Album Review: Чур - Лихо

Artist: Чур (Chur) [Ukraine]
Album Title: Лихо (Lykho) ["Evil"]
Record Label: Casus Belli Musica {Russia)
Released: 2009 (December)
Purchased From: Negative Existence

After some delays due to label problems, Chur's second album, Lykho, was finally released at the end of 2009. Originally it was supposed to released on German label Hammermark Art (to which Kroda and Ancestors Blood, among others, are signed), but, due to the presence of ancient symbolism in the artwork and the worries about a reaction from German listeners and authorities, the label didn't want to put out the album with the artwork intact. Therefore, the contract was dissolved and Lykho's fate was in limbo. Then the rising label Casus Belli Musica (which is amassing quite a strong stable of pagan/folk bands) came to the rescue and released this great and unique work to the world.

For those who have not heard Chur, it is difficult to draw any direct comparisons with other bands. It has a strong "Slavic" feel, which means you will not mistake it for a Scandinavian or German project. It does not sound like black metal with folk instruments added. In fact, on this album, the vocals are all sung, and there is a distinct folk style to them rather than a metal style. The male vocals are by band founder Evgen Kucherov, while the female vocals are sung by Viktoriya Kumanovskaya, a professional folk singer. There are a variety of flute and perhaps bagpipe sounds (it sounds like either bagpipes or zhaleika), but I think many of them are sampled or synthesized. Being as this is metal, there of course electric guitars and bass, while the drums in this case are programmed.

If you have heard the first Chur album, Брате вітре (Brother Wind), the overall sound of Lykho is similar, but strengthened in many ways. The vocals are much better on this release, and the songwriting is stronger. Despite the overall computerized sound of the production (along with the drum machine and sampled folk instruments), this sounds like authentic Ukrainian folk music that happens to feature electric guitars and modern percussion. In other words, the songs are not really constructed like metal songs, but like folk songs. Some listeners may be turned off by the style, or by the production, but Chur's sincerity is difficult to deny. Even the artwork itself is very much "folk art." The artwork seems to tell the story of a culture that is compromised by modern evils (narcotics, cigarettes, and alcohol are all represented, as well as industrial pollution and foreign religions). Yet, it goes on to show, the ancestral traditions live on, and will one day defeat the modern evils. This sense of hope and pride are reflected in the upbeat arrangements.

There are some oddities present on this CD. First of all, the tracklisting on the inside of the CD tray suggests that there is a cover version of Temnozor's "Did-Dub-Snop" beginning the album, but I did not find it anywhere on the CD. I thought that maybe it was in the gap before the first track (as some albums have done), but attempting to reverse the CD didn't do anything. The second oddity is that track 11 is supposed to be a radio version of "The Spring", but included at the end of this track is an alternate version of "Mother", which is unlisted. The third oddity is that the final track on the CD is some sort of multi-channel DTS version of the title track, but I guess I don't have the right setup to play it because all I get is digital static. I can't think of much in the way of negatives about this album, except for the weak drum machine and the overall sterile nature of the production. It is nice to be able to hear everything so clearly, as the recording is pitch-perfect, but it may be a little too perfect for this style of music. A little analogue warmth would have brought out the "folkiness" of the album, I think. But these are minor complaints for an otherwise excellent pagan metal album.

Lykho is a great follow-up to the already-solid Brother Wind, and is far, far superior to Chur's side of the split with Oprich, which was instrumental and did not appeal to me at all. The album clocks in at just under an hour, if you don't include the bonus stuff, which may be a little excessive for an album with such a consistent sound. Still, the presence of two different vocalists gives it some variety, and, taken in track-by-track, one can appreciate how well-written and catchy each of these songs are (though I tend to skip the ambient track "The Sky," which sits right in the middle of the CD). The highlights of the album for me are "Mother," "Zagovir," and "The Spring." It's no wonder that two of them ("Mother" and "The Spring," both of which feature Viktoriya Kumanovskaya handling the lead vocals) were chosen for the radio edits in the bonus audio track.

Fans of Slavic folk metal are encouraged to track down Lykho, though that may eventually get more difficult as it is limited to 1,000 hand-numbered copies. Chur is currently at work on new material, so the future is looking bright for this shining light in the Ukrainian pagan/folk scene.