Showing posts with label Pagan Folk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pagan Folk. Show all posts

Wednesday 3 January 2024

Myrkur "Ragnarok" (2023)

 
Danish outfit Myrkur had a busy 2023. Not only Spine but this TV show soundtrack too. Surprisingly, Ragnarok is the more straightforward of the two. Rocking rural stints of Heathen Metal, guitars frequently drop in with overdriven power chords, chunky rhythms and a touch of Doom Metal lurches. Bruun's Scandinavian tongue roots its viking feeling when in spoken demeanor, her ascensions into charming sung passes feel like a softly symphonic charm to dress up the rather dirty, gritty guitar tones.

Each Metal song alternates with an orchestrated alternative, softer instrumentation, often keyboards, pianos and strings. Odins Sang offers a Nordic folk chant over primitive percussion. For the mesmerizing Modgunns Tema, a different direction. Deeply calming, mysterious and natural, the gentle lonely notes that glimmer in its lingering reverb feel like a tribute to first light over a pristine snow swept forest.

This shuffling variety is refreshing, creating quite a journey. Initially I was drawn to its softer side but the Metal tracks have a charm in their simplicity. The aesthetic is spot on for conjuring pagan visions and rural hardships worshiping ancient gods. Its subtly impressive and a firm reminder of why I'm still interested in what they might do next. Although completely fitting, Ragnarok is still candidly bewitching, even more so Spine.

Rating: 7/10

Friday 15 December 2023

Myrkur "Spine" (2023)

After the aptly name Folkesange, Danish outfit Myrkur return to the Black Metal tinged aesthetics of their origins. Spine muddies the waters with an uncanny sense akin to a "covers album". Like Humans sets this striking tone, the "talk to me like humans do" chorus arises from a rubble of darkly guitar rumblings and morose pianos nestled in a foggy, swampy drone. The cadence and melodies of Amalie Bruun carry an elevated yet contrasting spirit, rhythm and rhyme akin to catchy yet emotive Synthpop.

Continuously, her knack for lyrical delivery evokes this peculiarity again and again. Other elements suggested similar feelings too. The tense, tick tock alike synth lines of Mothlike and its gleaming flush, a rapid melodic guitar solo that erupts from an initial dark rumble, this too felt like a differing origin brought to to serve a peculiar chemistry.

As the album runs, many inspirations are woven into its fabric. A strange mix of hazy subdued extremity and light shining through gloomy clouds. Blazing Sky brings the bloat and bombast of a sludgy Doom Metal riff to the mercy of Brunn's earthly, gentle voice. Again, its illuminating pivot into a catchy chorus gives this unshakable sense of an original piece re-imagined through a dark and contrasting genre.

After many spins and much pointless research, I've learned of this records authenticity and grown to adore its peculiar position. It speaks volumes to its chemistry as these magnetic songs carry multiple spirits in tandem. The band have yielded a record that doesn't fallen into any typicality or genre pitfalls. Gracefully, they brew great music with their own unique spirit. Its been a breath of fresh air to say the least!

Rating: 8/10

Saturday 6 August 2022

Arcanist "Hyperborea" (2022)

 

 Through forages of retro psychedelia synth know as Berlin School, and an artistic encroachment upon the forgotten dusty crypts of Dungeon Synth, Arcanist firmly caught my attention with their stunning debut Poseidonis. My knee jerk reaction to Hyperborea waned after a sour taste induced by spurious inclusions of esoteric Black Metal and sludgy abominably Doom Metal. As successive repetitions settled spirits across its four epic songs, I grew to love how musically ambitious this record is.

Unwilling to rest on laurels, Hyperborea brews its story telling with cinematic stride to journey vast and various musical landscapes. Unruly lulls of Dark Ambience hold over its forays into Medieval and Heathen acoustic folk. The aforementioned metallic spurts scale the summit as its valleys are navigated by captivating synth solos in the spirit of Progressive Rock. Best of all, The Coming Of The White Worm's plunge into the cosmic has another delightful reminiscence of my treasured Oscillotron.

