New Dalriada video on Youtube

I found this while browsing Youtube tonight. I didn't even know Dalriada had a new album out, but apparently it came out in April. Judging from the new song, it sounds like another good release by my favorite Hungarian band. I guess it's off to Ebay to make a new purchase.

Album Review: Slavland - "Echa Wieków Pradawnych"

Artist: Slavland (Poland)
Album Title: Echa Wieków Pradawnych
Label: Eastside (Poland)
Released: 2007

Although many pagan metal fans have just recently discovered Slavland, Echa Wieków Pradawnych is actually his sixth album. Only the last three of his albums are readily available, as the first three were either self-released or had very limited distribution. The one-man project of Belzagor has been gaining a following over the past few years since signing with the great Polish label Eastside, so hopefully the older albums will see a re-issue someday.

Anyway, Slavland came to my attention in the summer of 2006, when I purchased the CD Szepty Starych Dębów very inexpensively from Drakkar in France. I was immediately drawn to the folk sections of the album, but the extremely raw and underproduced black metal (and Belzagor's vocals) initially put me off. After a few solid listens, though, I wised up and became a fan of his music, soon purchasing the 2006 album (and now one of my favorite pagan metal CD's) Tarcza Swaroga ("Swarog's Shield"). I was greatly anticipating the release of Echa Wieków Pradawnych, and it didn't disappoint me.

Belzagor is one talented multi-instrumentalist; that much is obvious to me. On this album, he not only handles all the guitar, bass, and drums, but also a long list of traditional instruments. I'm not sure what all of them are, but there are a number of flutes, bagpipes, percussion, and stringed instruments on this, as well as other, Slavland albums. The live drums are an element that are new to this release. On previous Slavland albums (at least the two that I have), Belzagor used a weak-sounding drum machine, so this new element is welcome. The metal sections of the album are still somewhat under-produced, though, but there have been improvements since Tarcza Swaroga.

Slavland is a bit of a difficult band to get into, even to seasoned veterans of the folk and pagan metal scenes. It combines very raw and aggressive black metal (complete with the shrieking vocals) with strong folk elements. Many fans of black metal will not welcome the folk sound, while many fans of folk metal will not enjoy the raw black metal sound. However, for fans of both (and the open-minded), Slavland's music is unique and very cool. I love the way the songs transition between and sometimes blend the disparate metal and folk elements, though it was something I had to get used to, admittedly.

Another feature that will take some getting used to, even to long-time Slavland fans, are the frequent sung (as in, not shrieked) vocals on the album. Belzagor has always sung at times on his albums, but on Echa Wieków Pradawnych it is obvious that he is trying to incorporate them into the Slavland sound even more. Whether or not that was a good idea is up to the individual listener. Sung vocals are fine, but Belzagor's singing voice is, well, an acquired taste. He's not always on-key, and he tends to use a fake vibrato at the end of phrases. Once I got used to his style, though, I can't imagine the songs without those vocals. Strange or not, they are an important part of the sound (as well as the charm).

There are twelve tracks on the CD, but half of them are folk songs without any metal elements. Some of these folk tracks have vocals, but some are instrumentals. They are certainly not filler, though, as they are written, assembled, and performed with great care and quality, and I wouldn't remove a single one of them from the album. The remaining songs are metal, but with frequent folk parts, and none of the songs escape without any folk elements, so those of you who don't like that side of Slavland are going to be out of luck. He packs a lot of great music into the 50 minutes or so that makes up Echa Wieków Pradawnych, so the album should be quite satisfying to fans of true folk metal.

Though I wouldn't put Echa Wieków Pradawnych quite as high on my list as Tarcza Swaroga, it is a very solid follow-up that also finds Slavland in a state of progression and improvement. The production could still improve quite a bit, but the metal parts no longer seem as if they were transferred from a low-bitrate sound file, and the live drums certainly add a needed "punch" to the sound. Slavland is also continuing to improve in the way the metal and folk elements blend and add to each other. It makes me very optimistic and excited about the future of the project.

If you have overlooked Slavland up until this point, I recommend you check it out and give it a solid chance.

