Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Album Review: Darkestrah - The Great Silk Road

Darkestrah - The Great Silk Road

Artist: Darkestrah (Kyrgyzstan / Germany)
Album Title: The Great Silk Road
Label: Paragon Records (USA)
Released: 2008

My first exposure to Darkestrah was in the fall of 2005 when I ordered their first album, Sary Oy. This promising and unique debut mixed obscure black metal with a lot of traditional Kyrgyz instruments and throat singing, which is not a combination you hear on a regular basis. Unfortunately as vocalist Kriegtalith and drummer Asbath moved the band to Germany, they parted ways with the guy responsible for playing all those traditional instruments (Oldhan). As a result, their next album, Embrace of Memory, had a sound that was much closer to traditional black metal, though it was very epic and had some scattered influences of Kyrgyz culture in the mix. Because a lot of their uniqueness was gone, and I was losing interest in traditional black metal, I ignored their next album, Epos, for a while.

After Epos, Darkestrah left German label No Colours and arranged for their next album, 2008's The Great Silk Road, to be released on small New York State label Paragon Records. This should be good news for U.S. fans, who won't have to track down another Darkestrah release on No Colours and pay the higher prices that are usually charged for releases on that label. Not that a higher price wouldn't be worth it for this album, which would turn out to be one of my favorite 2008 releases, but the easy availability and very positive reviews the album was getting inspired me to give the band another listen.

While Epos was thematically centered around the Kyrgyz lake of Issyk Kul, The Great Silk Road, obviously, is concerned with the ancient trade routes that pass through Asia. Epos was a good album, but I found it a little repetitive and very short (if you get rid of the several minutes of sound effects, the album clocks in at around 27 minutes). The Great Silk Road builds on the many positive aspects of Epos, but is overall a much more satisfying package, in my opinion. For one thing, it's significantly longer, with four long tracks (ranging from 8 1/2 to almost 19 minutes in length) and a short outro. I also found it to be more musically interesting. There are certainly those who prefer Epos, however, and I would certainly recommend that release if you find it for a good price and are prepared for what is basically a long EP consisting of one song.

On this album, Darkestrah reminds me quite a bit of Drudkh or Negură Bunget but with a bit of Orphaned Land mixed in. There are many atmospheric, slow-burning sections with thick chords and catchy riffs, sometimes enhanced by keyboards, cello, or a few traditional instruments (like the temir-komuz, the Kyrgyz jaw harp). The music, especially in some of the intros, has a very distinct Middle Eastern quality to it, and one may have no problem picturing the desert and traders from various cultures converging on the Silk Road. Then there are Kriegtalith's vocals, which are evil and icy cold. Hers are some of my favorite black metal-style vocals, because they are in such a high register and often sound inhuman. I don't know if she enhances her vocals with a little distortion, but I suspect that she has simply perfected this style over the past few albums. Some might not like the style, because it at times seems at odds with the atmosphere otherwise created by the music, but I didn't find this to be a distraction.

Because of the long track times and the patient approach the band takes at developing the songs, what results is a satisfying, winding journey. It's one of those albums you can love on the first listen, yet continue to discover new things about it with each subsequent listen. Those who enjoyed the first Darkestrah album but felt that they ventured too far from their roots after that should give them another chance, because, even if the use of traditional instruments and melodies isn't quite as prominent as it was on Sary Oy, I think everything blends together better on this album. Folk metal fans who don't tend to listen to pagan-themed black metal (like Fimbultyr, Enslaved, Hate Forest, etc.) might find this to be too strongly black metal-oriented for their tastes, but then again they might find it easier to listen to because of how well Darkestrah establishes the atmosphere and keeps it throughout the album. It's kind of like how Nile's use of "ancient Egyptian" musical themes made it possible for me to listen to them even though I don't normally like ultra-pummelling death metal.

Perhaps the centerpiece of the album is "Kara-Oy," which is by far the longest track. This track begins with what I think is the cello, along with some throat singing, before launching into some furious black metal. At just before the twelve minute mark, and again shortly thereafter, the band references the main musical theme to their debut album, Sary Oy, which I thought was a pretty cool touch. Anyone familiar with Sary Oy can't possibly miss it. The way this song builds, dismantles, and re-builds, with an organic ebb and flow, reminds me very much of Epos, except about ten minutes shorter. It winds down with the sound of the temir-komuz over a thick backdrop of Drudkh-like musical atmosphere before fading into the 2-minute long, cinematic-sounding outro.

