Viking metallers THYRFING are back after a five year wait with their best offering yet. These Swedes, who’ve been on a sonic rampage since 1998, have always flirted with epicness, but De Odeslosa is the band’s magnum opus. Everything good on previous THYRFING albums is present here, but with the added polish of great studio mixing and mastering courtesy of Jens Bogren, who’s worked with KREATOR, AMON AMARTH and OPETH. The album opens with an orchestral flourish on “Mot Helgrind” that quickly launches in to a mid-tempo onslaught epitomizing everything right about this LP. The listener gets epic orchestral keys, folksy acoustic guitar, a haunting male chorus, furious riffing and an earth-rumbling bass line. After the first track, listeners should have a good idea of what to expect from the rest of the album. The songs have a nice cohesion from track to track and I never felt bored during De Odeslosa’s 45 minute running time. If there’s one complaint I have, it’s that, like all THYRFING’S previous efforts, the lyrics are in Swedish. But really, who cares? You don’t need to know what a horde of berserkers are saying to know they are here to destroy you.