Album Review: Чур - Лихо

Artist: Чур (Chur) [Ukraine]
Album Title: Лихо (Lykho) ["Evil"]
Record Label: Casus Belli Musica {Russia)
Released: 2009 (December)
Purchased From: Negative Existence

After some delays due to label problems, Chur's second album, Lykho, was finally released at the end of 2009. Originally it was supposed to released on German label Hammermark Art (to which Kroda and Ancestors Blood, among others, are signed), but, due to the presence of ancient symbolism in the artwork and the worries about a reaction from German listeners and authorities, the label didn't want to put out the album with the artwork intact. Therefore, the contract was dissolved and Lykho's fate was in limbo. Then the rising label Casus Belli Musica (which is amassing quite a strong stable of pagan/folk bands) came to the rescue and released this great and unique work to the world.

For those who have not heard Chur, it is difficult to draw any direct comparisons with other bands. It has a strong "Slavic" feel, which means you will not mistake it for a Scandinavian or German project. It does not sound like black metal with folk instruments added. In fact, on this album, the vocals are all sung, and there is a distinct folk style to them rather than a metal style. The male vocals are by band founder Evgen Kucherov, while the female vocals are sung by Viktoriya Kumanovskaya, a professional folk singer. There are a variety of flute and perhaps bagpipe sounds (it sounds like either bagpipes or zhaleika), but I think many of them are sampled or synthesized. Being as this is metal, there of course electric guitars and bass, while the drums in this case are programmed.

If you have heard the first Chur album, Брате вітре (Brother Wind), the overall sound of Lykho is similar, but strengthened in many ways. The vocals are much better on this release, and the songwriting is stronger. Despite the overall computerized sound of the production (along with the drum machine and sampled folk instruments), this sounds like authentic Ukrainian folk music that happens to feature electric guitars and modern percussion. In other words, the songs are not really constructed like metal songs, but like folk songs. Some listeners may be turned off by the style, or by the production, but Chur's sincerity is difficult to deny. Even the artwork itself is very much "folk art." The artwork seems to tell the story of a culture that is compromised by modern evils (narcotics, cigarettes, and alcohol are all represented, as well as industrial pollution and foreign religions). Yet, it goes on to show, the ancestral traditions live on, and will one day defeat the modern evils. This sense of hope and pride are reflected in the upbeat arrangements.

There are some oddities present on this CD. First of all, the tracklisting on the inside of the CD tray suggests that there is a cover version of Temnozor's "Did-Dub-Snop" beginning the album, but I did not find it anywhere on the CD. I thought that maybe it was in the gap before the first track (as some albums have done), but attempting to reverse the CD didn't do anything. The second oddity is that track 11 is supposed to be a radio version of "The Spring", but included at the end of this track is an alternate version of "Mother", which is unlisted. The third oddity is that the final track on the CD is some sort of multi-channel DTS version of the title track, but I guess I don't have the right setup to play it because all I get is digital static. I can't think of much in the way of negatives about this album, except for the weak drum machine and the overall sterile nature of the production. It is nice to be able to hear everything so clearly, as the recording is pitch-perfect, but it may be a little too perfect for this style of music. A little analogue warmth would have brought out the "folkiness" of the album, I think. But these are minor complaints for an otherwise excellent pagan metal album.

Lykho is a great follow-up to the already-solid Brother Wind, and is far, far superior to Chur's side of the split with Oprich, which was instrumental and did not appeal to me at all. The album clocks in at just under an hour, if you don't include the bonus stuff, which may be a little excessive for an album with such a consistent sound. Still, the presence of two different vocalists gives it some variety, and, taken in track-by-track, one can appreciate how well-written and catchy each of these songs are (though I tend to skip the ambient track "The Sky," which sits right in the middle of the CD). The highlights of the album for me are "Mother," "Zagovir," and "The Spring." It's no wonder that two of them ("Mother" and "The Spring," both of which feature Viktoriya Kumanovskaya handling the lead vocals) were chosen for the radio edits in the bonus audio track.

Fans of Slavic folk metal are encouraged to track down Lykho, though that may eventually get more difficult as it is limited to 1,000 hand-numbered copies. Chur is currently at work on new material, so the future is looking bright for this shining light in the Ukrainian pagan/folk scene.

EP Review: Graveland - Cold Winter Blades

Artist: Graveland (Poland)
EP Title: Cold Winter Blades
Record Label: No Colours Records (Germany)
Released: 2010
Purchased From: Ebay

I'm a pretty big Graveland fan, a fact that I've made clear in the past. Although I was somewhat disappointed in the last full-length, Spears of Heaven, his 2010 EP Cold Winter Blades has given me renewed faith in Rob Darken.