Darkestrah is certainly a unique band, and with each album they have gained a lot of attention, and rightfully so. Fans of black metal, pagan metal, and bands like Orphaned Land should at least check out some samples of The Great Silk Road and see if it doesn't grab you. An excellent metal album indeed.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Album Review: ВеданЪ КолодЪ - Танец леших

ВеданЪ КолодЪ - Танец леших

Artist: ВеданЪ КолодЪ (Vedan Kolod) [Russia]
Album Title: Танец леших (The Dance of the Wood Spirits)
Record Label: Sketis Music (Russia)
Released: 2007

Russian folk band Vedan Kolod's second CD, The Dance of the Wood Spirits, is an improvement over their very good debut, Tribes. Their overall sound has not changed much, except for the addition of bagpipes and other instruments. The album progresses largely the same as Tribes, with a variety of styles among the songs to keep the listener from becoming too accustomed to one particular style. But everything just feels more mature on this album: the songwriting is tighter, the players more confident, the production is more consistent, etc. This is everything that was so good about the first Vedan Kolod album, only better.

I had ordered the first and second CD's at the same time, and this one actually arrived a day earlier than the other, so this album was my first real exposure to Vedan Kolod other than a few Myspace samples and Youtube videos. To be honest, I didn't really know what to make of it at first. This is a band that is unlike any other that I have heard, and I had to grow accustomed to their style of music and grow to appreciate it over the next few days of listening at work and at home. Like the other CD, there are songs that I immediately liked, while there were some that took time to appreciate. Since then, however, I have grown to really like this album from beginning to end, and I am excited to hear their third CD, which seems to be even more difficult to find than this one.

The album begins with Веснянка, an original song by the band which features the drum, zhaleika (I believe), and solo female vocal. This is a fast-paced, energetic song, and a wise song with which to begin the album. The second track, Да на море утушка купалася, which translates to "Duck is swimming in the sea," is a traditional Russian wedding song, and it actually sounds rather solemn for a wedding song, or a song about a duck, for that matter. It contains some very interesting female vocal harmonies. Quite lovely and amazing. The instrumentation on this track is drum and I think a Scythian horn, also an odd choice for a wedding song, I think. However, I would be happy to have this song played at my wedding, if I were to have a second one.

The third track features vocals by Valerii Naryshkin, the one male in the band, as well as gusli, flute, and gudok (the three-stringed, violin-like instrument I mentioned in the last review). The fourth track is mostly instrumental, but with some spoken text in the foreground. I won't go track-by-track through the whole album, but maybe you'll get an idea of the kind of variety Vedan Kolod employs. There are 13 tracks, just like the first album, but this album is 10 minutes shorter, at about 38 and a half minutes. That may sound like a detriment, but actually I think the shorter songs help move the album along at a nice pace.

I don't know what else to say about The Dance of the Wood Spirits, except that it's a great second album for Vedan Kolod and should definitely please fans of their first album. The addition of bagpipes and zhaleika are certainly welcome as well, as they add even more color and richness to the music. There's a lot of detail just waiting to be discovered among these songs, and I enjoy the fact that I keep finding things that I missed in previous listens.

This is a highly-recommended CD for those who are looking for authentic Russian folk with a reverence for Russia's history and a desire to revive and preserve its ancient musical traditions. I encourage Tatyana, Daryana, Polina, and Valerii to continue their musical journey wherever it may lead them. It has been an exciting one so far.

Album Review: ВеданЪ КолодЪ - Племена

ВеданЪ КолодЪ - Племена

Artist: ВеданЪ КолодЪ (Vedan Kolod) [Russia]
Album Title: Племена (Tribes)
Record Label: Panfiloff Music (Russia)
Released: 2007

[April 15, 2009 edit: I made at least one error in writing the review below. The band is still located in Central Siberia, not Moscow. Also, as you can see by Daryana's comment, Polina was only 11 years old (!) when Tribes was released, which is much younger than the "early 20's" guess I made. I should never get a job in a carnival "Guess My Age?" booth, because I'm usually way off. Thank you to Daryana for clearing up my errors! :-) ]

Tribes, the debut CD of the young Russian folk band Vedan Kolod, begins with the deep drone of the Scythan horn, a digeridoo-like instrument. The Scythian horn is joined by some hand percussion and a male voice that, a minute and a half into the title track, changes to a form of throat singing as it is joined by a female voice. This is not how I expected a Russian folk album to start, though I have not heard very many (unfortunately) so I really didn't know what to expect. The atmosphere of this first track is one of a primal feeling, somewhat shamanic, perhaps not dissimilar from Native American music.

