched within the album is the fleeting yet fiery ‘Attitude’, a short but electrifying rock n’ roller of a track which is a fine example of the band’s ability to strip things back and knuckle down to some swagger. This is a top quality outing that keeps the Scandinavian fjords bubbling and the banners of old flying.

Neil Arnold

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