Varang Nord, a heavy metal band from Daugavpils, Latvia, have been variously described as ‘folk metal’, ‘Viking metal’, and ‘pagan metal’, and, in their musical arsenal they include heavily distorted guitars, growled death metal style vocals, as well as symphonic elements and even accordion. In the band’s words, their songs ‘praise a mighty battle, a bloody sacrifice to the Old Gods and a joyful northern feast with endless mugs of ale.’ Their latest album, Mygla, was released at the end of 2025.

The band, made up of Maksims Popovs (guitars, vocals), Jeļena Kaļniša (accordion, vocals), Valērijs Solovjovs (guitars), Vjačeslavs Janens (percussion and drums), and Ņikita Kobcevs (percussion), was formed in 2014 and Mygla is their sixth studio album. The group also won the Wacken Metal Battle in 2019.

Mygla continues the bands musical expansion and evolution, incorporating more melodic and symphonic elements in their songs, most of which are sung in the Latgalian language of eastern Latvia.

Kaļniša’s accordion adds a distinct musical element to the band’s sound on songs like ‘Ašņa Ausma’, a song about a battlefield after the battle is done, and the accordion blends with the rest of the instruments to create a vivid picture of the former battlefield. The melodic accordion introduction of ‘Moldu Dīvs’ gives this song about the ancient gods still being present a kind of musical link to a past time. The song also features clearer vocal harmonies, and one hopes that Varang Nord further explore these kinds of vocal arrangements.

Varang Nord describe themselves as being ‘from the cold woodlands of Latvia’, and many of their songs reference forests and include themes of nature, such as on the evocative title track ‘Mygla’, with its descriptive lyrics about a fog descending and the spirits being all around.

For the music’s orchestral elements, the band worked with composer and arranger Yuri Borin, and the added strings add an additional layer to the songs, for example in ‘Vylku Bors’, the orchestral introduction provides an ominous atmosphere to this song about an encounter with a pack of wolves. The extended orchestral outro on the song ‘Ziemeļu uguns’, which concludes the album, gives this song an epic atmosphere and brings the album to a satisfying conclusion.

‘Shrooms’, which features vocalist Alex Under, a song about a seemingly unpleasant experience with hallucinogenic mushrooms, does not quite fit stylistically and thematically with the rest of the songs, but is still another attempt by the band to expand their musical and thematic horizons, but perhaps not as effectively as on the other songs.

The growled, guttural vocals may not be to everyone’s taste, as it is not really possible to understand them without having the lyrics handy, but the group’s expansive musical palette still offers much for the listener to enjoy.

With their unique blend of metal music, pastoral and battle themes, orchestral arrangements, accordion sound and lyrics in Latgalian, Varang Nord have established a distinctive style and powerful sound that is woven throughout the songs on Mygla.

For further information, please visit the Varang Nord Facebook page and Bandcamp page.

Mygla

Varang Nord

2025

Track listing:

1. Mygla

2. Ašņa Ausma

3. Trokais Pļāgurs (feat. Janis Dregeris)

4. Moldu Dīvs

5. Shrooms (feat. Alex Under)

6. Pūrs

7. Vylku Bors

8. Dīvu laiks (feat. Lesley Knife)

9. Tymsa īt

10. Ziemeļu uguns