Vedan Kolod makes it immediately clear that they are not an ordinary folk band. There are no electronic sounds or effects used, no modern instruments that are now associated with Russian folk such as the bayan or balalaika, no guitar, no violin, no modern rhythms. Their music is described as "authentic Russian folk," and though I am no ethnomusicologist, this does sound like what I would imagine ancient pagan music to be.

Vedan Kolod is a family band, made up of three women (Tatyana Naryshkina, Daryana Antipova, and Polina Lisitsa) who come from the same family, and a man, Valerii Naryshkin, who is married to Tatyana. The band is located in Moscow, but are originally from Siberia. The band seems to wear two cloaks; not only are they artists, but they are musical archaeologists. Their intent is to revive and recreate the music of ancient pagan Russia, especially of Central Siberia and Altai. They play traditional songs and also original works, though their original works contain themes of folklore and old tales and use ancient Russian language (I believe). The band has revived and recreated many ancient Russian folk instruments, some of them almost forgotten. Similarly, they use old vocal styles including the aforementioned throat singing.

Their debut CD, Tribes, is by far the easiest of their three albums to find in the United States. I bought my copy from Amazon, but there are several music websites that stock this album. Technically, it is not a replicated CD but a professionally-printed CD-R. I wouldn't have known this if it did not say so right on the disc label. Anyway, this is not important information, though it may be to some.

The music of Vedan Kolod is difficult for me to describe, as I have very few musical reference points to use. Many of the songs use sparse instrumentation and put a lot of focus on vocals. The vocals are sometimes harmonized, and sometimes they are singing entirely different things. Both the male and female vocals are very good, and the moments that focus on the interplay of vocals are some of my favorite moments on the album. All members of the band are young (perhaps in their early 20's?), which makes their dedication to their craft and the spirit of ancient Russia even more inspiring.

The band shows much variety on each of their albums (at least the two I have heard so far), so with each new track comes a style and sound that is different from the previous. The elements that are most often present are the vocals and the drums. Many of the songs have drums (ancient drums, not modern), and the rhythm is somewhat tribal, for lack of a better term. All four members of the band are credited with playing some sort of drum, usually multiple types (Slavonic drums [big and small], sharkuncy, etc.), so the presence of drums is understandably important to Vedan Kolod. Some tracks feature the unmistakable sound of the gusli, vargan (mouth harp), and ocarina, as well as at least a few instruments that I didn't know existed at all (a three-stringed, violin-like instrument called a gudok, the fuyara [a huge flute], the aforementioned Scythian horn, various smaller flutes, among others). Also mentioned in the booklet are Slavonic bagpipe and zhaleika, though I don't recall hearing either on this album. They appear on the second CD, though.

A few of the songs appealed to me immediately upon my first listen, including Голубиная Книга (a traditional song arranged by the band, which features gusli and beautiful vocal parts), Перун и Скипер Зверь (which has a great female vocal solo, gusli, and some nice percussion), and Сера Птица (which has an excellent vocal performance by Valerii Naryshkin, another appearance by the gusli, and some beautiful supporting female vocals). The production on this latter track is not as good as the rest of the album, which is a bit of a shame because it's a wonderful piece of music. Being a neophyte to the sound Vedan Kolod have created, many of the rest of the tracks took a bit more effort on my part for me to appreciate, but after several listens, more and more of the album sunk in. I began to notice, with each listen, the little beautiful moments throughout the album: the gentle rhythms, the beauty of the Russian language in the recitations, the details of the vocal performances, the interplay of the various instruments, and more.

Tribes is a great and unique album that is worth experiencing for those who are interested in hearing what the music of pre-Christian Russia may very well have sounded like. For me, it is easy to imagine these voices resonating through the ancient forests, and, like most great pagan art, it stirs my spirit even though I don't understand the words. For fans of pagan/folk metal who have expanded their musical interests into various types of folk music (or who have thought about it), especially those who are drawn to the Russian scene, Vedan Kolod is well worth your attention. Fans of the folk moments on Arkona's От Сердца к Небу CD should also take notice of this band.