Lord Wind - "Ales Stenar" (2012)

Lord Wind

"Ales Stenar"

Wolftyr Prods.

2012

Lord Wind is a medievel/neofolk project of Rob Darken, mostly known from his other project Graveland. A year before he released his 5th folk album, called as you can see "Ales Stenar". And what it contains?
First of all, the music is completely instrumental. Quite often we can hear choir samples made on keyboard, but this is the only exception. For most of the time the music bases on calm tunes played in middle-tempo on traditional instruments. Darken is obviously inspired by celtic and nordic music, along with some epic movie soundtracks - and a proof we can find in the track number eight. It is a (let say) cover of theme song taken from "Conan" movie (and I don't know which one, since I am not as big fan of the Cimmerian as Rob ;]). All the songs are played in the same way - they have similar tempos, and are played on similar instruments. We can here viola here, mentioned choirs and sometimes some keyboard-based background effects, horns, percussion, wooden fluets and propably some other things. And well, I must say that I enjoy this album very much. It's nothing extremely deep, but to be honest it is a true pleasure when the music flows in headphones during some long trip in a forest or on countryside. It's a bit hypnotic from one side, but also in some way epic. Just listen to any of this songs, close your eyes and you will see beautiful landscapes of vast, grass plains or huge, frozen mountains. If you have at least minimum of imagination of course haha! Personally I am impressed, because otherwise than some people think it's hard to play simple music in such way that it sounds interesting. Rob defenitely achieved this goal - the music passes so quickly that I have to constantly push the replay button again and again.

Oh, and by the way - the production of this album is really perfect. I enjoy it very much - if you have listened to last Graveland's albums you should know what I am talking about.
Well, I think that's it. There is nothing more to talk about - you like that kind of playing or not. If you're a fan of medieval and neofolk music you will surely like "Ales Stenar". If not, you should try either - maybe it turns out that this album suits your taste. As for me, I am sure that this longplay will be an often guest in my music player.

Rate: 9/10
Vladyka

Tracklist:

1. Ales Stenar

2. Taken by Your Eyes

3. Music of the Gods

4. Nothing Is Dark During Sunrise

5. Freya come to us!

6. Invisible Door to Oblivion

7. El Cid

8. Temple od Snakes

9. Cult of Seth

10. Epic Dawn Begins

Solstafir - "Svartir Sandar" (2011)

Solstafir

"Svartir Sandar"

Season of Mist

2011

For those who don't know this band - Solstafir is hailing from Iceland. They are playing a psychedelic/progressive metal (although they started as a viking metal act), and "Svartir Sandar" is their 4th full lenght album.
It is also a bit different than the previous one, "Kold". The first thing that comes to ear is the production - it's much lighter. It can be still very sultry, but there are also moments when it become more spacious. Thanks to that the riffs are not as heavy as they used to be in the past. They lost some of their power, but from the other side they become more hypnotic now, which is also an interresting thing. The music is diverse - and it's very important, due to the fact that this album lasts for almost 80 minutes! That's really long, but fortunetely Solstafir knows how to rivet listener's attention. The music is this time stronger inspired by a classic rock (Led Zeppelin, for example) than their previous creativeness. From what I hear it concerns mostly the second CD. A bit strange, yet such tracks as "Stormfari" seems to confirm my words.
But the base is here still the same. Production - despite of mentioned differences - is still enough sultry and first of all psychedelic, with "cold sound" and many echeos of guitar. Solstafir's riffs are clearly inspired by post-rock, classic rock acts and proggresion. Luckily not that boring proggresion from the sign of Dream Theater with thousand of guitar solos masturbation, but from this more atmospherical bands. The music is really not very complicated, it bases mainly on frugal riffs, simple drum beats and some relishes hidden in the background. Technically it's not a masterpiece, but it's not a point here- the point is an atmosphere! And the guys know how to create it. What especially makes impression are vocals - Adalbjorn has such a characteristic, thrilling voice that your heart has to be made of stone if you are not moved after listening to such "Thin Ord", haha! The band very often goes into faster, more dynamic areas and I must say that was a good idea. If they would play constantly slow, minimalistic tracks like "Fjara" I would fell into a sleep after some time. And well, that's more or less everything I wanted to write.
If you would like to see pristine, cold landscapes of Iceland and you don't have enough money for a ticket you can always buy this album. It will bring you there, as it's just a sonic trip through the wildest parts of this island. Solstafir created something really great, something that will be appreciated by the people who loves a bit of frosty tunes in the music...

Rate: 8+/10
Vladyka

P.S
Here you can watch the amazing video created for the first single, "Fjara":

Tracklist:
(Disc 1)
1. Ljos i Stormi
2. Fjara
3. Thin Ord
4. Sjuki Skuggin
5. Aera
6. Kukl

(Disc 2)
1. Melrakkalbus
2. Draumfari
3. Stinningskaldi
4. Stormfari
5. Svartir Sandar
6. Djakninn

Nhor - "Within the Darkness Between the Starlight" (2013)

Nhor

"Within the Darkness Between the Starlight"

Prophecy Prods.

2013

This is the 3rd album of the english one-man project Nhor. I've never heard about it before, but that's why Metal Archives exists, huh? So, before the listening I've learnt that the band is playing black/doom metal, with additional adjectives such as "atmospheric" and "ambient". And what it means in reality? 

If you will listen to this album for the first time, you will initially get the impression that the base here is quite raw, fast black metal, mixed with many doom metal parts. That's because of the first two tracks (even if in the second track there are some female laments mixed with screeching guitar sounds). The vocals are howling like some lost forgotten sad spirit (hehe), the riffs are being played fast (but not unduly) and drums are raging in the background. Yet thanks to a specific production it doesn't sound excessively powerfull, so don't expect blasphemously strong power similar to Marduk.