Album Review: Walknut - "Graveforests and Their Shadows"

Artist: Walknut (Russia)
Album Title: Graveforests and Their Shadows
Label: Stellar Winter Records (Russia)
Released: 2007

The walknut, better known as the valknut, is a symbol used to signify a person being bound to Odin and his service. It has been found on ancient runestones in Scandinavia and other areas, and is used by neopagans today. It is appropriate, then, that this Northern-themed Russian pagan metal band would adopt the name for their moniker. According to their label, Stellar Winter, Walknut features members of Nitberg, Forest, and Temnozor, the former two bands belonging to the Russian black metal circle Blazebirth Hall. Little else is known about Walknut, but the band has managed to cause quite a stir in the black metal realm with their debut, Graveforests and Their Shadows.

First of all, let me say that the artwork for the CD is fantastic and completely appropriate for the music it represents. The packaging consists mostly of grainy pictures of forests, as well as a photo of the band members themselves. The lyrics, which are in English, are printed in the booklet, which is helpful, and a nice runic font is used.

The music itself is atmospheric, droning black metal inspired by bands like Burzum. The closest modern reference point I can make (considering my general ignorance of any black metal-related music that is not pagan in nature) is the band Drudkh. Both bands have long, repetitive, and atmospheric songs with melancholic, nature-based lyrics. Graveforests and Their Shadows has six tracks, but only three of them have vocals. The remaining three tracks are instrumental (one being synth-based, the other two being metal). The three tracks with vocals, though, are all around 10-12 minutes long. The vocals are distorted and ghostly, like the howling of the wind, and they are fantastic. According to the insert, they were performed and recorded in the forest. I don't know if that's true or not. The lyrics paint a gray picture of dead forests, the ghosts of warriors, and men who have forgotten their roots.

The structure of the songs is pretty minimalistic. Each of the three songs with vocals have a small number of riffs that are repeated throughout, and each song has its own great hook that is placed at the perfect moments throughout the track. This kind of music is bound to leave some listeners bored, but I found its simplicity to be refreshing and effective. The guitar tone is thick and manages to evoke the melancholy and despair of the lyrics. Although the production isn't entirely clear, it's perfect for the music. It manages to sound almost timeless. This is not lo-fi garage black metal recording, so you won't have to crank it up to hear it over the background hiss (as there isn't any).

Walknut has already managed to find a pretty wide and appreciative audience, so chances are that if you're a fan of pagan metal then you are already aware of this band by now. For fans of Drudkh, Burzum, or Hate Forest, there's really no question that Graveforests and Their Shadows is a CD that should be in your collection. Hopefully this band will continue to record and release music, because, although the ingredients of their sound are not very original, Walknut has managed to mix those ingredients into a very compelling and satisfying debut album. My #3 favorite metal album of the year, after Moonsorrow and Menhir...

Album Review: Menhir - "Hildebrandslied"

Artist: Menhir (Germany)
Album Title: Hildebrandslied
Label: Trollzorn (Germany)
Released: 2007

Das Hildebrandslied, or the Lay of Hildebrand, is a poem in Old High German about a father and son who meet and fight each other on a battlefield. The ending of the poem is lost to time, so the outcome of the battle is not known. This ancient tale forms the centerpiece of Menhir's fourth album, Hildebrandslied, one of the best metal albums of 2007.

Menhir is one of the forefathers of German pagan metal, having been around since 1995. They are a prominent part of the incredible Thuringian pagan metal scene, which features such great bands as Fjoergyn, Die Saat, XIV Dark Centuries, Helritt, Surturs Lohe, and Odroerir. In my opinion, Menhir is probably the best of the group. They took a lot of time between their third album, Ziuwari, and their newest, Hildebrandslied, but, judging from the finished product, it was time well spent.

The music of Menhir is epic and heroic, led by the soaring baritone vocals of singer/guitarist Heiko. I've always enjoyed his singing voice, imperfect though it has been throughout the years, but on this album his vocals have become a force to be reckoned with. It's mighty, booming, and proud... definitely a perfect fit for this kind of music. Heiko doesn't always sing, though. Like on past Menhir albums, he sometimes employs a harsh vocal style, though on Hildebrandslied it is not used nearly as often as his singing voice. The rest of the players are great as well. Guitarist Fix (also known for his excellent second band, Odroerir) returns, but the remaining three members appear for the first time on this album. I suppose it's difficult to keep a band together during a six year period between albums. The band sounds tighter than ever, though certainly Heiko's vocals are the focal point of the album. There is also a violin on a few tracks, which reminded me of the band's classic folk EP Buchonia.

