Jim Kirkwood Hammer of the North

Well there's a funny thing! Back in issue 6 I summed up the 'Yggdrasil' nine volume cassette release with "...a double CD culled from these would be an instant classic. Perhaps some day...", then up pops 'Hammer of the North'. Only a single CD though, so the question must be has Jim culled the "right" six? After numerous releases and inclusion on various samplers most should, by now, know of Jim's Gothic/Prog Rock keyboard style so let's get straight to this, his second CD release. The first surprise is that Vols 1 to 4 are omitted from the team selection along with Vols 7 & 9. "What! No 'Walking the Web', 'Wild Fire', 'Ice Flow' and 'Asylum..." I hear you Kirkwoodians cry! But there lies the rub. How do you cull 9 albums down to 6 tracks? (Unlike Schulze, who makes 6 tracks into 9 albums!). Opening with 'Mjolnir', from 'Sisters of the Web', this is a potent Wakemanesque piece with gutsy, if at times grating, slabs of lead synth and an infectious central theme. a good curtain raiser! 'Vanaheim', from the same album, enters with atmospheric structures and a variety of sequences before settling again for a more Prog Rock oriented stance - Paul Ward fans take note. It's a good "ballsy" outing ending on a beautiful baroque piano refrain. To me, if one track sums up Kirkwood (an awful slur I hasten to add!) it's 'Axeline', taken from 'The Age of the Wolf'. This is the showboat of what his sound is all about. A slow, dark, brooding opening combines with catchy sequence lines, playfully introduced. While the pot bubbles, ingredients are added until boiling point! The result is a Shreeve-style solid wall of chords and screeching guitar. Marvellous! Things cool down with a playful medieval passage, only to be confronted by the Shreeve-like refrain full in the face again! A work of art! Another 'Wolf...' highlight follows in the shape of 'Longships', a slab of solid sequences, thumping bass drum and a variety of leads sparring for the foreground. 'Weaving the Red Thread' from Vol. 6 (same title) is the full 19 minutes of part 1. For anyone into the TD 'Poland' sound, this is for you. A glorious array of sequences, mechanical bird calls and that "84 sound" Worth buying the CD for this alone! The final track 'Rhythm of the Fire', again from 'Sisters...', is coupled with 'In stone Carved', an incidental, to extend it just past the 5 minute mark and is much of the same... All in all then a success, and an ideal way to sample 'Yggdrasil'. Each track has its own merits and, unlike the tapes, no "padding" is included. Well recommended! Oh, and he even produces the cover art in the form of 4 suitably Nordic pieces. Is there no end to this man's talents?! I still think it warranted a double though... (Stuart J Harris)

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