Album Review: Hellveto - "Crusade / Autumnal Night"

Band: Hellveto (Poland)
Album Title: Crusade / Autumnal Night
Label: Ritual Execution (Poland)
Released: 2007

Over the past few years, many unreleased or out-of-print Hellveto albums (or demos, in some cases) have been re-released on various labels. This has delighted those of us who have been enchanted by the genius of L.O.N., the lone warrior who makes up this pagan black metal project. It has also made it look as if Hellveto has been cranking out four or five albums per year, which is not true... not exactly, at least. In 2007, L.O.N. released Galeon & Hellveto on his own Ritual Execution label, a CD which combined a new EP called Galeon with the Hellveto demo, the latter having been first recorded in 1995/1996 (and re-mixed a few years later). He also released a brand new album, 966, on Singapore's Pulverised Records. And then, finally, he released Crusade / Autumnal Night, which bundles a new EP, Crusade, with the long-out-of-print 2002 album Autumnal Night. Oh, and he released a new CD by his ambient/orchestral side project, Blakagir. And this is just 2007. 2006 was just as confusing.

For those of you who have not had the pleasure of hearing the music of Hellveto, the easiest way to describe it is by calling it orchestral pagan black metal. It is some of the most epic, beautiful, and densely-woven music I've heard in the genre. I have over a dozen Hellveto releases, and I treasure each one of them. One criticism which is sometimes leveled at this project is that every album sounds the same. While this is somewhat true, each of them are worth delving into.

With that being said, what does Crusade / Autumnal Night bring to the table? Well, let's start with the Crusade EP that makes up the first four tracks of this compilation. The first track is a brief intro, a fairly typical one. Nothing very interesting here. When track 2 began, I noticed that the production sounds a little muffled when compared to 966 or his 2006 masterpiece Zmierzch. The music itself is fairly typical of newer Hellveto, but these certainly aren't just tacked-on outtakes (though the packaging indicates that the songs are taken from the session of Neoheresy, which I'm guessing is the name of his next album). Each of the three actual songs on this EP are excellent, maintaining a high level of quality though not straying far from the established Hellveto sound.

Autumnal Night, the 2002 album which makes up the bulk of the CD, is more primitive, which is to be expected. For those who have heard the demo Medieval Scream, which was re-issued on CD in 2004, Autumnal Night will sound very similar. The production is raw, closer to what one would expect from underground black metal, though you can still hear everything clearly. L.O.N.'s genius and vision is apparent on these songs, and they are very enjoyable, though maybe not as layered and deep as much of his newer material. He was still using a drum machine when this album was recorded, and it sounds a bit weak when compared to the live drums he uses now.

But, really, I can't raise any real complaints about Autumnal Night. I'm happy enough that L.O.N. decided to re-release it, and it's really quite good. If you're a Hellveto fan who doesn't already have Autumnal Night, purchasing this compilation should be an obvious choice. The digipack is nice, and the CD contains almost 70 minutes of music, all of it being very good. If you already own the original release of Autumnal Night, the choice is not nearly as clear. However, if you tracked down Autumnal Night, rather than stumbling upon it, you're probably already a big Hellveto fan, in which case you'll probably want to grab this one anyway.

Album Review: Korpiklaani - "Tervaskanto"

Band: Korpiklaani (Finland)
Album Title: Tervaskanto
Label: Napalm Records (Germany, U.S.)
Released: 2007

There are folk metal bands who are very serious, and then there are bands like Korpiklaani. I don't like the idea of celebrating drunkenness or hunting for sport, but this forest clan from Finland sure makes those things sound like fun. Korpiklaani doesn't concern themselves with issues of paganism or nationalism (as most folk metal bands do), instead focusing on mostly lighter subjects. This has given them access to a wider audience, but it has also had the effect of making them seem like a trifle, a novelty. I myself have had this impression of Korpiklaani many times; their music is certainly enjoyable and infectious, but I tend to tire of them and return to more serious fare.

Therefore, I resisted their newest release, Tervaskanto, for several months after its release, until I realized that there was a version with a live DVD (45 minutes of their set at Wacken festival 2006). I mainly bought it for the live DVD, and didn't even listen to the CD for a few days after it arrived in the mail.

However, I could not long resist its charms, and was soon caught in its addicting polka rhythms and cheery atmosphere. And, unlike their past albums, this one has stuck with me. At first listen, it doesn't sound like much has changed for Korpiklaani since 2006's Tales Along This Road. There's still the expected English-language drinking song (on this release, it's "Let's Drink"), the gruff vocals of frontman Jonne, the mixture of violin and accordion with traditional metal instruments, etc. The first difference I noticed was that there are only two English-language songs on this CD, "Let's Drink" included. I think this was a good choice, as I've found many of their English-language songs to be kind of bland for some reason ("Hunting Song" and "Beer Beer" from 2005's Voice of Wilderness notwithstanding).