Since the third track starts, "Patient Hunter, Patient Night" the music strongly slows down. Nhor starts to create more tranquil atmosphere, full of once again screeching guitar riffs and piano-like synths played on keyboard. From time to time he is breaking up again with fast blast beats and tremolo pics, only to return later again to quiter forms of expression. He often uses clean guitars, but in that kind of playing it's really nothing new; yet he's doing it with fineness, so it doesn't sounds like some cheap weeping for depressed teenagers. 

Most of the tracks are really long (something about 10 minutes) and they deliberately flow, creating a nostalgic, sometimes a bit melancholic atmosphere. It sounds interesting when leisurely, blurred riffs mingle with mentioned piano-like synths and croon of a singer (in for example the track called "Rohmet Etarnu"). And to be honest I discern the main potency of this album in such tranquiled parts. The music is not very complicated (yet with relishes here and there), though it sounds very mysterious. It simply draws a listener into its own dark world, and doesn't want to release him for almost an hour.

To sum it up: the fans of minimalist, gloomy music should be interested in getting this album.So if you like that kind of playing - this is something for you.

Rate: 7/10

Vladyka

Tracklist:

1. A Forest Draped in Moonlight

2. Within the Darkness Between the Starlight

3. Patient Hunter, Patient Night

4. The Fall of Orion

5. An Awakening Earth

6. Rohmet Etarnu

7. The Temple of Growth & Glimmer Ascends

8. Alnilam

Enslaved - RIITIIR (2012)

Enslaved

"RIITIIR"

Nuclear Blast

2012

For some reasons I have never really listen to the previous album of Norwegians, "Axioma Ethica Odini". I was constantly making excuses "that I will listen to it soon". And suddenly I was informed that Enslaved is going to release another album. So please forgive me that I will not compare "RIITIIR" to the previous longplay, 'cuz the only thing I've heard from "Axioma..." was a promo video for that album.

Forgive me also if you will be disappointed by this review, but I am not going to write about every complex of their last opus. Mainly because I have not much to say. I've been listening to this release for quite a long time, and I am still under a big impression of this album. But let me start from the beginning.

First of all, I don't know why but I feel that this material is much harder to listen than the previous ones. I don't know is it because of the production (a bit more sultry, I think) or that the band again goes into even more progressive areas. Yes, again - if someone likes only their early works, he can skip reading this article and go find something better to do. But back to the topic. As I said, the album is more difficult to listen, even that from the other hand it has definitely much more clean vocals than the rest of their creativeness. For example I listen now to "Materal", I'm in mid part f this track and I hear there a really good melodies and hypnotic clean vocals of keyboardist (Herbrand), turning into a great rock guitar solo and then slow, heavy parts with Grutle's howlings. 

This weird feeling that the album is heavier and more ethereal at the same time accompanied me in every replay. And there were quite many of them. I am not sure what I should think about it. But I am sure for one thing: I love it. Really - this album passess very quick (even duration is more than an hour) and it almost literally take you to some other world. 

If you are a fan of Enslaved, you can be sure that you will like this album. The band is consequently walking on their own path into more and more progressive areas. They sound is once again lighter, but from the other hand much more complicated and with many relishes. They have lost on this trail their primal raw, black metal sound and that's why some malcontent's will be spreading bullshit again. But you know what? I don't care, and it seems that Norwegians don't care either. "RITTIIR" is a parfect, complex album with so many feelings and ideas that you should definitely check it for yourself is it worth your time or not. 

Rate: 10/10

Vladyka

Tracklist:

1. Thoughts likeHammers

2. Death in the Eyes of Dawn

3. Veilburner

4. Roots of the Mountain

5. Riitiir

6. Materal

7. Storm of Memories

8. Forsaken

Pagan society - part I - ancient democracy

First of all a note: by the term "ancient democracy" I understand assemblies that were taking places in Europe beside greek and roman cultures. Here I will focus only on slavic veches and germanic things.

But firstly imagine this situation: you're living in early middle-age village. A local community has a full independence, and is only combined with other ones with tribal ties. A social stratification is still very low, and a central authority has very limited control under lieges. There are no permament officials that could enforce decisions of central authority. So in what way worked a local law?

This phenomenon can be strange for a modern man, but people were enforcing a law by their own. Where an assembly decided to e.g. banish somebody and burn down his house, the whole community were taking part in it. If anybody hadn't do that, he could be judged himself on another assembly. That's how things worked. Of course the only ones who were taking part in assemblies were men.
Somebody can ask why people were so lawful back then, but it's not a matter of being lawful or not. This is a matter of surviving - if community couldn't enforce a law, it was divided. If it was divided - it was weak. If it was weak it was quickly dominated by the other community. So people had to cooperate for their own good.
A good example of how much those assemblies were strong can be shown by a concrete situation. There is a year 804, when frankish king Charlemagne eventually crushed the saxon tribes and forced them to convert into christianity (under his reign). One of his firsts orders were enforcing of his jurisdiction. It means that a local communities were supposed to be judged by his officials, and not by local assemblies. After a couple of years he surprisingly discovered that it wasn't the best decision. His officials weren't able to enforce royal law in every small community, due to the fact that their military capabilities weren't sufficient (and they were already very expensive). Charlemagne was forced to abandon this activity. He decided that his officials will represent him only on bigger popular assemblies (where they were effective).