The packaging for the CD is pretty elaborate, being one of those oversized digipacks that doesn't fit in my CD bookcase. The digipack is one of the nicest I've seen, as far as artwork is concerned. There are a lot of great photos of the band and members of Ulfhednar, a pagan re-enactment group. The cover of the insert is a reproduction of the first page of Das Hildebrandslied. It's all very well-thought-out, which is a perfect match for the quality of the music itself.

The album doesn't take long to get moving, as the vocals start 20 seconds into the first song. I'm used to pagan metal albums containing long instrumental intros, so it's refreshing to hear a band get right to business. The album starts strongly with the first two excellent songs, "Das alte Lied des Windes" and "Des Kriegers Gesicht (Ulfhednar)," but it manages to get even better when the album's centerpiece, the two-part "Das Hildebrandslied," begins. This section of the album begins with a brief but beautiful intro (featuring violin, acoustic guitar, and gentle synths) and then moves into what is perhaps the high mark of Menhir's already-strong career, "Das Hildebrandslied - Teil I." This nine-minute song is my musical highlight for the year 2007, hands-down. It manages to contain some of the most beautiful softer moments of the album and the most epic moments, and Heiko puts on an incredible vocal performance. Both this and the second part are sung in Old High German, and it is basically a word-for-word musical rendition of the Lay of Hildebrand, although they took some liberties with the text for the sake of flow. "Das Hildebrandslied - Teil II" finishes the tale, and it is a great all-acoustic track.

The next song, "Dein Ahn," is the weakest, in my opinion, but that's only because the rest of the album is so good. Things pick up again with the last track, "Weit in der Ferne," and the album ends as well as it begins.

Hildebrandslied would have been a shoe-in for my favorite album of 2007 if it hadn't been for the unstoppable force known as Moonsorrow's V: Hävitetty. There is just so much great music packed into the 41 and a half minutes that make up this album that no pagan metal fan should ignore it. I would even go as far as to recommend it to metal fans of more mainstream tastes, because I feel that the album could have really wide appeal among metal fans.

Due to its complete lack of availability in North America, I had to order the CD from Germany. However, their label has plans to issue the album in a regular jewel case version, which will be easier for them to distribute over here. For American listeners who are interested in Hildebrandslied, and cannot wait for the possibility of a jewel case version, it will probably cost you quite a bit to ship the digipack version over here, but for Menhir fans (and fans of epic and powerful pagan metal in general) it will likely be worth the cost.

Album Review: Fearlight - "Наш Завет"

Artist: Fearlight (Russia)
Album Title: Наш Завет (Our Legacy)
Label: Gardarika Musikk (Russia)
Released: 2007

Although I enjoy folk metal bands from all over Europe (and elsewhere), there's something about Russian bands that tends to resonate with me especially deeply. Over the past few years, I have found many great bands from there, beginning with my discovery of Pagan Reign and Arkona. I make it a point to seek out Russian folk metal bands, so I am always pleased to discover a new one. Fearlight came to my attention through a music video on Youtube, and I was immediately taken with their sound and image. I immediately ordered their debut CD, Our Legacy, and, for a few days, I couldn't listen to anything else.

Like many folk metal bands from Russia, Fearlight is a bit of a mystery to me. Their website doesn't seem to be up anymore, and there is very little information about them online. According to their label, they began in 2005 as a doom metal band, but not much else in the way of band information is given, except that they took their time completing Our Legacy due to their wanting the production and arrangements to be perfect. I was able to listen to their 2005 demo and was surprised at how their style changed between the demo and their debut album. Their early sound is very much rooted in gothic metal, and though a few elements of their sound have survived (the use of both female and male vocals), it might as well be an entirely different band.

