Down to the ancient gorge, they descend to the river. The warrior band part the reeds and take the skin boats out to the ships. The lutes play a farewell. They then take the ship to find the source of the scream which has begun to reverberate against the steep cliffs around them. The echoes are disorientating. The men get into the rhythm of their rowing, and the ship captains begins to sing.
lyrics
Row! Our arms like twisted trees. Spears - that hunt the dead sun's scream
Though the road is long, and the night denies
We have strength to set the sky alight
Pull on the oars! Row hard upstream! Follow the scream!
We have put our faith in our hands, and the gods will help you for that.
Watch the swoop of crow, silent sounds of deer
We have strength to bind the night with fire
( The boats glide to a resting place beneath cliffs riddled with cave entrances. This is the source of the screaming. The youngest lad, Barton, reaches for his sword. Thane puts a hand on his arm, and silently bids otherwise )
supported by 6 fans who also own “Song of the Oar”
This has been staple listening for me since I first got the CD in 2006. Raw but not to the extent that it is unlistenable, the riffs are heavy and memorable, with each song having it's own identity.
Wartooth's vocals are certainly a highlight of Bretwaldas' sound. Rough and gritty, in the best way, as he snarls out lyrics about Dark Ages warriors, heathenism and nature. If you can imagine if Lemmy was a Brummie and sang on an early Black Sabbath album then you're getting somewhere near the sound of this Midlands duo.
This album is class from beginning to end but if I was to have to choose highlights I'd go for album opener The Haunted Ride, Iron Skies (a song of two gloriously different halves) and Beneath the Eaves. The latter appeared on a CD with Zero Tolerance magazine way back and was the undisputed stand out track on there. Grimslath