Althought I call this assemblies "ancient democracy" it's very far from what modern democracy is, or even was in ancient Athenes. There were two kinds of assemblies - local (called in old scandinavian "thing", and in old slavic "veche") where different cases of single or few communities were being judged - and popular ("althing"), on which were being judged cases of a whole tribe, or even tribal federation.
Everyone who was a free man and were living in particular community could take a part in thing. Such gatherings were organized in sacred places - in slavic case it was always a sacred grove. A slavic term of such place - "gai" - is derived from an old slavic verb "gaiti" ("to inclose"). So a meeting place was a fenced area. Moreover it was devoted to a concrete god of law - in Scandinavia it was e.g. Thor, in Sclavia propably Perun or Svarog. It wasn't a sign that all the new resolutions were blessed by gods - it was a sign that everyone taking part in assembly was obligated before gods that he won't break thing's decision (or he will be punished by gods and humans for his disloyalty).
The assembly were always beggining by prayers to gods. Later the men who was a law-speaker - a person who was able to recite all the traditional laws - were supposed to do it. After that the thing were able to make new decisions - choose a new chief, declare war to somebody etc.
Unlike in greek democracy where everybody could make a public speech, in slavic and germanic assemblies the only ones who were speaking had been nobles (and later local rulers). They were discussing all the important things before the thing started, and later announcing them to other free people (peasants). Freeman could reject them, or accept by hitting with their spears (or less often other weapons) into their shields as a sign of appreciation. The decision had to be taken unanimously. If anybody was opposing it he was firstly convinced to change his mind. If even after this he didn't want to appreciate the resolution he was beaten by sticks.
Later anybody who has some compliment could represent his case to thing. The decision was taken again by all of freeman, but it had to be consistent with local law. Both of sides - accused and accusing were supported by their relatives. That's why a kin was so important back then - without influencial kinsman nobody was able to win a case.
Relatives weren't saying that somebody is wrong or not - they were just making a guarantee that their akin men is not guilty. If a thing decided that he was, all people related with accused had to pay a part of his chastisement. If somebody were banished from a community their duty was to protect him.
Banishing from a community was the worst punishment for people back then. That meant that outlaw hadn't any tribe - and so he hadn't any laws. Anybody could kill him and take or destroy his property without any consequences. The tribe, who normally had to defend such a man, could simply don't care about him. Without a tribe an outlaw was in eyes of people nobody.
That's how things and veches worked.

Learn more:
First of all a genius work of polish historian - Karol Modzelewski's " Barbarian Europe" (pol. "Barbarzyńska Europa"). It's a really perfect and complex book about this topic.

You can always read these and other related arts on Wikipedia (which are quite good):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thing_(assembly)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veche
(polish):
http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demokracja_wojenna
http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pa%C5%84stwo_plemienne

Vladyka 2013

Kroda - "Schwarzpfad" (2011)

Kroda

Schwarzpfad

Purity Through Fire

2011

 

This is the 5th album of ukrainian black/folk metalers from Kroda. Or maybe I should write "metaler", because this is also the first album released after leaving a band by one of the co-founders - Viterzgir. 

Well, I am not sure if this is beacause of line up changes or not, by "Schwarzpfad" is much more rawer material than the previous ones. The ukrainian folk instruments are reduced here to minimum. But don't worry - Kroda haven't loose it's original sound. Traditional instrumentation this time is being used not to create an atmosphere, but to just highlights it. I love their previous stuff, but as for me that kind of playing is also pretty good! It can be clearly heard that Eisenslav decided to create much more darker compositions, and so to use more keyboard instead. It really works, the music is more mysterious and even a bit depressive. Just listen to this weird, haunted ending of the second track "Universal Provenances" which I am listenning now - it makes overwhelming impression.

Predominatingly characteristic, possessed vocals are howling desperately about the upcoming end of the world, guitars are mostly grinding listeners' ears with quite melodic, yet still very raw riffs and drums are quickly striking rhythm heralding the upcoming Ragnarok. Yet quite often everything turns into slower, more melancholic areas with usage of folk stuff or just acoustic guitars. But of course as I have written before don't expect another "Cry To Me, River..." because this time Korda explores more gloomy fields. The last novelty is the ending track "Cold Aurora", entirely composed as an cold, ambient thing. Most of the bands which tries to compose such things are just boring me to death, but in this case it's a great example how to end the album in a big way.

To make it quick, generally speaking I am glad that Eisenslav do not goes the easy way, but still tries to create something fresh. "Schwarzpfad" is a great piece of black metal art. The maniacs of that kind of playing should immediately get this album, if they haven't already do it. All hail Ragnarok! 

Rate: 9+/10

Vladyka

Tracklist:

1. First Snow

2. Universal Provenances

3. Forefather of Hangmen

4. Heil Ragnarok!

5. Cold Aurora

Summoning - "Old Mornings Dawn" (2013)

Summoning 

"Old Mornings Dawn"

Napalm Recs.

2013

Seven years - that's a quite big piece of time. When I heard that almighy Summoning is going to release once again another album, I was curious if they are still able to write some magnificent music. And well, I have good news: they are still in good condition - even if not so good as, let's say, ten years ago. 

The album starts with an quasi-intro "Evernight", with female (elven, hehe) whispers and happy, sweet tunes. As you may guess - I was stunned, because I was affraid of another "Oath Bound". The next track "Flammifer" is happily much better. For my luck all the sweetness is later given in minimum dose. Of course it's hidden here and there, but generally speaking it's not annoying. Yet it doesn't change a fact that since the first listenning I always skip the intro.

