Band: STEIGNYR
Country: Spain
Title: The Legacy of Wyrd
Label: Art Gates Records
Year: 2021
Style: Celtic Folk Metal

Review:
Spanish Celtic Folk Metal quintet Steignyr return with their fifth full-length album after less than 2 years since they release the previous, and again on Art Gates which is impressive for a fine label-band collaboration in the underground. 14 (!) new tracks in 67 minutes of playing time is meaning the band is highly productive, and that should be awesome for its fans, but again like it happened with the previous album I find the mix of the album almost a total mess. Almost because there are some improvements, but throughout the entire album I got a feeling of unease because of the mix of the vocal part: there are three different vocals (growling male, clean female and soprano) most of the time, even more here and there, and although their tones are absolutely great (especially the main female vocalist could easily play good quality Pop music, she stands out) when they get all together it creates total chaos, their ensemble doesn't sound natural at all, on the contrary, it's so abrasive and mixed so in front of the instruments that it ruins the whole listening experience. It's even more frustrating because the band has some exquisite ideas and sounds, just listen to the rich guitar work, the traditional instruments or the epic keyboard backgrounds, and I have already mentioned the potential of the vocals, for an example play the track The Legacy of Wyrd where the female vocalist is left to handle it by herself and you'll be amazed. In my opinion this is one of the best Folk Metal bands around that is getting constantly and systematically undermined by a bad or unfit (however you want to take it) mix and it's a shame to say the least...
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 6.5/10

Contact:
steignyr.bandcamp.com
artgatesrecords.com