I got To A Golden Age, the debut and only album from French viking/death/black metal band Asgard as part of a box deal with Transcending Records.  Back in October of 2017 the Chicago based label, online store, and distribution center suffered a massive amount of damage from a storm, and this “surprise box” deal was one way of supporting them.  So I got 10 CDs, a ton of stickers, and the feeling that I was able to help just a little to ease the burden of a small independent label.

I had this to say originally when I included it in a post about the box set I got for Nine Circles:

The French viking/death metal outfit only released one full-length in 1996, but it’s a grimy, blackened attack on the senses.  Atmospheric keyboards give a foreboding presence to the title track, but make no mistake: the emphasis here is on making sure your head never stops banging and the old school sound and rough production adds just the right amount of “TRVE” to make this a great dive into the field of battle.

Listening back today the production REALLY does this band no favors, but I found something in the music, something that I want to try to incorporate into the music I’m writing for Necrolytic Goat Converter.  We’ll see what happens.  Nevertheless, there’s some fun to be had here if you can sift through the really rough production.  The band takes a lot of thrash and early groove death influences, but that’s wrapped in some black metal sheeting and a healthy dose of viking “rah” to make you want to hit something.