Fearlight is a five-piece band from Saint Petersburg, Russia. There are two vocalists in the band, "Elf" (a male, and also the band's guitarist) and "Albinoni" (a female, and the band's keyboardist). Neither of them have particularly strong voices, but they sound fine on this album, especially when singing together. I wouldn't say that they harmonize (this isn't Odroerir); rather they seem to mostly sing in unison. They both have soft voices, which gives the music a bit more of a gentle, folky sound than most bands that call themselves folk metal. Elf also utilizes a harsh vocal style, but very rarely. The band also includes a bassist ("Sin K River") and a drummer ("Makmillan Arfist"), as well as a tin whistle- and bagpipe-player ("Scald").

Our Legacy somewhat alternates between slower, ballad-like songs, and faster ones. Many of the songs (like track 8, "Три девы" or "Three Wise Maids") sound very much like folk songs at their base, rather than metal songs with folk instruments added to the mix. The bagpipes and tin whistles are beautifully intertwined with the traditional metal instruments, and folk melodies (as well as elements of classical music) are all over this album. Those who accuse folk metal of being inauthentic in its relation to folk music should give this CD a listen.

Another feature of Our Legacy is the sheer addictiveness of this album. When I received it, I listened to it for a few hours in the evening, and then throughout the entire next day at work. This is one of those albums that, once I reach the end, I want to go back and listen to the beginning again. It doesn't hurt that the first actual song on the album (after the Intro), "Лес" or "The Wood," features a beautiful chorus that I love to hear again and again. And the fourth song, the title track, is one of those songs I could listen to on repeat all day. Fortunately, the rest of the album maintains a high level of quality, with nothing I would consider "filler." At 36 minutes, it's a brisk listen, but an immensely enjoyable and satisfying one. The one minor criticism I could make is that two of the songs use English lyrics, and they don't make any sense to me. What exactly does the line "Vanishing is me, like a mad in fears" mean? Fortunately, the broken English was not noticeable to me when listening to the album, but I hope that in the future they stick to the Russian lyrics.

The album finishes with an outro that features music by the great composer Modest Moussorgsky and some folk poetry. When it's all done, inevitably I begin at track 1 again and am never tempted to skip any of the tracks on my next listen. I've had the CD for a few weeks now and it continues to delight me, though I have listened to it dozens of times. Therefore, it is very easy for me to recommend it to fans of true folk metal. Fearlight may not be a well-known name in Russian folk metal yet (in comparison to Alkonost, Butterfly Temple, or Arkona), but after an album like this, they deserve to get a lot more recognition than they have gotten so far. Hopefully Gardarika Musikk will get the CD out there so that more people can hear it. Tracking it down on this side of the Atlantic is practically impossible. Fortunately the good folks at Dark Symphonies got in a few copies, though they sold out quickly.

I will do my small part to help spread the word about Fearlight by typing "BUY THIS!" and posting this review on my humble blog that nobody reads.

Album Review: Drudkh - "Estrangement"

Artist: Drudkh (Ukraine)
Album Title: Estrangement
Label: Supernal Music (U.K.)
Released: 2007

Although it's not very often we'll see an album by a pagan metal band from a country as obscure (in the metal world) as Ukraine grab the attention of underground metal critics, that's exactly what happened when Drudkh unleashed Blood In Our Wells upon the world in 2006. They had been quietly building up a fanbase for the previous couple of years, releasing a trio of albums that you will often see mentioned in "best of" lists on metal forums: Forgotten Legends, Autumn Aurora, and The Swan Road. But, for some reason, Blood In Our Wells managed to make Drudkh a bit of a critical darling in the world of underground extreme metal. Not bad for a band who never gives interviews or concerts, has never released any sort of band photo, and is often incorrectly identified as National Socialists.

As is inevitable, expectations were high for a follow-up to Blood In Our Wells. That album, to many, is the pinnacle of their impressive career. Then they managed to confound everyone, not once, but twice. The first was with the release of an instrumental folk album,Songs of Grief and Solitude, which many described as boring, and the 10" vinyl Anti-Urban EP, which most viewed as pointless and sub-par. Therefore, by the time Estrangement was released in 2007 (less than a year and a half after Blood In Our Wells), it seems that much of the crowd had dissipated. I suppose it's just as well, because Drudkh doesn't seem to welcome the attention.