A flow of engulfing atmospheric magic gushes forth, with sudden splashes of color, wild twists and dramatic soars along the way. Despite having different temperaments and aesthetics, the music is guided wondrously as these distinct musical spaces get woven together in a single narrative. It has the pay off only an album experience can offer as one traverses its eerie, bespoken wanderings into lavish drips of exotic synth. Ending on a loud and frightening conclusion, I am often startled, awoken to start the adventure over again. Its has been one of the best musical experiences this year!

Rating: 9/10

Wednesday 29 June 2022

Kalandra "Beneath The Breaking Waves" (2017)

 

Seeking more of The Line's immense serine soundscapes has led me here. Beneath The Breaking Waves is lacking its keen persuasion. After many spins, the scent ruminates like a "warmup" EP, a group finding their footing. Released three years prior to their debut, the magic is either sequestered of lacking entirely. Don't get me wrong, this folksy six track charmer cruises in a parallel lane but the chemistry is yet to be arrived upon. Each musician brings beautiful sounds, textures and craft to their parts.

Lacking the drive to swell and croon together like a symphony, much of the music lays its ideas bare. Padded by interludes and gentle atmosphere building, the feistier surges and potent melodies are brief sparks in fields swept by the drab calms that simmer in their own quietness. Unlike the experience of encroaching growth that came with each listen on The Line, these tracks tired quickly. It seems the components are in place but missing an inspiration to bring Kalandra to life, I'm glad they found it.

Rating: 4/10

Tuesday 21 June 2022

Kalandra "The Line" (2020)

 

This gem almost went amiss. Its subtleties slithered to a silence, a withdrawn instrumental softness letting this listener go by. Lacking gusto, bite or immediacy, only the striking resemblance to fellow Nordic queen Aurora held me in. If not another charmed, utterly gorgeous voice, the likeness would border plagiarism. Timbre, temperament, flow and inflections all swoon like a deja-vu. Its why I stuck around. With each listen I felt further from the words I initially wanted to share in this space.

The Line is a record of awe inducing landscapes, the resonance of which expressed aptly through its album art. Crimson skies lurch, whispering clouds part, the sunlight aches in to bless the primal earth beneath. We experience tits wonders as heathen inhabitants, devoid of technology and gods alike. Clearly a part of the growing Nordic Folk movement, Kalandra's strings pull on an endearing warmness. Unlike fellow contemporaries Wardruna and Heilung, they peer not into the northern darkness.

One could pen them as Soft Prog, gentle foragers of atmospheres with felicitous moments of Post Rock swelling and Etheral dreaminess. Tranquil, soothing and calm in nature, its rare flashes of hurried pacing, harmless brooding and climactic roars seem perfectly architectured, as if a force of nature. On its weathered journey outpacing the storm, occasions of rest incur with folkish tunes and tales. It all speaks to the ancestral human, married to mother earth, one that rumbles deep within us all.

And so with every passing listen, my initial foolishness, a deluded disappointment, fortunately grew distant. Somehow I was rustled by these "over indulged" instruments. Keen for vibrant melodies, a punchy baseline or tribal percussive groove, I was aloof to the atmospheric magic unfolding. Quiet is a strength, one that passed me by. The instrumental craft, a careful curation. Licks, grooves, riffs are subtly snug, every inch of aesthetic measured, fit together under a masterplan where nothing overpowers.

There are no particulars that leap of the page. Every song is a journey blossoming from a perpetual mellow flow. The record thus becomes river. Drop in, let its coolness wash over you and chill out. With at least a bakers dozen of spins under the belt now, it still grows on me. No doubts here, this could be honey that sticks for time to come.

Rating: 8/10

Wednesday 7 April 2021

Wardruna "Kvitravn" (2021)

 

These Norwegian musicians have been reviving their heritage for years now, utilizing historical instruments to ignite the flames of their viking ancestry. The last outing, Skald, was a performance piece of sorts, poetical recitals and minimalist accompaniment that failed to spark excitement with this listener. Kvitravn is a return to norms yielding a similar problem as its now established and familiar aesthetic passes without a gust of anything to break its gloomy droning march. Don't get me wrong, what these musicians achieve is beautiful and visionary but as there persona becomes expectant, groups like Heilung thrill with their claws lurching into the shadows and pulling out blinding horrors of ancient darkness.

