Hel’s Throne – Northwind Chronicles

Hel’s Throne
Northwind Chronicles
Label: Zoundr
Out: 1^st May 2026
Playing time: 44:02

I’ve been familiar with the German Symphonic Metal band Hel’s Throne since 2021. That was the year their debut album, ‘Ravens Flight’, was released. Shortly afterwards, the band answered my curious interview questions. Since then, there have been a few line-up changes; in particular, Hel’s Throne now have a new singer, Juli Blue. Their second studio album, ‘Northwind Chronicles’, was released in early May. As the title suggests, Nordic mythology once again serves as the inspiration for the lyrics.

The intro ‘Voices From The Wind’ is a bit unwieldy and takes some getting used to, mainly because of the rather harsh spoken vocals. After just less than one and a half minutes, however, you’ve got past it and the album kicks off properly with ‘Ragnarok’. And this track starts off with plenty of epic grandeur, but also with menacing growls from guitarist Christian Litzba. Later on, the guitars really kick in. Then you can hear the vocals of new band member Juli Blue. She sings with a pleasantly dark timbre. At the start of “Chains Of The Marsh”, you hear rough vocals and later more growls. The song is hardly any less heavy than the opener. Vocally, Juli dominates once again. The anthem ‘Last Ride Of The Valkyries’ starts like an acoustic ballad. Later, however, the guitars and drums provide some proper heaviness. ‘Over The Seas’ follows as another Metal anthem, with a melodic guitar part and driving drumming. Once again, the interplay between female clean vocals and menacing male growls can be heard. And as in all the songs, there is a powerful guitar solo. At the start of ‘Beyond The Dark’, the guitar seems to be singing. Later on, too, the musicians impress with beautiful melodies, repeatedly underpinned by powerful drums and heavy riffs. Well, given the song title ‘Way Of The Warrior’, I would have expected a hard, rhythm-driven track. Instead, we hear a beautiful, contemplative power ballad.In my opinion, the only thing that doesn’t quite fit is the spoken vocals accompanied by the drums. Next, we venture into the realm of the dead, ‘Helheim’, which is ruled by the goddess Hel, daughter of Loki (god of mischief, cunning, fire and transformation). Strings and dull drums introduce the song. The melody that follows, however, sounds surprisingly upbeat. This time, Juli sings in a more high-pitched range, which she also masters very well. The growls are then fitting for the title. The album concludes with a hard-hitting, rhythmic track, “The Prophecy”.

Yes, ‘Northwind Chronicles’ still features Symphonic Metal. However, it’s heavier than the debut album. This is mainly because Juli’s voice is much more rock-oriented than Rebekka Schulze’s voice. Naturally, her bandmates have to step it up a gear as well. I actually like this second album even better as a result. It will be interesting to see how the band develops in the future. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another four and a half years for the follow-up this time.

Hel’s Throne – Voices From The Wind: https://youtu.be/PnQIzZamPR4?si=becPJTI1rWw583Nr

Lineup:

Willy – Bass, Vocals (backing)
Andreas Ziegler – Drums
Jürgen Übermuth – Keyboards
Christian Litzba – Guitars (rhythm), Vocals (Growls)
Chrissy – Guitars
Juli Blue – Vocals

Track list:

• Voices From The Wind
• Ragnarok
• Chains Of The Marsh
• Last Ride Of The Valkyries
• Over The Seas
• Beyond The Dark
• Way Of The Warrior
• Helheim
• The Prophecy