The five-track EP starts off with the first of two brand-new songs, "In the Morning Mist." The choir sound is the same as what we heard on the last album, but then the (synthesized) voices are joined by a nice brass section, well-played (or perhaps programmed) drums, and a guitar that sounds a little meatier than what we heard on Spears of Heaven. Now more than ever, Graveland seems to draw inspiration from the soundtrack to the movie Conan the Barbarian. I don't know the last time I've heard something so warlike that didn't come from a movie soundtrack. Though, sound-wise, this is not really a departure from Spears of Heaven, the overall atmosphere is much more satisfying and powerful. And this is barely a minute into the first track.

The second track, "From the Beginning of Time," isn't quite as good as the first, but it's still pretty good. The most pleasant surprise on the album is the third track, "White Winged Hussary." The track starts off sounding a bit like "Return to the Northern Carpathian," the song that closed Spears of Heaven. It begins with a clean guitar, which changes to a distorted one as the synthesized female vocals join in. The melody that begins is pretty awesome, like nothing I've heard from Graveland before. Soon the song begins to sound like normal Graveland, but that melody continues to show its face in variations throughout the song. It's beautiful. "White Winged Hussary" is probably in my top 5 Graveland songs of all time. Even if I hadn't enjoyed the rest of the EP, I would have felt it to be worth it simply because of the inclusion of this track.

The next song, "Spear of Wotan," sounds a lot like something from Will Stronger Than Death, except with better recording quality. This song, like "White Winged Hussary," is a new version of a song that appeared on a previous compilation. I really like the way Darken uses brass instruments (even though they're synthesized/sampled) to create a majestic atmosphere. They're used to good effect on "Spear of Wotan," as are the synthesized female vocals. The final track on the EP, "Dance of Axes and Swords," is a remix of a song that appeared on my favorite Graveland album, Fire Chariot of Destruction. All that has really changed here is a better recording quality and better drum sound. Still, it's a good song, and I think he managed to improve on it.

Graveland is sort of a "love it or hate it" kind of artist, but if you're already a fan, Cold Winter Blades is a great EP and worth checking out. If, like me, you are a fan but were disappointed in Spears of Heaven, this EP may restore your faith in Graveland as it did for me. He's working on the next album at the time of this writing, and if it sounds anything like this, it will definitely be something special.

Album Review: Drudkh - Handful of Stars

Artist: Drudkh (Ukraine)
Album Title: Handful of Stars
Record Label: Season of Mist (France / U.S.)
Released: 2010 (September)
Purchased From: Ebay

If you ever want to stir up conflict among metal fans, the subject of Drudkh is sure to do it. Whether the discussion is about their alleged politics, the overrated/underrated-ness of the band, which of their albums is the strongest, and at which point in their career the band began to drop in quality (or whether or not that point has happened), there are tons of different opinions out there. For a band that has shunned publicity throughout their career, Drudkh sure seems to stir up controversy, and their latest album, Handful of Stars, will do nothing to stop that trend.

Fans are sharply divided in their opinions of this album. Even before any album tracks "appeared" to fans, the album artwork was a source of contention. The cover is a departure from their previous albums, which tended to draw from nature scenes or old paintings. In the artwork department, this time the band employed the help of Fursy Teyssier, the frontman of French rock band Les Discrets, and a part of the circle that includes Alcest. Already some fans were declaring Drudkh to be "sell outs." And then when tracks from the album started to appear online, well, it really began to hit the fan.

You see, the artwork isn't the only departure for Drudkh on this album. The biggest change from previous albums, and the one that has, not surprisingly, stirred up the most controversy, is the use of a cleaner guitar tone on Handful of Stars. While previous Drudkh albums (not including the folk album) had a thick, very distorted guitar tone, on this album it's very clean and mellow, sounding somewhat like the tone used by Alcest or Agalloch. Normally, guitar tone isn't such a big issue, but Drudkh has always relied heavily on the thicker tone in order to facilitate the atmospheric, hypnotic atmosphere their previous albums have had. Since they don't give interviews, it's anyone's guess as to why they made the switch, but everyone seems to have an opinion on it.

I don't mind the clean tone so much. It does make it easier to hear the lovely guitar harmonies, which were previously somewhat buried beneath a blanket of distortion. However, accompanying this change is a shift in songwriting. It has grown more complex (by Drudkh standards), perhaps to accomodate for the loss of sheer atmosphere. While this isn't bad, in theory, it does redefine what we have always thought of as "the Drudkh sound." Maybe that's why they did it. Were they tired of being stereotyped and pigeonholed, and decided to do something that would shake people up?