I think the reason why Tervaskanto has resonated with me more than previous Korpiklaani albums is that the band sounds tighter, the accordion is featured quite heavily, and the songs are just awesome. They're all catchy, and the level of quality from song to song is more consistent than on previous albums, in my opinion. On the first few Korpiklaani albums, there are always songs I skip over because they don't grab me, but Tervaskanto is an album I can listen to all the way through. The momentum never breaks until the second-to-last song, "Vesilahden veräjillä," for which the tempo finally slows to let the listener catch his or her breath. This song also proves that these guys have some depth to them, as they take the time to share a local legend from the municipality of Vesilahti (where vocalist/guitarist Jonne and bassist Jarkko are from originally, according to the helpful liner notes, which also include English translations for the Finnish-language lyrics). Then they finish the album with a great instrumental, "Nordic Feast." This is the album I'd been hoping Korpiklaani would make since I first heard them and realized their potential.

The Finnish bands had some strong releases last year, and this is certainly no exception. Tervaskanto is probably the most fun album I heard in 2007.

Album Review: Alkonost - "Каменного Сердца Кровь (Stone Heart Blood)"

Band: Alkonost (Russia)
Album Title: Каменного Сердца Кровь (Stone Heart Blood)
Label: Metalism Records (Russia)
Released: 2007 (November)

Some bands are in a constant state of progression. Alkonost does not seem to be one of them, which is just fine, for the most part. Though they've spent the last several years dwelling on the same folk-influenced gothic metal sound, Alkonost has managed to keep their fans satisfied. I only began listening to the band within the last six months of 2007, so I have no sense of perspective on this issue, but this is the impression I get from the five CD's of theirs that I've bought in that timeframe.

2006's excellent The Path We've Never Made saw the band experimenting with some faster rhythms and a more aggressive sound at times (granted, this is within the construct of their pleasant, accessible style), but their brand new release, Stone Heart Blood, seems to be a bit of a regression. When I listen to it, I sometimes wonder if the band put too much of a burden on themselves by re-recording so much material in the last few years (as a bit of background, Alkonost used to sing in English, but they've recently been going back and re-recording many of their old songs with Russian lyrics) that they were unable to come up with a worthy follow-up to The Path We've Never Made at this time.

That's not to say that Stone Heart Blood is not a good album. There's nothing wrong with it, really. If it had switched places with The Path We've Never Made and was released as a follow-up to 2004's Between the Worlds (or its 2006 Russian language re-release Межмирье), the progression would have sounded more natural. However, The Path We've Never Made raised my expectations, and the expectations of many others, perhaps too high for the band to reach such a short time later.

On the positive side, the band sounds great. Alexey's great harsh vocals once again are featured quite a bit, and Alena's operatic-style voice is stronger (and a bit lower in pitch, I think) than before. There are some nice choir vocals on some of the choruses, which I don't recall hearing much, if at all, on previous albums.

However, the songs themselves aren't terribly catchy. There's no real equivalent of "The Night Before the Battle," "Waiting," or "Heat-Lightning Thoughts" (the latter being the awesome closing song of The Path..., complete with guest vocals by Arkona's Masha). The music is all quite pleasant, but I have difficulty remembering any of the melodies later. Catchiness is not a requirement of folk metal, but this is something that Alkonost is normally very good at. Also, the tempo of the album is always kept mid-paced. Perhaps if they'd thrown in a faster song or two, it would have made things more interesting.

Let me reiterate and say that Stone Heart Blood is not a bad album. Not at all. It's a good album. But it's not up to the level of The Path We've Never Made, and unfortunately every album by a band will be compared to its predecessors, which is where this one falls short. If you are interested in listening to Alkonost and are looking for an album to start with, I wouldn't dissuade you from Stone Heart Blood, as it's certainly a decent representation of their sound. However, if you only ever want one Alkonost album, I would direct you to The Path We've Never Made before I would recommend this one.

What I was listening to in October instead of updating this blog...

I have many excuses for why I didn't update this blog through most of October. For one thing, the Half-Life 2 Orange Box was released, so I spent some time trying to play through Half-Life 2 again so that I could start episodes 1 and 2. Team Fortress 2 took some time, as did my attempt to finish Bioshock (which I'm not done with yet). I also re-joined my old black metal band at the end of October, though that doesn't excuse the rest of the month.

