Review: Iomair – Fishing For An Apparition

Style: Folk Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Jazz Fusion (mixed vocals)
Review by: Mathis
Country: Canada
Release date: 18 March, 2022

I’m not gonna sugar coat it, I do not like folk metal. I imagine this is what people play in the car to get pumped up on their way to live action role play or reenact a war in a field somewhere. It makes me uncomfortable, kind of like how the kid in high school that always wore a trench coat made me feel. Sorry if you partake in LARPing or war reenactments, I am nerdy in other ways, like writing about progressive metal on the internet.

Here comes the plot twist, I actually really enjoyed some recently released folk metal! I have been familiar with Iomair for about a year now, and I appreciated their self-titled album. I listened to it maybe twice and then never again, and believe it or not that is some high praise. I knew they were talented, but Iomair wasn’t really my cup of tea. Fast forward to March 2022, I discovered they were set to release a new album titled Fishing For An Apparition. Ghosts, spirits, and the like mean nothing to me, but man-diggity, do I love to fish; the album artwork is epic too. I hadn’t even played the first single yet and I was hooked.

I am not totally sure of the order that the singles were released in, but “Gallows” was the first one I heard. This track is definitely my favorite, it’s light and upbeat with fun old time banjo and fiddle, but it’s also really aggressive in the vocal performance. These aren’t the heaviest screams you’ll ever hear, just heavy in comparison to the bluegrass music. Imagine a large redneck man yelling his head off, that’s probably the best description of what it sounds like. This song is great because of its composition and how well it is made, but I think what makes it even better is the surprise element. I don’t think of old time North American folk music when I think of folk metal, but now it’s what I hope to hear in folk metal.

Iomair are more than folk metal too, though that may be their primary genre. Jazz fusion is one of their more notable subgenres and can be found in most of the tracks on Fishing For An Apparition to some extent. “The Return of the Phoenix” really brings that jazzy goodness up on to the center stage, with an abundance of saxophone, and trumpets adding in some flair as well. Then there is “Motivation”, a song with a lot of that southern swing style. Trepalium is shaking in their boots right now. This track features the trumpet and sax too but they act more as support then the main act, giving the song more depth without having too many musical styles fighting for the spotlight.

Not every track is amazing, but every track is good for sure. “Last Buccaneers of the Scarborough Inn” is more traditional folk metal, with less fusion. It isn’t reinventing the wheel, but that is probably a good thing. Fishing For An Apparition is so varied in sound, style, and structure that it’s refreshing to have a few tracks that match the expectations of the genre. The final song “Homeward Bound” can probably fit into this category as well, it’s a little more extravagant and large than the other tracks but is more folk than fusion and doesn’t have any unexpected gimmicks.

Though I was disappointed by the brevity of Fishing For An Apparition with only seven tracks and a total play time of around thirty five minutes, it was a fun listen. I will undoubtedly relisten to some of the tracks throughout the year, except for the fact that it isn’t on Spotify and has limited listens on Band camp. I will probably purchase two or three songs, and ignore the others (I don’t like folk metal after all). I liked the album, and I am sure most everyone that likes metal will find something they like in it too.

Recommended tracks: Gallows, The Return of the Phoenix, Motivation
Recommended for fans of: Finntroll, Wilderun, Amon Amarth
You may also like: Sound Struggle, Trepalium
Final verdict: 7.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Infamous Butcher Records – Bandcamp | Facebook

Iomair is:
– Dylan Gowan (Drums, Compositions)
– Sam Astaroth (Vocals)
– Gabe Bateman (Vocals, Acoustic Instruments)
– Alex Zubair (Guitars)
– Mike Amicarelli (Guitars)
-Nathan Schiller (Guitars)
-Tyler Williams (Bass)