Kvitravn plays with the same drudging pace. A weighty gloomy hangs overhead as the cold winds and constant rain batters its human inhabitants. Peering into a re-imagined past, Wardruna captures the spirit of burdensome life, one of hard work and death with a spiritual closeness to mother nature. Its songs tend to find different ways to this same macabre march of dragging heels and achy backs as its thick drone of flawed and aged instruments is led by the reluctant pattering percussion of bearskin drums, pulling the music along. Once established song meanders in its particular arrangement, circling the same rhythm and musical ideas over and over again.

 Its on inspection that its repetitious nature becomes obvious. Trying to gleam out moments or details that sparkle, perhaps only the haunting choral cries of Viseveiding stand out. Without such critical ears it is all to easy to fall into its spell, the dull drones of blunted instruments become the curtaining atmosphere to bring about a subdued meditative state. In its mild gloom many moments feel ephemeral as its range of cultural voices sing Nordic tales, hardships and occasionally dive into the hysteria of softly guttural chants. The human voice is the element that ties the music together but as already expressed it is the puritanical approach that gives it little leverage over their previous output. For now I will put this record down and whenever in need of that nostalgic viking majesty, I may resurrect it for the dusky tone it conjures.

Rating: 6/10

Thursday 24 September 2020

Heilung "Futha" (2019)


Futha is more of an experience than a collection of formulated songs. It is what Heilung specialize in, esoteric, bleak and bewildering music that pierces a nomadic spirit with an atmosphere of fright and wonder. Primitive instruments, ritualistic chants and a tribal spirit forge inducing passageways of entrancing rhythms between heathen cries calling to the gods. These Norwegian have taken deep inspiration from a mythic take on their pagan heritage. Reading up on the use of bones, ashes and even antiques from temples as instruments, the music is as vivid as their dedication to it.

The best of the record comes with both the effeminate and male voices chiming, singing in native tongue over driving looped percussion with airy synths steaming into dense smothering atmospheres. With long and lengthy songs totaling seventy two minutes the repetitive nature sets in as a temporal, spiritual mood seeking the roots of a humanity that once looked very different. Futha takes its time, build ups are sluggish, some interlude ambiences steady forward with no sparkle or polish. It fits in so well to the vision but it is not always as captivating the initial charm on first listen.

The nostalgic purity is alluring but that undercurrent of mother natures cold cruelty is always present. In the final stages the record bites its teeth in with a grimness as guttural vocals are drawn in word by word on Elivagar. Its like the beginning of a cursed ritual, ghostly voicing uttering out every breath with a textural viscosity that brews in intensity. It leads into the last two numbers like a portal to the past, one is at the center of a psychedelia induced blood ritual of entranced primitive sacrifice. Futha offers up a remarkable experience in fractions but isn't always captivating from start to end. It is certainly worth your time if cultural music of lost tribes is in anyway enticing to you.

Rating: 7/10

Monday 20 April 2020

Myrkur "Folkesange" (2020)


Stripping out all Black Metal elements and purifying her Nordic folk inspiration, singer and multi-instrumentalist Amalie Bruun has forged a stunning, timely slice of naturalist music, devoid of an all to common "nostalgia". It feels present, spiritual and deeply rooted in tradition. This folk music conjures images of a simpler life, immersed in mother natures beautiful found among the fjords. It does so with a blissful clarity and heart that has each musical piece feeling as far from our modern world as could be. I've always been fond of folk elements but this has flawed me, It might be the most authentic experience Ive had in sometime, its a truly transformational experience.

A fine line is tread between simplicity and purpose as a masterful production captures Amalie's serine and soft voice and accompanying instruments in a gorgeous ambience of natural echo and reverberation. Its touch lets gentle and minimal melodies soak up their potential in atmosphere, resulting in a cold and pure indulgence for our imaginations. The array of obscure instruments, by modern standards, the nyckelharpa, lyre and mandala enrich this ancestral experience with a deep connection to traditions. A skeletal approach to percussion too carries this feeling forward with most songs receiving a measured muster of momentum from the power of one simple lone and deep drum striking with spacious intent.