However, the biggest reason why I didn't update the blog was that I was too busy listening to a lot of new CD purchases from October. I will list a few of those CD's here.





Alkonost (Russia) - Alkonost (2002 Ketzer Records [Germany] / Beverina Productions [Latvia])

Before the very talented Alena decided to lend her operatic voice to Alkonost, the folk metal band featured the harsh vocals of Alex "Nightbird" almost exclusively. You can still hear him on newer Alkonost releases, but not nearly as much (except for Песни Вечного Древа, which I'll address in a bit). This self-titled 2002 release also featured lyrics in English instead of their native Russian, as well as more raw production and a somewhat harsher sound altogether.

Alkonost actually consists of the mini-album Songs of the Eternal Oak and the demo "Spirit Tending To Revolt." Much of this was re-recorded for the 2007 release Песни Вечного Древа (romanized as Pesni Vechnogo Dreva), which consists of mostly superior versions of these songs. Therefore, it's difficult to recommend this release over that one. However, it's an interesting look at a young band that showed great promise.




Alkonost (Russia) - Песни Вечного Древа (2007 Metalism Records [Russia])

Keeping track of Alkonost releases has proven to be difficult for me. Not knowing Russian is one part of the problem, and the fact that they have been going back and re-recording their older songs with new Russian lyrics is a bigger part. Песни Вечного Древа is basically a partial re-recording of their 2002 self-titled album. I enjoy the newer Alkonost albums I have, but this one is probably my favorite, as it is dominated by the vocals of Alex "Nightbird." New lead vocalist Alena shows up once in a while, and there are some nice guest vocals on track 5 by Ilya from Svarga and Alexandr from Rarog (the Russian bands, not be confused with the Ukrainian NS pagan metal band Svarga or the Polish folk metal project Rarog).

I enjoy Alena's vocals, but Alex has a great harsh voice. If you like Alkonost but lean towards the harsh male vocals as opposed to the soprano operatic vocals of Alena, this is definitely an album you need to check out. This album features a re-recording of "My Last Day" and is my favorite version of my favorite Alkonost song. The argument can be (and has been) made that Alkonost songs mostly sound the same, with similar keyboard sounds and musical style. That's somewhat true, and it's also true that they would benefit from some traditional instruments, but they're a solid and very accessible band in the realm of folk metal, and I like them a great deal.




Carved In Stone (Germany) - Tales of Glory & Tragedy (2007 Schwarzdorn [Germany])

Okay, I actually ended up getting this CD at the very end of October, as it was not released until the 26th of the month (thank you to Dark Symphonies for getting a few copies in immediately; you guys continue to rock!). But I listened to this quite a bit in the last few days of October, as this was an album that I was anticipating with great interest.

Carved In Stone is a solo pagan folk project of Swawa (Ilona Jeschke), who is connected to the metal scene due to her involvement in the Viking metal band Taunusheim. Her 2004 album Hear the Voice is one that I've spun countless times in the past year or year-and-a-half since I bought it. It's a difficult album to follow up, in my opinion. I love its mystical melodies, the fuzzy recording quality of the guitar, the proud lyrics, and, most of all, Swawa's enchanting vocals.

Fortunately, those things are all present on this album, and there also some nice choir-style vocals. Once again, her songs are in German, English, and what I think is Norwegian. She managed to deliver a fine follow-up to Hear the Voice, though so far I do not feel that Tales of Glory & Tragedy is quite as good as its predecessor. Still, if you like pagan neo-folk music, either of Carved in Stone's albums are great choices. I'm certain that her debut MCD is great as well, but unfortunately I have yet to find or hear it.




Drudkh (Ukraine) - Estrangement (2007 Supernal Music [England])

Estrangement is certain to be another controversial Drudkh album. With every release, there is an inevitable backlash from metal fans who feel that Drudkh is terribly overrated, or from Drudkh fans who wish that they had gone in a different direction. I've already seen many comments and reviews from people in both those categories. Personally, I love Estrangement. It's not a continuation of Blood In Our Wells (perhaps the most acclaimed of Drudkh's albums), nor is it a return to any of their older styles. It's not as epic as Blood In Our Wells, which initially disappointed me a bit, and it doesn't have as "thick" a sound in the guitars as their previous albums. To me, it sounds closest to their 2005 album The Swan Road, which to me is not at all a bad thing, though thankfully they don't sound as if they are simply recycling old material (many will disagree).