What I really like about new Austrian's album is a production of their new opus. I mean especially synths - they are again recorded in all, good style of medieval/ambient, but produced with modern sound. Thanks to that Summoning haven't loose their charming originality. Again we can also here charachteristic synthetic drums programmed by Protector, a bit soughing guitars and desperate roars. The music can be really majestic and epic, like in the title track, full of choirs and orchestrations. It can be also much more darker and melancholic (see e.g. the next track "The White Tower"), referring to band's earlier works. The proportion of epic and dark elements is of course different in every track, but fans of Summoning surely will know what to expect. 

I really enjoy this album - it passes really fast, taking you once again to vast, dark landscapes of Middle-Earth. But (yes, there is unfotunetely one "but") there is one problem - I am not impressed by "Old Mornings Dawn" like I was by such "Stronghold" or other "Dol Guldur". Let's face it - except the better, modern production and some relishes there is only little of originality. That's the reason I am sure that the reviews of this album will be so diverse. But as for me - I am very pleased with this longplay. I only hope that the next record will be released faster than by another seven years!

Rate: 8+/10

Vladyka

Tracklist:

1. Evernight

2. Flammifer

3. Old Moring Dawns

4. The White Tower

5. Caradhras

6. Of Pale White Morns and Darkened Eves

7. The Wandering Fire

8. Earthsine

Interview - The Flight of Sleipnir - A musical interpretation of the writings of poets long since gone...

This american band was formed in 2007 in Arvada, Colorado by Clayton Cushman and David Csicsely. While their lyrics base on old nordic poems, their music is much harder to label. The Flight of Sleipnir is a unique mix of stoner, doom and viking metal. Read what band's drummer, David, had to say about few topics like his music, inspirations and ancestry. And after that check out band's music - it's really worth your attention! 

     

1. Hello! Let’s start this interview with something nice and easy – tell me about a couple of albums that you’ve been listenning to lately that have made a big impression on you.

        Lately I’ve been enjoying the new Wolf people album ‘Fain”as well as the new Jex Thoth album ”Blood Moon Rise”.

      2. OK, now let’s talk about your latest album – „Saga”. This time you decided to tell a story which bases on saga of Ragnar Lothbrok. Why did you choose this particular tale, and not for example the Njals saga or Laxdoela?

        After ‘Essence of Nine’ we decided we wanted to do a concept album, something where we could do a more lengthy composition. We had many different ideas for other concepts but we decided to go with the Ragnar saga as it best suited the musical direction we were leaning towards.

      3. Not so long ago canadian History channel produced a series “Vikings”, which loosely refers to Ragnar’s story. Have you seen it, and what do you think about it? In my opinion it’s pretty good, even if some things are a bit fucked up (like the whole episode about Uppsala’s temple).

        Honestly I have yet to see the series. I’ve heard many good things about it and I plan to check it out eventually.

      4. Back to the music, “Saga” is in my opinion a bit more harsh release than “Essence of Nine”. Thanks to that it’s more diverse than the previous longplay. That was a plan, or it came naturally while you were composing new material?

        Absolutely, we wanted to get a little heavier with Saga. EON is probably our most laidback album and when writing Saga we wanted to get back into doing something with more dynamics.

5. The nostalgic tunes, played on acoustic guitars again appears in your music and again like “Essence…” fill most of the album. I see that something pulls you in this more minimalist, emotional direction. Can you tell me why that is? Are you a couple of melancholic guys?

        We actually write a lot of our music on acoustic so I think it naturally comes out that way. As far as being melancholic, sitting on mountain tops and contemplating our existence, no, we’re really just a couple of normal guys.

      6. Thanks to a groovy, a bit stifling production slow, doom parts many times reminds me classic stoner tunes. That was always a part of your musical world, yet still it’s something unusual in Viking metal. Do you remember when you came out with this idea? You’re both fans of stoner/doom bands like Electric Wizard or Stoned Jesus?

        To me it didn’t seem like such a stretch to incorporate Scandinavian mythology with doom, honestly I think it fits better.  We are both definitely fans of bands like Electric wizard, Sleep, and Pentagram and when we started the band we wanted to incorporate some of those elements into what is now TFOS, but not so much that we would fall into a “stoner” classification.

      7. Another unusual elements are classical blues/rock tunes, appearing here and there like e.g. in “Hour of Cessation”. Many people says that it’s something natural for Americans to put such things in your music, because you are permeated with that kind of playing. How do you see this?

        I think that has truth to it. I think it makes sense that musicians, especially from America and England would incorporate these styles in their music since it was such an influential style for those cultures. 

      8. Generally speaking that’s something I like about your band – you are influenced by so many different, sometimes distant genres, yet still your music is very consistent. I see that your motto is “music has no boundaries”, haha!

        Yeah, we pretty much do whatever we want musically as long as it doesn’t take away from the overall feel of what we are doing.

      9. This originality is very perplexing for people who tries to describe you music, not to mention labeling it. So how would you personally describe your music to somebody who has never hear it?

        Describing our music is something we don’t typically like to get into , haha. If we must, I’d say it’s something like if Pink Floyd started a Viking metal band. The trick is to not over complicate it.

10. I’ve read several times that people describes your music as “doom/folk” metal. Maybe I am wrong, but I don’t hear such elements. What do you think? And are you fans of more “typical” folk metal bands, like e.g. Moonsorrow, Otyg and Skyforger?

        We typically go by Psychedelic folk/doom. I think it’s really up to the listener to decide and that’s fine by us. I personally don’t listen to a lot of folk metal, but I do enjoy some Einherjer or Mithotyn from time to time.

      11. The production of “Saga” is like I said before very groovy and stifling, yet enough spacious in slower, acoustic parts. It fits the music very well, so was it hard to obtain such a good sound?

        Clay does all the recording, mixing, and mastering for TFOS. Recording is like any craft, with practice, you get better and I think Saga showcases Clay’s recording mastery rather well.