Drudkh's sound is a little difficult to describe, at least if you want to do it any justice. They write very atmospheric and somewhat repetitive songs, often with a thick guitar tone, accompanied by lyrics taken from Ukrainian poetry and vocals that are kind of a rough shout rather than a growl or shriek. At first, they didn't use any keyboards, but ever since Autumn Aurora, the occasional keyboard will show up at just the perfect time. The band manages to evolve with each album, but on Estrangement they almost seem to devolve into a mixture of the sound they employed on the first few albums. However, they've improved in the way that the bass is now very audible (and well performed), and the songs, to me at least, seem less repetitive. The occasional solo is also welcome.

The few negatives I can come up with are that I don't really care for the way the drums are recorded, and that the album is a little on the short side. There are four songs, and it clocks in at about 36 minutes total. However, there is no filler, and even the instrumental that closes the album is great (and this is coming from a person who doesn't usually like instrumentals). They've trimmed out most of the use of samples, except for a very brief one that begins the album. This may be a good or a bad thing depending on whether or not you enjoyed the Ukrainian film and folk music samples from Blood In Our Wells.

There are always those who say that Drudkh is overrated, and Estrangement is not likely to silence those voices. It's a strange little album, and if I were more of a cynical type (I'm not, which is one reason why I make a very bad album reviewer) I would say that Drudkh kind of pushed this one out the door without much effort. However, I really enjoy Estrangement. I listen to it more often than I listen to their earlier albums, with the possible exception of Blood In Our Wells. It has kind of an addicting sound that I don't get tired of, even on those days when my attention span is shorter than usual. The songs are well constructed, the recording quality is good (except for the drums, as I already mentioned), and, even though they dialed back the epic qualities of their music, the beauty and melancholy is still very much present.

So, despite what the detractors might say, I find Drudkh to be an amazing band, and Estrangement is a great addition to their discography.

Album Review: Graveland - "Will Stronger Than Death"

Artist: Graveland (Poland)
Album Title: Will Stronger Than Death
Label: No Colours Records (Germany)
Released: 2007

Chances are, just about every fan of pagan metal has at least a passing familiarity with Graveland's Rob Darken. Whether it is the controversy he has courted over the years due to his political affiliations and interviews, or his flow of almost-yearly album releases, he remains a visible and outspoken figure in the scene.

I'm not much of a fan of Graveland's early, black metal, period. And I never really got into albums like Thousand Swords, despite having heard many good things about them. My introduction to Graveland (and I admit this rather sheepishly, since it will reveal me to be a relative newcomer) was 2005's Fire Chariot of Destruction, an excellent and epic album. I began tracking down many of his earlier releases, but Fire Chariot of Destruction remained my very favorite. Since with each release his production skills improved (and the "epic-ness" seemed to increase), I felt that Will Stronger Than Death would be even more sweeping.

However, I was shocked (and, admittedly, a little dismayed at first) to find that Will Stronger Than Death is actually a step back in many ways. The production is less clear and the keyboards and choirs are used less often than on its predecessor. It seems that maybe Rob Darken realized that he didn't want to continue travelling in that direction and made a bit of a departure. I was unhappy about this at first, but then I gave the album a chance and realized that, in many ways, this is quite possibly the best Graveland CD I've heard.

The key to the appeal of this album is, for the most part, the riffs. The riffs are like the sound of war. The drums help give it that effect as well. The riffs are repetitive, certainly, but they work together to cast a persistent mood throughout the album. The color of the album is almost entirely gray, like you're traveling into battle with clouds looming overhead. That kind of mood may cause some to tire of the album, since every song at least on a surface level sounds quite similar to the one that preceded it, but, if you're in the right mood, it's a very satisfying listen. The elements of the album will be familiar to anyone acquainted with the sound of modern Graveland (including that barely-decipherable, almost-emotionless croak of Darken's); it's the strong songwriting that helps it stand out from its already-strong predecessors.

I guess the easy way to say this is that if you didn't like any Graveland before, Will Stronger Than Death is not likely to win you over, but I think even fans of certain periods in Graveland's career who have been alienated by the newer albums may find this to be a pleasant surprise. As for me, I have heard enough comparisons to his earlier work that I may have to track down some more releases.