As strong of an album Tyr’s 2009 LP release “By the Light of the Northern Star” is, the greatest characteristic isn’t from their music but rather from the broadened scope of their subject matter. Typically, a folk metal band will focus solely on their homeland for material and inspiration. For Tyr, the covered area isn’t restricted to just Denmark and the Faroe Islands, but also Norway, Ireland, and Sweden. These broad strokes of color mirror the songwriting approach, too, for although the arranged melodies remain authentic, they are not always the center of each song. The end result then becomes more general than specific, and those simple and straightforward blasts of heavy rhythms and basic melodies augment the aforementioned traditional material very well.

Musically, their sound is deep and robust on the low end while in the higher registers it is more crisp, clean, and polished. Because many of the songs are rhythm oriented, the solo work scattered throughout stands out prominently (“Into the Storm”, “Hear The Heathen Call”, and “Turid Torkilsdottir” to name a few). The best song on the album could be “Ride”. The Irish folk influence gives the tune a jaunty feel and the sub chorus ascends and doubles times smoothly into the very catchy refrain.

There are variances between songs, too. Some songs are original works (the two “Heathen” songs). A couple tracks are sung in the native tongue (“Turid…” and “Trondur I Gotu”). “The Northern Lights” features acoustic guitar and the appropriately named “Anthem” is an instrumental cover.

Unlike other practitioners of folk metal, what Tyr accomplishes with “By The Light Of The Northern Star” is the adding of folk flavor in their music rather than strictly adhering to the original designs of folk at the expense of its metallic definition. Knowing the details of the music’s heritage isn’t required to appreciate and enjoy what is in the end very likeable material. As creative as the concept is, the metal remains true. Tyr’s “By the Light of the Northern Star” is thusly a successful work of folk metal art.