Despite the changes, this is still distinctively Drudkh. Melodically, it still sounds like them. The gruff, unique vocals of Thurios haven't changed. There are still those nice and appropriate solos. The musicianship is as solid as always, and I think the drumming has further improved over Microcosmos. However, I don't feel that the songwriting on this album is as strong as we've seen on previous efforts. "Downfall of the Epoch" is, in my opinion, the strongest track on the album, and the one where all the elements seem to come together the best, and "Towards the Light" is also solid. But I feel like things drop off a bit with "Twilight Aureole" and "The Day Will Come." This is not to say that they're bad songs, but sometimes I find my interest flagging by this point in the album. I feel like sometimes the cleaner guitar tone may work against the band because it places a greater burden on the songwriting itself, and while they've proven themselves to be great songwriters, not every track is as strong as the last.

Also, I have a criticism to make about the bonus CD, "Slavonic Chronicles," that only appears with the very expensive limited edition box set of the album (ie: the Ebay Profiteer Edition). I don't mind the idea of having a limited edition of the album, but for those of us who want to get all the tracks but don't want an expensive limited edition, it seems like a kick in the teeth to demand that (in order to get this bonus EP) we shell out for this edition (before it sells out, which happens quickly) or pay huge Ebay prices to those scoundrels that bought multiple copies just to profit on the "limitedness" of it. I legally acquire all the music in my collection because I respect artists and labels. Why turn around and punish me by denying me exclusive Drudkh tracks simply because I don't feel like $100 or so is a reasonable price for a CD and a bunch of extras I don't have any use for (or, perhaps, can't afford it)? Well, at least the songs included on that CD are covers, and I can live without those. I suppose I'm still upset that I couldn't get the Anti-Urban EP on CD because I didn't jump at the chance to buy the previous overpriced box set.

Anyway, Drudkh continues to be one of my favorite pagan metal bands, and I admire the fact that they aren't afraid to confound their listeners now and then. Handful of Stars certainly isn't their strongest album, but, in the end, it's still a good CD and most fans will enjoy it, despite a very vocal group of people that continue to accuse the band of selling out to appease the Alcest crowd. I hope that either the band will find more solid footing in this new style or that they will dust off the old distortion pedals for the next full-length.

Album Review: Maras - Raskol

Artist: Maras (Macedonia)
Album Title: Raskol
Record Label: Alatir Promotion / Terror Blast (Macedonia)
Released: 2008
Purchased From: Paragon Records / The Metal Underground

When it comes to the metal scene in the small Balkan nation of Macedonia (formerly a part of Yugoslavia, which was still a country when I learned geography in school), I can count all the bands I know on one finger. Fortunately, that band happens to be Maras, a great pagan-themed black metal band that has been around since 2003. I tend to be cautious when it comes to black metal these days, because a lot of "pagan black metal" bands I've heard lately have been of the "Norsecore" variety, with lots of blasting and tremolo picking (or underproduced, unlistenable noise). Some people like that kind of music, but I like something with a little more "groove" to it; something I can bang my head to. I hadn't heard of Maras until a few months ago, but I bought their album Raskol based pretty much entirely on the album artwork. It has a style that screams "Slavic pagan metal" and I decided to take a chance on it.

Maras doesn't belong to the "Norsecore" style of black metal. Instead, they strike me as being more of an "old school" black metal band. There's a strong (and welcome) influence of thrash in the riffing and drumming, so that rather than just endless blasting and tremolo picking, we get a variety of tempos and moods. There are some fast moments on the album, but also mid-paced and slow tempos. There's even a breakdown at one point. Similarly, there is variety in the vocals, which range from clean chants (think Ulver's Bergtatt) to strong black metal shrieks and mid-range death growls. Finally, there's a bit of Macedonian folk music that shows up towards the end of the album. I'm not an expert on Macedonian music, but the little that I've heard uses hand percussion and scales that sound Middle Eastern, and that's true here, too. There's not much of it, to reassure those who are scared away by the term "folk metal," but just enough to give it a little "exotic" flavor.

I really enjoy listening to this album. It's not too polished, but not too raw, either. The sound quality is very good. The album is rather short (just over 32 minutes long) but it leaves me wanting more, and there really aren't any low points or wasted time on the album. Musically, Maras is quite talented, and the vocals are particularly good for this kind of music. In short, this one is a winner! I certainly hope there's more to come from this accomplished band.