Album Review: Altorių Šešėliai - "Margi Sakalai"

Artist: Altorių Šešėliai [Altar Shadows] (Lithuania)
Album Title: Margi Sakalai (Speckledy Falcons)
Label: Todestrieb Records (U.K.)
Released: 2007

I blame my unfortunate lack of knowledge about Lithuania on the fact that, when I was being taught European history and geography in school, the country was a part of the Soviet Union. Whoever wrote the textbooks my school used seemed to believe that countries that had been annexed by the U.S.S.R. were assimilated forever and therefore had lost their identity, even though countries like Lithuania had existed for hundreds of years before the Soviet Union. In fact, Lithuania will celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of its name in 2009.

With such a long and rich history as this nation has (for instance, it was the last pagan nation in Europe, and put up quite a resistance during the Northern Crusades), it's inevitable that musical acts will arise who revere and celebrate its past and present. One of them is Altorių Šešėliai, more popularly known as Altar Shadows, which brings us "poetic pagan black metal from the feral gardens and misty soilfields of lowland Lithuania." Simply to call it black metal would be inaccurate, though, as there is quite a bit of folk on this one-man project's first "major" release, Margi Sakalai, which I will call Speckledy Falcons from this point on (since it's the title as it appears on the cover of the Todestrieb Records release, and I find it endearing).

As you can probably tell by the description, the title, and the cover of the album, the theme of nature is very much present in Altar Shadows' music. Many of the lyrics are taken from Lithuanian poetry, and some of the melodies used are folk tunes. The music itself, on most of the tracks at least, is pretty raw black metal. Some of it reminds me of the first few Wyrd albums and the Hungarian black metal project Marblebog. I am at times also reminded of Agalloch. While much of Speckledy Falcons is in this atmospheric black metal style (though he often includes acoustic guitar, possibly a mandolin, and once in a while a flute), there are some beautiful softer moments as well. My favorite track on the album is the acoustic version of "Að Taip Laukiu" ("I'm Waiting"), the original of which appeared on a previous release. This track features a female guest vocalist and adds depth to what was already a great song. Another favorite track is the instrumental "Gelsvas Mënuo III" ("The Yellow Moon III"). I don't usually care for instrumentals in the middle of an album, but sometimes I put this one on repeat.

Speckledy Falcons is a wonderful album, a work of melancholy beauty. The only song that doesn't seem to fit is a cover song called "Eternal Wars," which is a song by fellow Lithuanian project Blackthru. Musically, it's a pretty solid track, but the lyrics (typical black metal stuff about the war between God and Lucifer), which are in English on this one song, don't fit with the rest of the album. That's all right, though, because it doesn't detract from the album when I'm listening to it.

Thanks to Todestrieb, Speckledy Falcons is not a difficult album to obtain as of this writing. I'm not sure that every fan of folk, pagan, or atmospheric black metal would enjoy this album, but I think that fans of these genres should definitely check out Altar Shadows. A few tracks from Speckledy Falcons can be streamed from his Myspace page here if you are interested.

Album Review: Eluveitie - "Slania"

Artist: Eluveitie (Switzerland)
Album Title: Slania
Label: Nuclear Blast (Germany, USA)
Released: 2008

Though it seems unlikely that melodic death metal and traditional Celtic music can mix into something listenable, Eluveitie has been doing precisely that since their 2003 debut EP, Vên, arrived on the folk metal scene. Vên was received well enough that this former studio project became a full-fledged band, releasing their first album, Spirit, in 2006. Due to their accessible and enjoyable sound, they've gained a strong and loyal fanbase over the last few years. With their signing late last year to the large metal label Nuclear Blast, Eluveitie was given an opportunity to expose a much wider audience to their unique brand of folk metal. Fortunately, they did not squander that opportunity, as their second album, Slania, is an amazing piece of work, in many ways a refinement of the elements that made Spirit such a popular album in the scene.

Eluveitie's sound is an intriguing blend of Gothenburg-style death metal (think In Flames or Dark Tranquillity) and Celtic music. The eight-piece band (formerly they had as many as ten members) not only features two guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer, but four members who play traditional instruments. The vocalist, Chrigel Glanzmann, also plays flute, bagpipes, mandola, bodhrán, and acoustic guitar. One member plays bagpipes and various flutes, another plays violin, and yet another plays the hurdy gurdy. Unlike many folk metal bands who only have occasional folk elements, for Eluveitie it is an integral part of their sound and not simply a gimmick or "tacked-on" element.

