Focus 2009 7

Coming from a Black Metal background, their first full length, while already hinting at their fable for Doom Metal and Progressive Rock, shows yet more focus toward the Viking Metal elements in their unique style. The rich songs on this album incorporate the powerful, aggressive potential of their Black Metal roots with their trademark clean male vocals and melodic lead and acoustic guitars into a seamless whole, an album that effortlessly floats between powerfully pounding parts and a relaxed Viking-like campfire atmosphere, with additional progressive elements fit in wherever they add to the wonderful mix. In short, The Flight Of Sleipnir showed right from the start what gifted musicians they are and any fan of their later efforts will certainly love "Algiz + Berkanan" as well.

The men behind the European downtempo outfit Zero 7 – producers Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker – launched their careers in the music industry as tea boys at a London recording studio. Shortly thereafter, however, both were in the thick of action, working alongside a string of well-known British musicians such as the Pet Shop Boys and Robert Plant. They spent the best part of the '90s honing their production skills behind the scenes. Then, after taking on the name of a nightclub in Honduras, the duo gradually began unleashing their own ideas onto an unsuspecting public.