Album Review: Янтарные Слезы - Ключ к Декабрю

Artist: Янтарные Слезы (Amber Tears) [Russia]
Album Title: Ключ к Декабрю ("The Key To December")
Record Label: BadMoodMan Music (Russia)
Released: 2010 (December)
Purchased From: The Omega Order

If you're a fan of Slavic pagan metal, you should probably familiarize yourself with the Belarusian doom metal band Gods Tower if you haven't already. Some consider them to be the first metal band to use themes of Slavic mythology, which would make them one of the early pagan metal bands. Gods Tower, although not as well-known as they should be, are highly respected among Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Russian pagan metal fans and artists, and one of the bands that paid respect to them on a 2005 tribute CD is Amber Tears, a pagan doom metal band from Russia.

In 2006, the debut album of Amber Tears, entitled Revelations of Renounced, was released by the Stygian Crypt label, apparently before that label began cranking out endless CD's of Folkearth and their spin-offs. Revelations of Renounced is a great debut, and I discovered it at the perfect time, just as I was immersing myself in the music of Gods Tower. I could hear the influence of the late Alexander Urakoff's distinct style of lead guitar in this young Russian band; however, upon repeated listens, Amber Tears began to establish their own identity in my mind, and I became hooked on their gorgeously melodic doom metal. It was a bit of a wait before their sophomore album, The Key To December, arrived at the end of 2010, but happily they delivered a great follow-up, this time on BadMoodMan and Solitude Records.

First of all, let me thank The End Records/The Omega Order for stocking The Key To December. Sometime in January, I was surprised to find that the album had been released just a month or so earlier, but I had no idea how I was going to purchase it, since it can sometimes be difficult to track down specific Russian releases here in the U.S. Therefore, I'm grateful to them, because otherwise I'd probably still be trying to find it.

Anyway, on to the music. Amber Tears (they go by both Янтарные Слезы and Amber Tears, which is a bit unconventional, I think) plays a richly melodic brand of doom metal. The guitar leads are slow and drawn-out, like those of Gods Tower, and are, quite honestly, the biggest draw of this band for me. For the most part, the other instruments provide a lovely musical bed for the lead guitar to weave its way around. And it's not as if this is complicated, fast guitar work here. It's emotional and absolutely gorgeous. It's difficult for me, with my limited ability to describe music, to be able to express how much I enjoy Dmitry Tschukin's work on this album, but it's really the central appeal of the band for me. That is not to take all the attention from the rest of the band, as they are certainly a group of musicians whose talents complement each other quite nicely. The rhythm guitar maintains the melody while the lead guitar soars into the stratosphere, while the rhythm section of bass and drums provide the backbone. The lovely synths, which are almost always present, provide a ton of atmosphere and also complement the lead guitar very well.

The vocals, which consist of death metal-like growls and spoken words, don't really stand out much, but that seems to fit with the laid-back vibe of the band. I suppose they're appropriate for what I'm guessing are melancholic lyrics, though the lyrics are all in Russian so I'm not sure. English translations of the song titles indicate that the prevailing themes here are winter, cold, and sadness. Despite the sound of shuffling snow and wind in the intro, there's a warmth to the lush arrangements that makes me feel happy rather than sad when I listen to the album. I guess it could just be the effect of listening to such beautiful music that few others have heard.

The album consists of 8 tracks, of which three are mainly instrumental. The synth intro is okay but nothing really special, though it does set the tranquil, wintry mood. Things get moving with "Gray Days Eternity," though they don't get moving very quickly. The pace of this song, like the other songs to follow, is pretty slow. The band never exceeds mid-pace on any part of The Key To December, but that's just fine with me. "Gray Days Eternity" features a few softer sections where the lead guitar is accompanied by the gusli, a Russian stringed instrument that provides much of the "folkiness" found on the CD. Dmitry Tschukin plays this as well. The next few tracks continue much in the same way as "Gray Days Eternity." There's a consistency among the songs that some listeners may call "sameness." The debut album seemed to have more of a variety in pacing and mood, but I like the atmosphere that The Key To December creates. It's an album I can listen to from beginning to end without ever feeling tempted to skip ahead a track. It's nice to sit back and just take it all in.