The songs have varying retirements swaying from the dark to light and despite being rather different in these moods, all land a stark sense of connection. Her Nordic tounge is mesmerizing in its ambiguity, a beautiful voice with feeling felt beyond verbal comprehension. It makes the song House Carpenter perk up with English lyrics talking of Tennessee, a cover of a Joan Baez song. She brings a light to this unknown gem and the closing song Vinter, with its seasonal snowy piano too has an uncanny feeling of similarity. It is the most beautiful song on the whole project with its soft and gentle approach and stands aside from the folk narrative. Strangely it makes me think of the redemptive scene in Home Alone with the caretaker. Beautiful record, simply wonderful.

Favorite Tracks: Frager Som En Ros, Reiar, Gudernes Vilje, Vinter
Rating: 9/10

Saturday 19 January 2019

Wardruna "Skald" (2018)


Having enjoyed the Nordic ambience and cultural folk of Runaljod, I brought this album without a first listen. Its a departure from what I remember as Skald trades off depth and indulgence for a grounded minimalism that far better represents what this may have one sounded like. Einar Selvik stands as a dominate presence, a lone ancestral voice to guide us through the echos of heritage and its accompanying instrumentation, of which there is little. Naked and bare, his language is sung with inflections and an honest rawness to invoke what may have been in centuries past.

Purely by impression, his performance resembles runic scriptures and handed down heathen hymns. The poetry of cultures lost to time. His lone voice holds strong as simple single stringed instrument melodies repeat to set the tone. Only on Vindavla do the instruments switch to bring a darker, tense tone as the Lute alike instrument mostly delivers soothing and warm music. One can envision Nordic ancestors sat around a campfire as they exchange stories and sing poetry together.

At its end the record dulls with a fifteen minute accapella. His isolated voice not as charming alone. On my first few listens I struggled to be sucked in to this world but with patience it grew a little. The fault is probably with my own preferences as a richer instrumentation would have lured me in and cultural hymns are often not to my liking through human voice alone. It is however a remarkable performance in the right mood, a soothing and spiritual listen that will evoke historical echos of our humanity.

Rating: 5/10

Tuesday 20 November 2018

Dead Can Dance "Dionysus" (2018)


Blessed we are to have another Dead Can Dance project on our hands. After a six year absence the duo return with a mid length, sweet and exotic piece of music. Its around seven songs split into two sixteen and nineteen minute tracks. Through the journey of this blog I have been digging into their catalog and unearthing several gems, Aion being the first. They compose and perform meditative, spiritual music inspired by historical, cultural and worldly sounds. Time has not been a hindrance, this release is fondly inspired and fit to sit among the best of their wonderful discography.

The first act is luscious, exotic and wild. A modern production doesn't particularly give the duo anything they couldn't achieve already but its crisp and silky aesthetic has the percussion popping. Earthly choral singing over viola strings sounds dazzling too. It has a warm climate feel that plays out with powerful melodies conjuring deep earthly moods, reinforced by vocal cries of emotion from under the building layers of exotic instrumentation. Its a very primitive and rooted experience, a scenic interlude of rain, howling and chirping of wildlife grounds the link between these songs as its final piece goes into a primitive trance. One can envision star splattered night skies, camp fires, ritualistic dancing and singing around the glowing flickers of flames.

The second act feels colder and humanistic, the pace and tone turn to a nightly setting and Perry brings mysterious language to his singing. Brooding cultural voices and dazzling melodies stir up a climatic build up on the following song. Its another engrossing atmosphere and then The Forest really throws things back in time with a warm, upfront and gently bouncing baseline giving the track a Post-Punk feel, going back to their roots as a band. The singing is gorgeous, enriched by worldly travel. Its the albums peak as the following song slowly winds things down quietly as the record drifts back into the shadows from which it came. Its a brilliant record that does the best of what these two are known for with exquisite execution. The inspiration is ripe and with that a wonderful thirty plus minutes of riveting music has been birthed.

