Helfahrt

Sonne Hagal is a German experimental and neofolk group.
Kim Larsen (Of the Wand and the Moon) provides guitar and vocals on track 5 'Raidho', and Andreas Ritter (Forseti) plays accordion on track 11 'The Runes Are Still Alive'.
"After some vinyl releases Sonne Hagal, a neo-folk formation from Germany, now delivers its first regular album. And Sonne Hagal is immediately promoted to the highest division! They have created twelve neo-folk pearls, that compete with the best acts in this field. The first song, ‘Memory, Hither Come’, directly has a lot of atmosphere, through the warm voice and the strings, reminding me of Of the Wand and the Moon. Speaking of this Danish act, Kim Larsen has added guitar and vocals to the excellent track ‘Raidho’, a bit further on the album. Andreas Ritter of Forseti also contributes to two tracks of “Helfahrt”, with vocals and his typical accordion.
Acoustic guitars, fine strings and pleasant vocals are the main musical ingredients. Sonne Hagal plays a traditional style of traditional neo-folk. ‘Song Of Experience’ for example, reminds of classic Death in June. But the music on this album never sounds boring or stale. Therefore the sound is too fresh and the melodies too good. There is also a good variation of uptempo (”Midwinternight’, ‘Futhark’) and slow (’Song of Innocence’, ‘Raidho’) songs on the album. Most lyrics are in German and deal a lot with runic themes, according to titles like ‘Futhark’, ‘Midgard’ and ‘The runes are still alive’. (Funprox review)"