      12. Your art works are very different from other Viking metal covers, as you make them in a secessionist way. Where did you come up with this idea? Personally I think that’s a great idea and I am a big fan of what you’re doing!

        Thank you! I basically just felt it was the best way to make a connection between the themes and sounds of TFOS. For instance, a traditional D&D style painting of some Viking battle wouldn’t really represent the band properly, where as using a more psychedelic “art nouveau” style fits a lot better with the band’s aesthetics.  

      13. You’ve also created a cover art for your split with Apostle of Solitude and Rituals of the Oak. Where the idea came from? And are you friends with those bands?

        The idea came from a collaboration between the guys from ROTO and AOS. I was actually commissioned to do the art work before TFOS was even a part of it, originally it was supposed to be a two way split between both bands, but we were asked to be a part of it afterwards. Apostle of Solitude are really nice guys and with what contact we’ve had with ROTO we could say the same.

      14. I know that you’re organizers of the annual festival, taking place on every winter solstice in your home city. Can you tell me something more about it? And what kind of bands do you invite to play with you?

        We’ve actually been taking part of the Denver doom fest every year instead of the Solstice. We try to play the solstice as much as possible but booking on the day or weekend of is a nightmare and almost impossible. So this works out great for us. It’s more doom/psychedelic oriented bands and it’s put together every year by Zach Salmans of Stoic Dissention. Definitely worth checking out if you’re in the area. 

      15. Since “Essence…” you’re music is being released by a german label Eyes Like Snow. Are you happy with it? And do you like some of their roster?

        Eyes Like Snow is a great label and Torsten is very easy to work with. I think one of the best aspects of ELS is his attention to detail with all his releases. There are some great bands on the label, for instance, Wheel and Apostle of Solitude are both fantastic bands. “Saga” was our last release through ELS and we have since then made a new deal with Napalm records.

      

      16. Your creativeness is inspired by the old Scandinavian poems. Can you tell me why did you choose them, and not for example ancient greek works, old Russian stories or old hindu ones, like Rigveda? You know, I am asking about it because there are quite many bands which bases their lyrics on Scandinavian mythology and sagas. I’d like to know what do you personally enjoy the most in such literature.

        Clay and I both had an interest in Scandinavian mythology even before we met. I think it was on this common interest that we established the band, it kind of united us so to speak. If we were both into Greek myth, the band very well could have been inspired by that instead. I’ve always found the mythology to be very rich in literature, as well as very poetic.

      17. Do you think that modern people still can learn something from those old tales?

        I think everyone can learn from all mythology, you just need to be perceptive. It was created not only as a religion but also as a guide for living your life with a certain code.

      18. It’s propably a bit stupid to ask, but I will do it anyway, haha. Your last name sounds very Hungarian. Did you learn your genealogy and find some Hungarian ancestors? And have you ever considered making a song with lyrics based on some Hungarian folk tales?

         Good ear, the name Csicsely is a Hungarian name. My family is Hungarian on my father’s side and Czech on my mother’s side. I honestly haven’t thought of doing anything lyrically based on any Hungarian folk tales. The Flight of Sárkány? [Hungarian for "dragon", Vlad.]

      19. Last question. What are your plans for the future? And when we can expect new album?

        We are currently working on a new album which should be slated for release early next year worldwide through Napalm Records. We are also hoping to do some touring, mainly Europe next year as well.

      20. OK, Thank you very much for your time. Last word belongs traditionally to you, cheers!

        Thank you for the interest, it’s very much appreciated! 

---

Photos: band's archive.

Interview by Vladyka 2013. Please do not copy this interview without HA'Z permission. Respect the copyrights!

Moss of Moonlight - "Winterwheel" (2013)

Moss of Moonlight

"Winterwheel"

(Self-released)

2013

Ok, I must admit - I was biased when I saw the image of this american duo. When I saw the cover art of this EP and learnt something about their music and lyrical concept my bias has only increased. You see, Moss of Moonlight plays Black/Folk metal, with many female vocals. Additionaly the musicians are married. Because of that I was expecting a complete disaster, dressed up in some gothic or pseudoromantic attire. 

Fortunetely I was totally wrong, and once again I've learnt that you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. Yes, there are many female vocal parts, but they don't sound like another UnSun. MoM focuses on creating a ritualistic, pagan atmosphere close to neofolk projects like e.g. Wardruna. Most of the tracks are pretty long (lasting more than 10 minutes), and so there is a lot going on here. Traditional instruments are being used frugally, and thanks to that the specific atmosphere of this EP is only highlighted - I really don't think so that noisy, fast folk parts would fits here. If you don't believe me just listen to the last track on this release, and you will understeand me. "Hraefne" is a track almost completely composed in neofolk/ambient vain -  but this shamanistic attitude is present in every song.

Mentioned female vocals are very often the element creating folk, a bit nostalgic atmosphere (like e.g. in the first track "Gaet" or middle part of "Catte"). Together with many slow guitar solo passages it sounds very interesting. Jenn (a vocalist) is often supported in singing by her bandmate Cavan. He sings both harsh and clean vocals, and I must say that I like both of these styles, especially when they turns into this more haunted, shamanistic areas.

A black metal parts neatly interweave with those ritualistic ones. The music flows very smoothly, and it's a true pleasure to listen to it. The only thing that I have mixed feelings about are the moments when a band sounds a bit like some power metal from Finland - and this stick mostly to the opening track "Gaet". This song seems to be a bit messed up - when I listen to it I always have the impression that in some moments the band doesn't know what they want to do. The music looses (ironicaly) immediately the power, and unfortunetely smear the musical concept. Too bad, happily each additional track is getting better and better. There is a hope that another album will be created without such failures.