Rating: 8/10

Thursday 2 August 2018

Myrkur "Myrkur" (2014)


Lastly for now we arrive at the roots of Amalie Bruun's musical endeavor, the debut, self titled EP which is surprisingly better than the full length M. It suffers the same entanglement of heavenly folkish sounds and beastly Black Metal but here the guitar work stands up a little stronger as the sways between dark and light are equally better despite a lack of flow. Unlike its predecessor which showed stark influences from the formation years of the genre, Myrkur's guitar aesthetics and riffs resemble a style far more akin to a band like Drudkh with harsh and thick tones that have a odd alluring indulgence.

As a purely Folk song, Frosne Vind shines like a beacon among the fog of dissonant aggression. Serine acoustic guitars washed in roomy reverberation paint an air of culture and meaning that her distant voice illuminates with a touch of divinity as the choral chant layers her voice blissfully. Its cut short as we are lunged into the hellfire of blast beasts and tremolo picking that highlights the records lack of cohesive direction or union between these two sounds she would go on to achieve with Mareridt. Her singing may be stunning but it is often cut short by these transitions.

When both Folk and Metal elements reside within singular songs the same rigidity occurs, Latvian Fegurð even has an odd bass heavy "gulp" noise as its beautiful, soft intro is cast to shadows in a sudden shift to snarling shredding. This records merit is in the interest both elements spark up as the aggressive side finds its moments of intrigue with atmospheric riffing. The problem, as to follow, is their contrast which is yet to find a middle ground beyond Amalie singing in her calming clean voice over shrill guitars on a couple of occasions. A reasonable start but as we know it will take another effort before they find what really works.

Favorite Tracks: Frosne Vind, Må Du Brænde I Helvede
Rating: 6/10

Tuesday 17 July 2018

Myrkur "M" (2015)


Blown away by their fantastic sophomore record Mareridt I tracked back two years for their debut full length. Simply titled M, we hear ideas and darkly sounds closer to inception, rawer, rigidity in place and without the craft they would go on to display. At this point Bruun was writing alone and recording in the studio with session musicians who had little if no input on composition. It may not be the lone reason but we hear the music in a far more brittle form, the darkness, its uplifting light and rooted atmosphere of folk sounds play out in turns with obvious shifts and turns. Its tracks bleed into one experience as they barely delineate from one another on many fronts.

This initially made the record difficult to get into, its eruptions of snarly screams and harrowing demonic voices forcefully turned the pace of the music as blast beats and shrill guitars would descend on the listener, casting sections of heavenly singing and pagan instrumentation to the side. These three phases are often the focus of the music, her angelic voice, singing softly, gracing over the instruments from an illusive distance. The forcefully harsh and abrasive blasts of ugly Black Metal and the calls of ancestor through horns, violins, fiddles and a helping of atmospheric synth.

There are many moments where these three pillars overlap but often the transitions are rigid, obvious and in sequence. It feels very inspired by the blunt and bold Black Metal of the 90s yet shows the need for the craft, care and inspiration they go on to show in the next record. Initially I focused on this to much and didn't enjoy the record much but with repetition its familiarity let the vibe and mood of the record sink in, which despite some short comings it does has a similar tone to its predecessor... In places... Tracks like Mordet feel cut from the cloth of yesterdays sound of northern darkness but the record charm of swaying from the arms of darkness to the roots of heritage eventually takes over.

All in all M is a decent record that would have been better enjoyed first. The potential it shows feels weaker in retrospect but its ability to cast a spell and create a lasting atmosphere is strong. The sways from black to light and then to heathenish culture are fun and enjoyable. The crafts of subtly and persuasion are not yet with them but blunt the plunges into hell are fun and its gothic edge is charming. Although this may seem like the start their is a short EP beforehand too. I will check that out next.

Rating: 6/10

Thursday 28 June 2018

Myrkur "Mareridt" (2017)


There's always music to be discovered and this year at Download Festival I decided to wander over to the forth stage while grabbing some food and to my delight caught an unexpected amazing show by the Danish group Myrkur. A combination of furious Black Metal and angelic singing played right to my tune, I knew I would have to pick up a record and my first is their second.

Mareridt, Danish for nightmare, reveals so much more about their sound from the live experience, although it is probably a dimension to their sound your just not going to hear first time around at a show. The record however shows depth and emotion in abundance as the contrast between singer Amalie Bruun and her band goes beyond a simple concept and aesthetic, tapping deep into the folk sound of pagan cultural roots.