Towards the end of the CD (track six to be exact) lies the album's only true surprise. This gentle song, mostly instrumental except for some softly spoken words towards the beginning, features acoustic guitar, synths, and then the gusli and some hand percussion. It sounds almost like an instrumental you'd hear on an Orphaned Land CD, and it's quite lovely. That song is followed by "Gray Hill's Sadness," which is a favorite of mine. Several months before the album's release, I found a great Youtube clip of Amber Tears performing this song in a live setting, and I watched the clip over and over again because I found the song so entrancing. I'm glad to finally have it on disc, even though there are some differences between the two versions. Finally, the album closes with another gentle instrumental, this time featuring acoustic guitar and gusli with some soft textures in the background.

If you can't tell, I really, really like The Key To December. Amber Tears has not messed with the formula that was so successful on Revelations of Renounced, which will come as a relief to some but possibly will disappoint those hoping for a progression. Because this is doom metal, the album moves at a pretty relaxed pace, so if you don't normally enjoy doom metal, it's very possible that the pace of this album will irritate you. I only listen to a limited amount of doom metal, but, in my opinion, this is an album to be savored. My only complaints would be that I wish there were more songs on the album, and perhaps some more variety in the vocals. There was a moment of clean vocals on the first album, but on here it's just growls and spoken words. They're not bad, and certainly not distracting, but I think it's an area where the band could improve for what I hope is an eventual third album.

Fans of Gods Tower, melodic doom metal, and Slavic folk metal are encouraged to open their minds and ears to a wonderful ensemble known as Amber Tears (or Янтарные Слезы/Yantarnie Slezy, if you prefer). If music this beautiful doesn't make your heart swell, I feel bad for you.

Video Clip: Dalriada - Hajdútánc

Hmm, since I'm stuck in the old style of Blogger, I can't seem to post a decent embedded version of the Youtube clip.

But, anyway, here is the new video clip for Hajdútánc, from the brand new (I don't even have it yet, but hopefully will within the next few days!) CD, Ígéret, from Hungarian folk metal band, Dalriada.

Sounds awesome! And sometime between Arany-album and Ígéret, Laura learned how to do some wicked black metal shrieks! Nice job!

Album Review: Dråpsnatt - Hymner till undergången

Artist: Dråpsnatt (Sweden)
Album Title: Hymner till undergången
Record Label: Frostscald Records (Russia)
Released: 2010 (July)
Purchased From: Red Stream

One might raise an eyebrow upon discovering that a band has released their sophomore album a mere nine months after the release of their debut, but in Dråpsnatt's case it has turned out surprisingly well. Many of us wanted to hear more from this band after the 2009 release of I Denna Skog, and our impatience was quickly placated with the very solid Hymner till undergången.

The style --the formula, if you will-- of Dråpsnatt has not changed since I Denna Skog. Take elements of old-school black metal, add some touches of atmospheric black metal and folk metal, and throw in some excellent harsh and clean vocals, and you start to have an idea of what's in store. That's not to say that nothing has changed here; Hymner till undergången sounds a little less melancholic than the debut, while the folk touches are more prevalent this time around. There are no folk instruments, but it can be heard in the piano and occasionally in the synths (like on the song "Dråpsnatt"), as well as in moments of clean guitar throughout the CD. The opening track, "En Ensam Sol Går Ner," is perhaps the folkiest-sounding track on the album (though we're not talking Korpiklaani or Finntroll here), so it starts things off in a different manner than the aggressive opening track of I Denna Skog did.

However, things get more aggressive with the opening minute or so of the second track, "Arvssynd," which starts off with some blastbeats and Vinterfader's unhinged screaming before settling into a more melodic vibe. The second half of this song contains one of the most epic and glorious moments of the CD, both fierce and life-affirming at the same time. In my review of I Denna Skog, I talked about the juxtaposition of beauty and aggression, and that holds true here as well. It's not always a matter of following a dark, aggressive section with a beautiful, melodic one. They're often happening at the same time, and you might get a different "feeling" depending on which you focus upon during a particular listen.