An element of the album that will likely annoy many listeners is the drums. The snare has a sound that kind of irritated me until I got used to it, and I'm not sure I like the blastbeats very much. However, I like the fact that they sound more "live" than on previous albums. Also, the guitars seem to have more texture to them; they're not simply a wall of sound. I can occasionally hear acoustic strumming behind them, which is something you'd hear a lot on early Drudkh albums. I can also hear the bass. What has thankfully not changed are the proud but melancholy melodies. They aren't quite as "epic" on this album, but they're every bit as good as on previous albums. The guitar solos make a return, and sound great, especially on the instrumental track that closes the album.

A fine album from one of the best bands in the genre.


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Rarog (Russia) - I Know the God (2006 SvaSound Records [Russia])

Okay, the actual title is in Russian, with Cyrillic letters, but it's difficult to find any information about this album, so this will have to do for now. Even rateyourmusic.com doesn't have an entry for them. Rarog plays pagan folk metal with a mix of clean vocals (male and female) and harsh male vocals. The clean vocals are often nicely harmonized, which adds a nice flavor to the album. There are also some occasional acoustic passages. Overall their sound reminds me of early Odroerir. They recording is kind of raw, but the beauty is able to come through anyway. There are no traditional instruments, however; the folkish melodies are done on guitar and on keyboard.

This album was a pleasant surprise for me. I bought it because the listing mentioned that they would appeal to fans of Pagan Reign and Arkona. There was probably only a few seconds between when I read that and when I clicked "Buy." I wasn't sure what to expect, but what I got was a refreshing and unique folk metal album. They're not the best band out there, but if you like bands like Odroerir and don't mind some black metal mixed in (yes, I know that Odroerir had a bit of black metal on their first album...), Rarog is a band worth checking out. Hopefully we will hear more from them in the years to come.




Svarrogh (Bulgaria) - Kukeri (2006 Heavy Horses Records [Germany])

Dimo Dimov is a Bulgarian who now resides in Germany, but pays tribute to his native land through the folk/black metal project Svarrogh. Actually, the latest releases from this band seem to be completely folk/ambient, without any traces of metal, but I'm not absolutely sure as I have not been able to track down very much from this band. I almost avoided this album because I figured it was typical black metal, but fortunately I listened to some samples and realized that it was something much more than that.

Svarrogh's sound (on this album, at least) is very difficult to describe while doing any justice to the music. There are some electronic, somewhat industrial moments. And there are many raw black metal moments. However, the dominant style on this album is folk, and, refreshingly, rather than being played entirely on synth, there are actual traditional instruments used, like mandolin, bagpipes, and kaval-pipe. The vocals are often delivered in a black metal rasp, sometimes distorted, but there are also a lot of clean, often folkish, vocals.

Because he mixes raw black metal with a strong folk presence, I'm tempted to compare Svarrogh to one of my favorite bands in the genre, Slavland, but Svarrogh has an entirely unique sound. Kukeri is a fascinating listen, and I'm discovering more about it every time I listen to it. Recommended if you have an open mind and are looking for something unique within the genre of pagan folk metal.



I had some other albums I was thinking about adding, but I'm not sure I've listened to them enough yet. Albums from Marblebog, Primordial, North, Perunica, Elffor, and others have been on my playlist this month. Maybe I'll talk about them another time.

Album Review: Elffor - "From the Throne of Hate"

Band: Elffor (Spain)
Album Title: From the Throne of Hate
Label: self-released
Released: 2004

From the Basque Country comes Elffor, the side project of Eöl, keyboardist of Suffering Down. From the Throne of Hate is the third Elffor album, and the first that I heard. Elffor began as a medieval ambient project, but over the course of its history has added more and more elements of black metal into the mix. From the Throne of Hate can properly be considered black metal, as it includes guitar and a greater amount of vocals than the first two albums. Still, considering that Eöl is a keyboardist, it should come as no surprise that synths dominate this album. That's just fine with me, as this is one of my favorite synth-driven metal albums.

I cannot properly describe the atmosphere this album gives off. Whenever I listen to it, I can vividly picture medieval forests and villages. I have no idea if Elffor's lyrics are about these things (all I can ever hear are short phrases like "mystic darkness" and lines about ravens). I think what gives me these mental pictures are the beautiful synths, which almost always consists of a choir sound and some strings. There are also frequent folkish passages, which gives From the Throne of Hate its unique sound. You can draw comparisons to bands like Graveland and Summoning, but Elffor maintains its own identity on this release. Sometimes the music reminds me of something familiar, like the music in medieval fantasy role-playing games on the computer. That may also explain why I picture forests and villages when I listen to Elffor.

