So this is what German folk metal sounds like, Die Apokalyptischen Reiter ('DAR') style. The first conclusion one can come to from listening to 'Riders On The Storm' is that the band are absolutely insane. No-one with a full grasp on reality could come up with such an album surely?

'Riders On The Storm' sounds like a cross between Finntroll and Turisas with a few bits of other stuff chucked into the mix. On the plus side, they demonstrate a great versatility in the instrumentation - there's a bit of everything including fiddles, church organ style keys, trumpets which give fifth track 'Revolution' a ska flavour, and I'm sure I heard a didgeridoo on the oddly-titled 'Mmmh'.

However listening to this album for me reminds me of A E Poe's 'Descent Into The Maelstrom', in that I don't want to go any further for fear of losing my mind. However curiosity pushes me forward, and I discover that it's a real mish-mash of styles and sounds, and it's just too, too much for me.

It has some of the drama of Turisas with Finntroll's mix of folk and black metal but unfortunately fails to live up to either of these bands. Although complex and dynamic, Turisas and Finntroll share a basic neatness in their composition which DAR lacks - it is quite a lot looser which brings it down in my opinion. There's too much in the mix - they're too different for me, I‘d rather listen to either of the above.

The plinky-plonky keys, trumpets, and changes in tempo and style left me wondering if DAR had actually decided on what their band was - it's got bits of prog, ska, folk, black, jazz - you name it.

They are distinctive in that they sing in German most of the time, which works well for much of the album - German is a very guttural language which DAR have used to great effect. And why shouldn't a band sing in their own language?

DAR's sixth studio effort will presumably appeal to fans of their previous work, but 'Riders On The Storm' hasn't convinced me to check out any of their other releases. It's not completely terrible, there's just much better out there.

**

Review by Amanda Hyne

Band website

Label website