So basically Hymner till undergången is, not surprisingly, very similar to the band's debut, but it's not as if the band has cynically churned out a second album made up of leftovers and sound-alikes. Hymner till undergången is strong enough to stand on its own feet, and the songs are well-crafted, varied, and interesting, just as they were on I Denna Skog. If I were to compare the two albums side by side, I would say that I Denna Skog is the superior one, but I feel that both are well worth buying, and, if you enjoy one, you will certainly enjoy the other as well. I think that the songs on Hymner till undergången take a little more to grow on you, partly because, on this album, the songs tend to unfold differently. The best stuff (the most epic) tends to be on the second half of each song, rather than towards the beginning, as was often the case on I Denna Skog.

Highlights: the second halves of "Arvssynd," "Mannen I Min Spegel," and "Tonerna De Klinga," as well as all of closing track "Gasten." But it's all pretty great.

Album Review: Dråpsnatt - I Denna Skog

Artist: Dråpsnatt (Sweden)
Album Title: I Denna Skog
Record Label: Frostscald Records (Russia)
Released: 2009 (September)
Purchased From: Morbid Winter / The Old Outpost

Frostscald Records has become imprinted in my mind as a pretty dependable label for quality metal. Towards the end of 2009 they released two very solid albums by somewhat similar Swedish bands, Skogen and Dråpsnatt. Although I didn't discover Skogen's debut album Vittra until late 2010, I was fortunate enough to find Dråpsnatt's debut, I Denna Skog, on sale towards the end of 2009, and it became one of my favorite metal surprises of the year.

Dråpsnatt has a style that owes a debt to various members of the early Norwegian black metal scene, but they manage to not sound too close to anything else I've heard. I can hear the fuzzy, thick guitars of atmospheric black metal, the beautiful, layered synths of ambient black metal, and the clean guitars and nature samples of folkish black metal. The vocals, performed by each of the two members of Dråpsnatt, range from throat-searing screams and creepy croaked/whispered harsh vocals (courtesy of Vinterfader, who also plays keyboards) to passionate, almost Ulver-like clean vocals (courtesy of Narstrand, who also plays guitars, bass, and drums). The vocals were the first element that caught my attention. I've heard the harsh vocals compared to those of Varg Vikernes, though I don't agree with that comparison. These sound less like the howls of an insane man than the shrieks of a very angry man. With every line screamed, Vinterfader sounds like he's not holding anything back. Narstrand's well-performed clean vocals provide a nice balance to the harsh shrieks, and overall the vocal performance is one of the great strengths of this band.

Another of Dråpsnatt's strengths is the fact that each song has enjoyable melodies. There are moments of stunning beauty to be found on I Denna Skog, despite the aggression of the vocals. Despite any pretenses otherwise, what my ears crave when I listen to music is a catchy melody or a moment of beauty, and I Denna Skog has these in every track. Highlights on the album for me include the melodic section just after the first ambient part of lead-off track "I Denna Skog," the layers of clean vocals (followed by a nice section of clean guitar) on "Orostider," and the entirety of album closer "Ett Sista Andetag." These moments, among others, are the type that give me goosebumps when I listen to the album, especially if it's been a while since I'd last heard it.

I enjoy the juxtaposition of beauty and aggression on this album, and I'm impressed with the fact that Dråpsnatt is able to turn these disparate influences and moods into a cohesive and immensely enjoyable whole. Wrap it all up in great production and you have a timeless nature- and folklore-themed black metal album that hopefully will not go unnoticed by fans. Actually, I'm rather surprised that Dråpsnatt has not made a bigger impact on the scene yet, as this is essentially everything I want in a black metal album. Hopefully word of mouth will spread and this band will find the dedicated following they deserve. Already since the album's late 2009 release, they have released another album (which I will also review), and there is a third on the way as I write this. Give this band a listen; you may find yourself hooked.