The song titles are generic and sound more like something a Darkthrone rip-off band might come up with; however, don't let that fool you. Elffor is an ambient/black metal project of the highest quality, and deserves a wider audience than it is currently getting. I wouldn't necessarily describe it as "pagan metal," despite the fact that the t-shirt that was put out for this album definitely looks like one you'd see for a pagan band, with its runic letters, Celtic knotwork, and what appears to be a triskelion made of wolves on the back. All I can think of to call it is "medieval, symphonic ambient black metal." Judging from the few interviews I've read with Eöl, I don't feel that there's any strong pagan ideology in Elffor, anyway.

Essentially what you get with From the Throne of Hate is mostly mid-paced, synth-driven black metal, with vocals that sound like Graveland's Rob Darken. But that doesn't adequately describe the music, as the reason this album has enchanted me so much are the melodies. Whether done through the synth-choir that is used in most of the metal passages, or the synthesized flutes, woodwinds, and other instruments in the softer, folkish passages, there are many memorable and addicting melodies on this album. I even love the two instrumental tracks. There's a certain melody that is brought up frequently on the album, which binds the album together into a cohesive whole.

The fact that From the Throne of Hate is self-released and limited to 500 copies (though it looks like a re-release is in the future) is something that makes me kind of sad, as this is one of my favorite albums, and one that I have played probably more than any metal album in my collection. It may be very difficult to track down as a result (I had to buy mine off of Ebay, and that was two years ago), but it's well worth buying if you enjoy this style of music.

Vo Skorbyah Lives!

I'm very late with this news here, but, according to their official website, Vo Skorbyah is no longer just a studio project. They began recording a new album this past summer and are playing at the "Wings of Doom 4" festival in Moscow on December 1st.

This is very, very good news for the many fans who adore the self-titled album they released earlier this year. Originally, they were set to be a one-off project (read my review from September), but I suppose they realized how awesome they are and decided to continue as a band.

Awesome, I feel giddy...

(The post stating that they are working on a new album is from July, so yes, I am very late with this news. I didn't even know they had a website until tonight.)

Album Review: Krynitza - "Hail to the Sun"

Band: Krynitza (Russia)
Album Title: Hail to the Sun
Label: Sonnenvolk / Stellar Winter (Russia)
Released: 2007

Krynitza's debut album, Angel, was well-received among metal fans, despite not resembling metal in the slightest. Nothing terribly surprising there, considering the critical success of folkish bands like Tenhi and latter-day Empyrium in the metal realm. Krynitza, faced with this success, could have just pushed out another album similar to Angel, but instead has greatly evolved their sound with the follow-up album, Hail to the Sun.

Rodoslav (who now plays the zhaleyka and balalaika in addition to vocals, flute, and guitar) has fleshed out Krynitza's line-up into a full folk band, at least in the studio (I don't know if they ever play live). The female vocalist from the previous album has been replaced by the very capable Maria, and the violinist has been replaced as well. Also in the band are an additional guitarist, a bassist, a drummer, and a mouth harp player (the same mouth harp player from Angel). The final track also features a bayan (Russian accordion). What results is a very rich and full sound, aided by much-improved production.

Hail to the Sun is a great step forward for the band, and one of the most beautiful pieces of pagan art you are likely to hear this year. There is a greater variety among the songs on this album than there was on Angel. The sound is more aggressive, overall, due to the percussion and bass. Also, the female vocals are better-utilized, as Maria is not relegated to singing "Ooh" and "Aah" as Tatyana was on the debut.

The most experimental song on the album is the traditional Russian song "Raven Dark." On this track, the traditional instruments are done away with entirely (except for the mouth harp), replaced by electronics and sound effects. Some may not like the inclusion of this track, but I thought it provided a bit of variety and a nice break in the middle of the album.

Unfortunately, Hail to the Sun is almost as short as its predecessor, clocking in at just under a half hour. With music this good, naturally you want it to last longer, though I suppose shorter run times are typical for folk albums. But, like their debut, Krynitza's second album is a great journey while it lasts. This time around, they were kind enough to include English translations of the lyrics and recording information, courtesy of a separate insert, though I'm not sure if all copies of the CD have this. It's nice to see that they are keeping their non-Russian-speaking fans, like myself, in mind.

Hail to the Sun managed to exceed my already-high expectations for a follow-up to Angel. I would imagine that few if any Krynitza fans could possibly be disappointed with this release. As an aside, Krynitza's nationalist politics are made known on the closing song, "Motherland," but if you're already familiar with the Stellar Winter stable of bands, then there is nothing here that will offend you.