The record achieves a meditative, indulgent state just at its surface level alone. Steady, naturalistic songs let the light draw to Bruun's singing as she delves into soft angelic singing with accents of Scandinavian heritage, on De Tre Piker she goes all the way in with what could pass as on old hymn handed down through generations, stunning singing reminiscent of Lisa Gerrard. Behind her the music finds different temperaments with the Black Metal aspect of the music finding many intensities to approach from, occasional bursts of ugly, snarly spats of grimness fuel some darkness but more often than not, it rides on the uplifting gleam of awe inspired lead melodies, similar to the epic grandiose scale of an act like Saor. It mostly serves as an aesthetic for the theme.

As the distortion guitars and drumming compete for their moments they sway up again the persuasion of heathen sounds. Violins, harps, modern synths, organs and pianos grip firmly on the naturalistic experience that will have one smelling the outdoors air, feeling the breeze as it rustles through the leaves of tress. One can really feel the spiritual connection to the forgotten past when man was closer to mother nature. The swaying and competition between two sounds gives the album a healthy flow that finds an interesting middle moment on Funeral as Chelsea Wolfe lends her voice to an abyssal, slow, crushing instrumental that could of easily been on her own record. It highlights some similarities but more so adds to the diverse pallet these songs have with one another.

On first listen I felt the Black Metal aspect to be rather rigid and stiff in its volatile phases. I could hear a lot of 90s abrasiveness at work but with each listen as the overall theme became clearer its chemistry in relation to Bruun's voice and the other cultural sounds gave it a far more organic and Post feel. Perceptions change and I am finding myself loving this record more and more with each listen. Its moods, feelings and vision run deep, the music comes to life with vivid visuals of dark and ancient times filled with pagan mysticism.

There is a very personal and mischievous period in the outro track Bornehjem, a childish Golem alike voice talks to its demons, leaving me to believe there is most likely a much more personal theme running through the lyrics, of which I haven't read, perhaps that is something I should make the effort to do. This band will undoubtedly be one of my favorite new discoveries this year and luckily there is their debut record to get into next.

Favorite Tracks: The Serpent, Elleskudt, De Tre Piker, Funeral, Ulvinde
Rating: 8/10

Friday 20 April 2018

Winterfylleth "The Hallowing Of Heirdom" (2018)


Hailing from the city of Manchester, Winterfylleth have harvested a reputation as being one of English Black Metal's more exciting bands, maybe even the UK's Metal scene in general as they have made a name for themselves, embracing the lands heritage with their music. I'm somewhat ignorant to them, having only briefly listened to some of their previous records. I thought I'd give this new one try and It was not what I was expected for they have done what many bands before have done and entirely removed all of the Metal from their sound, leaving them to explore their influences and inspirations with lush instrumentation of acoustic, cultural instruments that echo visions of eras gone by.

The Hallowing Of Heirdom is a transformative listen, its earthly, mellow choral chants underline and uplift these songs with its heathen roots as worrisome stringed instruments sing the blues and hardships of rural life. With serine acoustic guitars and an inspired composition of cultural instrumentation the atmosphere becomes vivid with the mild and moody weather of England's restless shores. Across these twelve songs we travel through different temperaments, exploring imagination as these beautiful and quaint melodies inspire visions of natural beauty and the mythic culture of simpler times ravaged by the cruelty of mother natures embrace.

The opening track The Shepherd makes a remarkable entrance as the albums most gorgeous and charming song, it is also the records most involved and "complex" as we explore this world through songs that mostly become somewhat stripped back in comparison, perhaps leaning on the acoustic guitar or singular instruments. It feels fitting of the albums vision to not always lean to the most engrossing moments where the music essentially crescendos as all the voices line up together but through the record it finds its way to these peaks a fair few times.

Although a wonderfully indulgent experience it is not without its lulls, moments where it drifts off into itself however that feels unavoidable given the select handful of instruments that make up this clear and potent sound. Initially I was in awe of its beauty but then it hit me, I have visited this pagan realm before. The Nymph sparked my memory, its composition very akin to Agalloch's The White record. Both are wonderful listens but this one stretches itself a little thin in comparison however that's no reason not to enjoy this wonderfully scenic and soulful music.