Moss of Moonlight created a good album, mixing many of their inspirations into the interesting dish, flavoured by a pinch of originality. It tastes pretty good, although I hope that another material will be a truly satiating portion of some musical masterpiece. 

Rate: 7+/10

Vladyka

Tracklist:

1. Gaet

2. Eole

3. Catte

4. Hraefne

Interview - Sear Bliss - "These songs are not for entertainment but for diving into the very depths of human soul."

In this year hungarian atmospheric black metal band Sear Bliss celebrates it's twientieth anniversary. That was a good opportunity to contact their leader, Andras Nagy, and make the interview with him. Read what he has to say about their last amazing album - "Eternal Recurrence", his inspirations, ancient shamanism and few more things.

1. Hello Andras! First of all I'd like to ask you how's everything going? What are the reactions on your latest album "Eternal Recurrence"?

Hi there! Everything is going well. We have a short summer break at the moment. Enjoying holidays, etc..

As for the reactions for Eternal Recurrence, well, it’s a bit diverse. Without doubt it is our most difficult and heaviest album and it has met with a warm response only among those who are open to unusual and surprising musical experiences. As I see it, many people did not understand what these songs are about and I know most people enjoy music which is a bit more simple and easier to dig into it. These songs are not for entertainment but for diving into the very depths of human soul, to the depths which most people are still struggling to face. Eternal Recurrence was born under very hard circumstances, it is the result of a very heavy period on some personal levels, thus it is a truly honest reflection of what we went through at that time. I can understand that those who prefer our previous albums with more epic, melodic and monumental songs don’t really like this new album but on the other hand I believe there are many people who would enjoy Eternal Recurrence but they are not really familiar with our band or they don’t really like our previous albums or they just focus on other genres, so they didn’t have a chance to listen to this album. So, this is a weird situation, however I don’t care at all, as it was more important than anything for me to write, record and put this album out. It was truly a personal revelation for me. Anyway, we got really positive reactions too, so that’s great.

2.  Between "Eternal..." and previus album, "The Arcane Odysey" is a vast amount of time. Why it took you so long to make this album? I know that you're working in Amsterdam, and the rest of the band still live in Hungary. Is this a reason?

There are several reasons for the long break but actually we have never stopped for a moment. After releasing The Arcance Odyssey we worked real hard on our second DVD material which is still not released due to some unforeseen difficulties with the label which was supposed to release it. Then I moved to Amsterdam which made things a bit more difficult, plus we have written and recorded the first album of Nefarious at that time, so I was totally busy and not only me but the others too. You know, families to take care of, jobs, etc… On top of that, we had an almost complete line up change and it also took some time to get back to normal because of that, plus some personal difficulties too which made things even more difficult for us. So, all these things together resulted in that delay.  

3.  By the away, if it's not a secret - what's your job here in Amsterdam?

I have already returned to Hungary. My job was electrical engineering. It was an important change in my life to move there, so I accepted the opportunity when it was given to me. Now I’m back and I can focus on the band and other important things again.

4. When I saw a cover art of your new album I knew that something is going on haha. It is very different from others, more frugal. Can you say me something about it - what was an idea behind it and why did you choose Benjamin Konig as an illustrator?

Benjamin did the cover artwork for the Nefarious album and we really liked what he did, that’s why we chose him to do the artwork for the new Sear Bliss album too. He is one of the few artists who still believe less is more. I got totally sick of the so many vivid, colourful, sharp photoshop artworks which you can see everywhere for a few years. I wanted the opposite of it, something totally different, something more simple but still impressive. We used mostly grey instead of the vivid colours because it fits perfectly the atmosphere of the whole album. I know many people don’t like this artwork but I believe Benjamin did a great job.

5. What I like about the new album, is that you didn't change your style, but simply put some new elements into music. I appreciate it much, it sounds really fantastic! Did "it still have to sounds like Sear Bliss" attitude accompanied you while you were composing the new material?

It is an interesting approach you described but the only thing I had on my mind while composing the songs for the new album was to be as far as possible from the normal schemes and clichés. Similar attitude I described regarding the cover artwork. On the other hand, we wanted to accomplish this new approach with keeping the trademarks of Sear Bliss. The implementation of new elements into our music went smoothly. Each single note has its own place on this album. However, only a small portion of this change was conscious, the greater part of it came from our subconscious.

7. "Eternal Recurrence" is full of slow, proggressive tunes. I remember how you said in one interview that you don't like prog music. I see that some things change haha! What inspired you to put this new element into Sear Bliss' world?

Hm, I don’t know when and what exactly I said. Maybe I referred to bands like Dream Theater, etc. I still don’t like bands like that. On the other hand, I have always been a fan of innovative music. Most of the music I listen to are innovative in some ways. Even the bands of the early black metal era were all innovative and this is what I miss nowadays. So, the striving for innovation might be one of the inspirations, I guess.

8. Another novelty are some jazzy patents, starting with trombone tune in the first track and appearing in small dose until the end. I like them very much, thanks to them the music is more original. That was the intention?

The intention was to create something unusual, something we haven’t done before. However, we didn’t create an exact plan of how the album should sound and we didn’t care how we should combine different genres. We added something extra where we felt it would work. For example, in the first song, which you mention too, that jazzy part has its own place. It’s an unexpected turn yet it works well and flows smoothly into the song. It carries the song to a different dimension, thus it becomes really exciting.

