Short Reviews [Gate - 2004 - "Iselilja"]

Back with their second full-length album in 2004, the band were by now brimming with confidence on the back of hitting #1 in Norway with their debut, winning a Grammy, and playing many live shows, and straight from the off it shows. “Fredlysning” has double tracked violin to give it more depth, but in many ways that is just a taster as on the next track “Sja attende” the guys really start to open up, which allows Gunnhild to either be at the front in total control, or at the rear with wordless workouts. She sounds as if she has been fronting the band all her life, and she challenges those around her to keep up. This is a song I have found myself returning to often, as it contains so many elements I enjoy, and show many of the more well-known folk metal acts that they have a lot to contend with. I did find myself surprised that this album has been around for some fifteen years, but this is the first time I have come across this, and if it wasn’t for my good friend Olav, I still would know nothing about these guys. “Knut Liten og Sylvelin” is one of the traditional folk numbers they perform, but I can guarantee there aren’t many versions like this out there. Gunnhild starts on her own, and a repeated riffing guitar joins her, a violin is scraped in the background, and gradually the rest of the band come in. This isn’t a new trick, Deep Purple probably copyrighted it nearly fifty years ago, but it is certainly effective. Gunnhild was really making a name for herself by now, and the attack on the likes of “Du som er ung” again belies her young years, and perhaps it was no surprise that this was the final studio album from the band as they broke up after its release. By this time, they had released three EP’s, and two incredible studio albums but was that going to be it?