Thematically, Eluveitie deals primarily with Celtic (Gaulish, to be specific) history. Oppression and conquest by the Roman Empire is a frequent lyrical theme, which means that many of Eluveitie's songs seem angry, a feeling that is enhanced by the nature of the melodic death metal that makes up the base of their sound. This isn't light-hearted, Korpiklaani-style folk metal, though you may at times find yourself torn between the desire to bang your head and the desire to get up and dance a jig. Part of the album's theme, the idea of the Great Wheel, the seasonal cycle, is represented by periodic instrumental folk pieces, including the beautiful "Anagantios," and the songs that begin and end the album ("Samon" and "Elembivos," respectively). As a bonus, a short but sweet acoustic version of "Samon" appears at the end of the CD.

As with any follow-up, Slania will be frequently compared to its predecessor, Spirit. The fact that there has been so much debate over which CD is superior is an indication to me that there is no clear consensus among Eluveitie fans. Spirit has some really stunning moments, and is overall a very strong album, but it also has a few tracks that I don't enjoy very much. Slania, on the other hand, is consistently great all the way through. Perhaps it doesn't ever reach such highs as the last few minutes of "Tegernakô" from Spirit, but, when listening through the entire album, I enjoy it more overall than I do Spirit. The albums are quite similar, though, both featuring great production, songwriting, and performances. Both use melodies drawn from Celtic traditional songs (a fact that has annoyed some fans, which makes me snicker a little... apparently these people want "folk metal" but are offended if you actually use traditional folk tunes instead of simply making up tunes that sound like traditional tunes) and contain a somewhat equal ratio of metal to folk. With Slania, it appears to me that the folk elements are better blended with the metal elements, so much so that it may appear upon first listen that Eluveitie has diminished the folk on this album. They haven't, though. It's there. It's just integrated more with the metal elements.

This is a metal album that should not be overlooked this year. Those who would be tempted to avoid the album due to the term "melodic death metal" or even "Celtic music" should at least listen to some samples online. I am not much of a fan of any sort of death metal, melodic or otherwise, but yet I have been a big fan of Eluveitie since shortly after Spirit's release in 2006. Slania proves that the band has staying power, and I am looking forward to seeing what great works they will deliver in the future.

Album Review: Turisas - "The Varangian Way"

Artist: Turisas (Finland)
Album Title: The Varangian Way
Label: Century Media (U.S.)
Released: 2007

The Varangian Way refers to a trade route used by Norsemen, mainly in the 9th and 10th centuries, by which they reached the Byzantine Empire. The Varangians, as they came to be known, settled in Eastern Europe and are believed to be part of the ancestry of the Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians (the Rus'). The trade route they used, by way of a series of rivers and the Caspian sea, is the setting for the fictional story that unfolds in Turisas' second album.

The first Turisas album, Battle Metal, was beloved by many, but I mostly hated it. It sounded to me, even at the time when I was still new to the pagan metal genre, like a generic version of Moonsorrow. Take Viking metal, strip out all specific references to Vikings or paganism, and you end up with a widely-accessible, relatively inoffensive, but diluted product. It had a few songs that I enjoyed, such as "Among Ancestors," but I thought that the lyrics and the overall atmosphere of Battle Metal was cheesy and bland.

It was with reluctance that I bought the second Turisas album, The Varangian Way. It was hailed by many of the same people who loved Battle Metal, which didn't tell me anything about the album's alleged quality. Some even felt it less good than the debut. I wasn't really expecting much when the disc arrived in the mail, but, in this case, the album turned out far better than I had hoped, almost reaching my top five metal CD's of 2007.

Musically, Turisas treads much of the same water as they did on Battle Metal. This is very accessible, symphonic, and epic Viking metal. This is not a band you listen to for great guitar riffs, because the guitars are just kind of there. The high-quality symphonic arrangements (synthesized, but convincing) take the spotlight from the guitars and drive the music. This tends to give off the atmosphere of listening to a heavy metal musical about Vikings, which is something that I hope someone eventually attempts. There is no lead guitar on this album; every time you think you're hearing a guitar solo, you're actually hearing an electric violin. There's also an accordion, though I don't hear it that often. The vocals of Warlord Nygård range from extremely good clean singing to harsh vocals. He is frequently backed by a choir of singers, and by this I don't mean just the typical "Viking choir" that you find on many albums in this genre. I mean that, quite literally, there is a choir on the album, though they are mostly utilized towards the end of the disc, perhaps to build the epic quality of the album until it culminates in the incredible closer, "Miklagard Overture."

The Varangian Way surprised me by how much the band has matured since Battle Metal. The album is wonderfully paced, with no unnecessary or bland tracks to be found throughout its 43 minutes of playing time. Lyrically, most of the album is concerned with the dangers of the voyage over raging rivers and through storms. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, nobody picks up a sword to behead an enemy throughout the entire album. It's mostly about the journey and the discovery of new lands and cultures, and by the end of the album, as Nygård sings the lines, "Adventures lie ahead, many knots unraveled on my thread," I hope that this is not the last we will hear of Hakon the Bastard.

