Emyn Muil – Turin Turambar Dagnir Glaurunga (Northern Silence Productions)

Monday, 28th April 2014
Rating: 7/10

Yet another one-man band understudy of Summoning, Emyn Muil takes their brand of heavily Tolkien-inspired atmospheric, folky black metal from pretty close to the source.  Turin Turambar Dagnir Glaurunga (Turin Turambar, slayer of Glaurunga) was initially released in 2013 and is now getting a proper label release through Northern Silence Productions.  Similar also to fellow Northern Silence mates Caladan Brood and Ered Wethrin, fans of either band are almost certain to latch on to this one (they will be releasing a split with Caladan Brood later this year).

Emyn Muil’s strength is that of its epic atmosphere brought to the table in each track.  Sure, the same could be said of any band mentioned in the opening paragraph, but Emyn Muil’s seems more cinematic in scope.  The keys tend to carry much of the music, not the guitars are slacking, but it feels like they are more responsible in leading melodies and moving the songs forward.  Listen to a song like “Path of the Doomed” and you can hear how much weight the keys have.  Depending on your preferences with this will ultimately determine how much you enjoy Turin Turambar Dagnir Glaurunga.

Problematically, Emyn Muil’s greatest strength also sometimes brings about its only real weakness.  With the weight on the keys, sometimes they lack the dynamic range or feel a bit samey sounding.  Some points also feel like they just go on for a wee bit too long, like the four-minute instrumental “Gurthang.”

Despite a few small missteps along the way, Emyn Muil still manage to build an enjoyable, epic atmosphere to Turin Turambar Dagnir Glaurunga.  Certainly these little rough patches will be honed in on with newer material, and for a debut things are solid.  Through their synth use, they’ve escaped the Summoning clone label and could be a band to keep your eye on.

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