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.