For those who are looking for an introduction to Viking metal, The Varangian Way is a great start. Even non-metal fans should not be put off by it, because many of the things that non-metal fans hate about heavy metal (wanky guitar solos, high-pitched vocals, etc.) are not to be found on this release. For this reason, however, perhaps it will be avoided or criticized by a number of metal fans. But who cares? They've got plenty of generic power metal bands with Halford-wannabe vocalists to listen to if they so wish. The overall impression I'm left with after listening to Turisas is: this is surprisingly tasteful for a metal album. I'm a metal fan, and am well-aware and accepting of its excesses, but The Varangian Way is an album I can recommend to almost anyone.

And, because it's on a relatively large- and well-distributed label like Century Media, there's a chance you'll actually be able to find it. That's always a plus.

A stunning album... Very highly recommended.

Album Review: Alkonost - "Песни Вечного Древа"

Artist: Alkonost (Russia)
Album Title: Песни Вечного Древа (Songs of the Eternal Oak)
Label: Metalism Records (Russia)
Released: 2007

The earliest Alkonost release (not including demos) was the cassette-only "album" Songs of the Eternal Oak in 2000. These songs were released on CD, along with the Spirit Tending To Revolt demo, as the eponymous Alkonost in 2002. The Russian folk metal band was a different beast back in the Songs of the Eternal Oak days, with their relatively raw production and black metal-ish male vocals, as opposed to the heavily-female-voiced, cleanly-produced folk metal that they began making with the release of Between the Worlds in 2004. The vocals of Alex "Nightbird" Solovyov didn't fully disappear (except on Between the Worlds' Russian-language re-recording, Межмирье... what was up with that?), instead alternating with the beautiful operatic vocals of Alena Pelevina, but I would imagine that, for fans of Alkonost's early releases, the transition between the Songs of the Eternal Oak material and Between the Worlds must have been jarring.

I'm not sure how many old-school Alkonost fans continued to follow the band during this transition period, but, for those who sometimes yearn for the old days while still enjoying the progressions and changes that Alkonost has made over the past several years, Песни Вечного Древа may be of interest to you. Though, now that I think about it, if you're one of these fans I just described, then you've probably owned this album for over a year, in which case this "review" is pretty much useless to you. So let me start again: for fans of Alkonost's newer albums who may not be familiar with the beginnings of this band, Песни Вечного Древа may be of interest to you.

For the most part, Песни Вечного Древа is a Russian language re-recording of the classic Songs of the Eternal Oak. They also include "День последний мой" (a new Russian language version of "My Last Day" from Spirit Tending To Revolt), which is a really nice version of one of my favorite Alkonost songs, and a song called "К родимой стороне," which may be a new recording of an old song, but, if it is, I'm not familiar with the original. This song is also unique in that it features guest vocals by Ilya from Svarga (Russia... not the Ukrainian NS pagan metal band) and Alexandr from Rarog (also from Russia, not the Polish band). Alexandr seems to get around, because he also did guest vocals on the album by Rodogor, which I should also get around to reviewing one of these days. [May 14th edit: He's also in Kalevala, who just released their debut. Must get my hands on that CD.]

How Песни Вечного Древа differs from every Alknost album released since 2004 is that the excellent harsh vocals of Alex "Nightbird" dominate the album. Alena only appears on a few songs, and even then her presence is minimal. I greatly enjoy her voice, but since these songs were originally done with only a male vocalist, it makes sense to put Alexey back in the spotlight for this recording. Because there's very little singing to balance out the growling, this gives the album a bit of a harder edge than other newer Alkonost albums, though the music and production is pretty much the same as what they've been doing recently. This may cause it to have more appeal for those who prefer the growled vocals, or those who feel that Alkonost (or at least newer Alkonost) is a bit too "wimpy." I have no idea, though. I enjoy both newer and older Alkonost, though I prefer the newer material because of Alena's voice and the modern production.

Though many if not all of these songs are more than 10 years old, and were written during the formative years of the band, they hold up rather well when compared to the songs that appear on The Path We've Never Made or Stone Heart Blood. The album has plenty of great moments, though it holds few surprises for those who own the original Songs of the Eternal Oak or Alkonost. And those who don't feel that one set of vocals can hold up the entire album (or who can't imagine Alkonost without Alena's vocals featured prominently) may be disappointed in the album. However, I think many fans will find this to their liking, as I have. I'm not exactly sure why Alkonost has chosen to re-record so many of their old songs with Russian lyrics, but in this case they've given us a newly-polished version of a great album, which I would imagine is good news to those who haven't warmed up to the more raw production and harsher sound of the original.

Perhaps it's not a "must" for every Alkonost fan, but Песни Вечного Древа is still a great listen and a worthwhile purchase for those of us who can't get enough of them. It's almost worth it just for the new version of "My Last Day."

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...