9. And of course, I have to ask do you like jazz music and listen to it often?

I like some jazz music but I’m not a fan of it, so I don’t listen to it often. On the other hand, I love the sound of the fretless bass. This is why I played fretless bass on the entire album. It has such an amazing, special sound. It is mostly used in jazz music, therefore it was a great challenge for me to implement it into our music.  Anyway, Oliver, who played the drums on the album, is a great fan of jazz music and he is involved in some jazz bands too. You can hear those influences in his playing without doubt.

10. As the time goes, you reduce the usage of keyboard. On your first albums, especially "The Haunting" they were ubiquitous. Now they are more frugal, and more ominous. Your style of playing is quite original, hard to describe. You create some kind of cosmic, and sometimes even onirique atmosphere. Am I correct?

I agree that the presence of the keyboard became less and less prominent during the years. We found out that it’s no use playing it during all songs. However, keyboards play an important role in Sear Bliss’ music and we use it to add an extra atmosphere to our songs where it is needed, to create a special vibe.

10. Also the new elements are these longing choirs, present here and there on the whole album. My first association was Enslaved. I mean, they don't sound similar dot to dot, but they create a bit close atmosphere. What do you think about it? And do you like the music of these Norwegians?

Yes, I like Enslaved but they are not an influence for us. I already wanted to have clean vocals on our previous albums but somehow we didn’t succeed in working it out at that time. The new songs were written the way that clean vocals and choirs fit into them much better. We are able to express a lot more with the help of clean vocals. It’s a lot more interesting and exciting than just growling and screaming all the time.

11. From the beginning your trademark was the usage of brass instruments, like trombone. I think that now they appear more often, displacing the usage of keyboards. What I like is that contrary to other bands, you use them not only to bring some monumental epic sound, but also in many other ways. So I guess that there will be no Sear Bliss without brass section?

That’s right. I can’t imagine Sear Bliss without brass. It became sort of a trademark of the band since the very beginning. It has its special place in our music and it is even a fundamental part of our song-writing method too. I believe brass instruments fit perfectly to metal music because of their loud, harsh and powerful sound.

12. You said that in some way this is your heaviest album so far. I think I can agree with that, inter alia thanks to production. It was hard to create such a powerfull sound?

Oh yes, it was definitely our most challenging production and studio work. We worked incredibly hard to create this sound and album. We spent almost two months in the studio. We tried several equipment and instruments to get the sound we imagined and our producer worked really hard and did a great job to accomplish it. I’m really satisfied with the result.

13. In the last track, "Entering the Seventh Gate" appears a guest - Alba Hyseni. Please tell me who is she and why did you cooperate with her? Those schizophrenic vocals makes a big impression... Also, can I know who is responsible for this haunted male singing?

Alba is an outstanding and highly talented vocalist in the Hungarian underground music scene. She is well known of his unique and special voice. By the way, she has Albanian origin but she was raised in Serbia and she lives in Hungary for 15 years now. I wanted a special voice for the finishing track of the album ’Entering the Seventh Gate’ and our producer Viktor recommended Alba because she has this witch-like voice which would fit to the song. He already worked with her previously. I was totally amazed in the studio because she made such unbelievable voices.  She is very professional and a really nice person too. As for the male singing, it was done by me. By the way, we plan to perform this song together with Alba on our 20th anniversary show in Budapest at the end of this year. I’m looking forward to it.

14. Due to all those original elements, you moved away from typical black metal sound. There is only little of that kind of playing. But Sear Bliss was always more like around a black metal scene, than a part of it, so I guess it's not a big problem for you? Or maybe I am wrong?

That is absolutely right. We have never been a pure black metal band. We have always combined a lot of different genres and ideas in our music. This comes from the different personalities in the band and also our striving for exploring new paths. Our music is dark and there are some black metal elements too but we carry a wider musical spectrum.

15. Last thing about newest album that I'd like to ask are lyrics. Your style of writting is much deeper and different than all other metal bands'. Can you tell me about a concept that you've created on "Eternal Recurrence"? What is hidden behind this intriguing title?

The lyrics are quite different on this new album compared to the previous ones. The idea or concept behind the title is about the eternal cycle of rebirth, the eternal return of all in nature, earth and cosmos. All these thoughts and concept are expressed in a more philosophical way this time.

16. Hungary have no seacoast, so as Amsterdam. So I simply have to ask - what inspired you to write a track called "Ballad of the Shipwrecked"?

I use the word ’shipwrecked’ in a figurative sense, allegorically. In this sense, shipwrecked means forsaken. I tried to express the feeling of loneliness, as if shipwrecked on the eternal sea of sorrow. The whole song has this wavering feel, as if sailing on a restless sea. But in this case the sea represents the soul.

17. Yeah, and about your fatherland's history - it was always a part of Sear Bliss' music. Hungary has unique language, traditions and complicated history. I simply ask - are you proud of being Hungarian?  

Absolutely. In some ways, being Hungarian is kind of showing resistance, fighting for justice and against oppression and we are proud of it! Our cultural heritage plays an important role in our lives and yes, it was always part of Sear Bliss’ music.

18. An important element of magyar tribes's culture was shamanism. Do you have an interrest in that subject? Maybe you will use some "shamanistic" musical patents in the future?

I am absolutely interested in the ancient history of Hungary, especially the pre-Christian era. The Hungarian „shamanism” is very unique and different. I study it and it is very inspiring. Fortunately, it becomes more and more famous in Hungary now and people start to realize how important it is to explore the wisdom of this ancient belief of ours and how we can save and use it in our modern society. A few weeks ago I went to see a group performing ritualistic music based on our ancient beliefs and I was totally amazed. By the way, last winter I had the chance to travel to the far north, the northern part of Lapland and get a glimpse of the ancient Sami culture which was very interesting too, a bit similar to some of our ancient beliefs. I had the chance to listen to some shamanic music there and it was really inspiring and I thought it would be an interesting and exciting experiment to incorporate some features of it in our music.

