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As a taster for their new album, Norway's established Viking horde Helheim have blessed us with this little nugget, the mead-slurping Asgards Fall, over thirty minutes of sword-slashing mayhem. I say mayhem, but actually much of this EP is subdued, falling somewhere between atavistic Black Metal and prog-tinged folk, with slow, almost doom like acoustic sections amidst some hypnotic mid-paced darkness. The production has high aspirations, and it does get a good atmosphere going, but sometimes the sound is a little too clear for the muddy but simple guitar work, though there are still moments of interest. In the closing sections of the title epics, they try some solos out for size, which really add something to the otherwise plodding sound. Clean vocals in the dirge sections bring to mind Moonsorrow, but on the whole this more Prognan and Skyforger than anything else.

It's not overly exciting until the last two tracks, which pick the pace up a little (one of them is a re-recording of "Jernskogen" from their Blod & Ild album). These are quality cuts of battle-themed Black Metal that let the blow flow with chopping double kicks and caustic riff work. Not for everyone, but worth checking out if you're a curious genre buff.