Favorite Tracks: The Shepherd, Elder Mother, The Nymph
Rating: 7/10

Thursday 25 May 2017

Ulver "Kveldsjanger" (1996)


I've always been aware of Ulver, never quite found my way into his eclectic collection of records however the recent release of "The Assassination Of Julies Caesar" has cracked open the door. "Kveldsjanger" caught my ear as I was skimming through albums. Its part of the "Black Metal Trilogy" yet has not a drip of anything Metal in sight. Ulver's first record had both Black Metal and Norwegian Folk music woven into one, the following two records would split the styles and so this release is thirty five minutes of enchanting, mythic, Norse Folk to sink into.

Serine acoustic guitars, enchanting flutes, a deep brooding cello and absorbing vocals paint a wonderfully primitive and spiritual experience, capturing the spell bounding beauty of the cold natural terrain. Its wooden acoustics have a natural chill about them, very earthly. They strum out layered arrangements that sway their linage, ever changing, there twang a touch Spanish in moments but rarely that temperate. Garm's voice has a few intensities, sometimes loud and burly at the forefront, performing a folk tale, other times hes heard holding notes and words in the distance like a hymn behind the guitars. It always brings a spiritual humanistic level to the music and puts a soul within the landscape.

The nuances of detail are almost irrelevant in how vividly the vision of times gone by come across. The vast Nordic countryside is brought to life with a rural honesty, the mood doesn't steer into paganism, darkness or some exaggeration. It has a grounded authenticity that lets your imagination set the scene. A slight streak of sorrow runs through some tracks but nothing ever feels obvious, Its mood and tone command the setting with compositions that feel like old Folk songs have been fleshed out and expanded upon. "Hiertets Vee" steps of the path with the sound of vicious whirling winds and the end of the song, lonely flutes are heard through it, painting visions of travelers hunkering down to see out a storm. Its just a single moment that's a little more cinematic than musical and it fits right in. This record is a wonderful piece of folk art, a go to record for that atmosphere of the ancient past.

Rating: 8/10

Friday 8 January 2016

Agalloch "The White" (2008)


Browsing through my archives I stumbled into and old gem, a lost treasure, something that must be shared for its intrinsic beauty and deeply spiritual sound. Agalloch are a highly praised American Black and Folk Metal band who released this record between a string of noisier counterparts. Not being that familiar with anything else in their discography I remember it as a u-turn to the roots of their Folk influences, a tribal, pagan ethereal experience that places one at the heart of nature.

The record establishes its Pagan theme immediately opening with a sample of children chanting "We carry death out of the village" from the movie "The Wicker Man" about a Pagan community on an isolated island. Its followed by bright, infectious acoustic guitars, vivid and clean they swoon simple melodies and chords with a Folk charm. It reminds me of the acoustic moments present in Metallica's "Battery" and "To Live Is To Die", a similar tone but a loud and strongly plucked playing style.

Aside the core instrument, the guitar, there is a imaginative variety of sounds that give each track its own dimension, "Birch Black" has swirling synths falling from the sky, a crunchy theatrical baseline signaling the tribal drums that pound the way for a tremolo plucked lead to crash into and narrate the song from a soaring height. "Hollow Stone" plays with brooding ethereal noises that sound like soft winds with distant voices in a choir, morning a lost beauty. It paints a picture of great loss in the cold foggy moors of the countryside as night is setting in. "Sowilo Rune" has a warm, adventurous but tamed piano playing of a soothing chemistry between the ethereal synth and strummed guitar chords. Whispering voices and a deep base moog give it a touch of mystery and mysticism while remaining an upbeat and positive song.

The final song ends where it all started, with a sample from "The Wicker Man" and often it is my cue to return to track one and enjoy it all over again. Its a record of substance and inspiration, one could of wished for more but of the thirty two minutes, not one moment is wasted. Its a mesmerizing, spiritual record, isolated in a bands discography, unlikely to be returned to again. Either way its a treasure I've enjoyed countless times and will continue to as time races on-wards.

Rating: 9/10