19. On your previuos album "The Arcane Odyssey" there is a track called "Path to the Motherland". It contains an usage of traditional folk instruments. What was an impulse to do such a thing? And did you ever considered to write lyrics in hungarian, to highlight this folkish element?

There is always a hint of our history on each of our albums and Path to the Motherland was inspired by our cultural heritage. A friend of ours was a member of a group using special folk instruments and we invited them to add something extra to the song Path to the Motherland. 

By the way, the cover artwork of The Arcane Odyssey is based on an ancient Hungarian mythological tale. I have a plan to create a special song with Hungarian lyrics and maybe we will do it on our next record.

20. This year you celebrate your 20th anniversary. That's a vast amount of time, so do you consider yourself as a metal veteran? And are you happy with everything what you have achieved during those years?

No, I don’t think we are a metal veteran band. The average age of the band members is only 32 years and we still have a lot to write about. 20 years is a long time and I know we made some mistakes, some bad decisions but there is nothing to be ashamed of and I’m happy with what we have achieved.

21. What can we expect from Sear Bliss in the future? Are you already composing material for the new album?

Yes, we are in the composing process right now and we have already written some material for the next album. It will be a bit different again but it’s not surprising as we have never repeated ourselves. The new album will be a bit more atmospheric. At least this is how it looks at the moment. It’s too early to tell more about it now. On the other hand we are preparing for our anniversary show which will be held in Budapest in November. We plan to invite many guests and we will perform a special set. Plus there is a plan for a short European tour for the end of the year.

22. OK, two last questions. You also play in a black metal band called Nefarious. Can you tell me what are plans of this camp for the future?

Well, there are no exact plans regarding Nefarious for the near future. A few months ago our debut album was released on vinyl which is great. Right now we are rather focusing on our other project Forest Silence with Winter (former Sear Bliss keyboard player). We are writing new material and hopefully there will be some fresh releases in the near future.

23. And at the end, please recommend some good music and good literature that made on you big impression lately.

Well, for me it’s a bit hard to find interesting music in this mass. There are too many releases and it is really difficult to find the ones which really deserve attention. The last album which made a big impression on me lately was Childhood’s End from Ulver. Fantastic album. Regarding literature, I haven’t discovered anything new lately but maybe it is because I didn’t have enough time to read in the last few months. By the way, I went to see The Wall performed by Roger Waters last week in Budapest and it made a big impression on me.

24. OK, that's everything from my side. Thank you very much for the interview, and I wish you another lucky 20 years with Sear Bliss. Cheers!

Thank you very much and thanks a lot for your support! Cheers!

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Photos: band's archive.

Interview by Vladyka 2013. Please do not copy this interview without HA'Z permission. Respect the copyrights!

Graveland / Biały Viteź - "Ogień Wilczych Serc" (2012)

Graveland / Biały Viteź

"Ogień Wilczych Serc"

Eastside

2012

This is the split release of the two polish bands - a well known in pagan metal scene Graveland and lesser known Biały Viteź (the guys have only one demo and other split on their account). The cover artwork is really good, so you are propably asking yourself "is their music really good too?". Well you can think no more, and simply satisfy your curiosity by reading this review.

The three first tracks are recorded by Graveland, so I'll start with this band. Generally speaking, there is not much to say. One of those three tracks is "Biała Husaria" - a song previously known under an english name "White Winged Hussary". And well, it's very good, and sounds really fantastic. But I really don't know why Rob decided to rerecord this song. The two new hymns are a bit faster. Rob again entered into a more aggressive areas, with blast beats and more furious riffing. Thanks to a great, organic production they sound like they were supposed to sound - very epic, and at the same time very atmospheric and powerfull. Fans of Graveland should be pleased by this release, even if it's really nothing new.
The second part of this split belongs to folk metallers from Biały Viteź. They creativeness is much closer to what was invented by the eastern pagan metal bands. As in Graveland's case the sound is really powerfull, but at the same time a bit more dirty and underground. Guitar riffs are evidently inspired by the polish black metal hords from the '90s, while atmospheric parts of keyboards sounds a bit like Drudkh. But don't worry, the guys from BV are not a copycats, and their create something fresh. The metal parts together with usage of folk instruments and "mystical" keyboard sound really interesting, for 100% in slavic vain, which is a great advantage in immersion of celtic and nordic bands. By the way folk parts really remind me Jar -  it only shows that BV is really into polish pagan scene, and not just another bunch of jolly dumbasses.
The vocals on this album are sung in very characteristic way - some will like that, some will not, but in my case I count it as an advantege. To be honest, the only weak element of this material is the last track - it sounds like a too long outro. I know that there must be a place for atmospheric parts, but for me some sad accords and a guy singing in the same vain for almost 4 minutes is not an "atmosphere". I call it "boredom". Happily the rest of their music sounds fantastic, and I guess that "Kędy mój los" will be a concert killer - there is a place for aggressive mosh, and for the epic singing. Ideallly, hehe.
To sum up: for fans of pagan metal this split will be something like a pearl in the sea of crap. It's really worth to have this album - especially because of great part recorded by Biały Viteź.

Rate: Graveland: 7/10, Biały Viteź: 8+/10
Vladyka

Tracklist:
Graveland:
1. Zimno z za szarego horyzontu
2. Pancerna Pięść
3. Biała Husaria
---
Biały Viteź:
4. Intro - ku chwale
5.  Na swój miecz
6. Gdzie umiera dzień
7. Kędy mój los
8. Kiedy skonam