Tag Archives: Pagan Metal

Never Ending Journey: Jan Rechberger of Amorphis

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Amorphis. Photo Credit: Ville Juurikkala

Amorphis. Photo Credit: Ville Juurikkala

With many bands out in the world of metal today playing full albums on a live setting, it was only a matter of time for Tales from the Thousand Lakes (Relapse) to be played by death metal legends, Amorphis. We were lucky enough to speak to drummer, Jan Rechberger, at Maryland Deathfest this year to understand why is now the right time.

“Well we had the idea because of the anniversary, it was pretty clear to us to play the whole album because it is considered a classic in the scene. It seemed like a good idea to play it in between the process of writing a new album. We’ve been playing a few shows, 1 tour through Germany and Switzerland along with a lot of festivals this summer, like here in Maryland. It’s been going really nice, only a few shows yet, maybe 12 or so but so far it’s been real good. Meeting a lot of nice people and getting good feedback from the audience, it’s been a blast.”

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Prior to the classic Tales record, Amorphis was known for a more traditional death metal sound but then they revolutionized death metal by evolving the sound to one of the pioneering folk metal sounds popular today. Jan reminded us that musical directions just kind of happen naturally.

“It’s a long process basically. We were basically metal heads at the time before Tales and just listening to metal really. After that we started listening to progressive music like progressive music in general and getting into bands like Pink Floyd, and Jethro Tull, and all those classic bands and we had a keyboard player so that probably changed the game a whole lot. It just started to happen when we jammed out playing our influences and coming up with a unique package. Like most things in music, these things happen accidentally at the end of the day. So it’s really a mix of our influences through the years and it’s a never ending journey really with more to come.”

Kalevala is a Finnish national epic poem of which Tales is heavily based upon. During the writing process of Tales, Kalevala strongly resonated within their creative minds. Over two decades later, is this story still as meaningful to them as it was back then?

“It does, but it’s something we learn in school as kids. It’s a huge thing in Finland, it’s like a national treasure in a way. And back then no metal band used it. Some Finish jazz bands did but it was mostly instrumental anyways and a lot of Finish composers used it as an influence. It’s been a major influence for artists in Finland. A lot of nice stories and unique stuff. I guess it was right after recording Karelian (Editor’s Note: The Karelin Isthmus- for Relapse Records) that I had the idea of maybe using Kalevala on maybe the next album and we did! We’ve been using it on new material too since Eclipse is basically based on Kalevala stories and characters. The new one and Circle are not straight from Kalevala but influenced strongly by it in some ways. I find it to be an original thing for us and feels natural for us to use as it’s something we already have. There were times where we didn’t use Kalevala in our music as we had other lyrical influences at the time on different subjects. I find it fits in our music well.”

Nowadays, folk and pagan metal as some call it is quite popular in the metal world and flourishing quite well. Many of these bands have cited Amorphis as a major influence to their sound and it is clearly heard in their own work. We were wondering if this comes off to Jan as a band “ripping off” the Amorphis sound and got a response after a few seconds of laughter that shows what kind of legacy they have created.

“Sometimes, but I do not see it as a rip off but more of a compliment. Like if I were to do hip hop or some other kind of music and some hip hop guy sampled my music I would be honored! Mainly because we were influenced by a lot of other bands. So if some younger bands take influences from us, I see that we actually created something that matters somehow. But yes, as you said, there’s been some bands like Ensiferum and bands like them that are friends with us in the first place and how we are a big influence on them. There’s lots of bands that remind me of our older stuff, but I find it to be cool. So I encourage the younger bands to keep doing what they like.”

TIM LEDIN


Macabre Omen – Gods of War – At War

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Light the torches and raise the cries as pagan black metal band Macabre Omen return after 10 years with their follow-up to their debut studio album, 2005’s The Ancient Returns (Obscure Abhorrence). Coupled with the ominous cover, the name Macabre Omen brings up visions of cheesy melody lines splattered with lashings of awkwardly placed black metal. This is not a band that should be judged by their cover however, and while they may only be on their second album with just a handful of splits filling the gaps, the band have had a solid twenty years since conception to perfect their craft.

It’s a call to banners as ‘I See, the Sea’ opens the album with rousing calls reminiscent of ancient armies making their way into battle. Gods of War – At War (Ván Records) certainly has a touch of the epic about it, even as the melodic folk-inspired lines give way to more aggressive blasting under scream by vocalist Alexandros. While the opening track remained distinctly melodic, the album takes much darker turns, particularly on the title track where the black metal is dialled up. ‘Man of 300 Voices’ takes a different tone however; an acoustic opening to the track barely seems out of place, particularly as more traditional instruments make an appearance before moving into epic vocal lines that dominate the song.

Pagan black metal can be a hard genre to master, but Macabre Omen have managed to produce a sound that plants itself somewhere between the more Bathory and Graveland. Despite maintaining a consistent sound throughout, Gods of War – At War has successfully walked the line creating an album that has enough variety between tracks, but still maintains an identifiable sound that brings the piece together. While it may not be breaking any ground artistically, it certainly would hold its ground on soundtrack heading into battle.

 

7.0/10

Macabre Omen on Facebook

CAITLIN SMITH


Falconer – Falconer (Ultimate Edition)

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Because they are going to stop performing live, Folk Metal pioneers Falconer have decided to re-release their 2001 debut album Falconer, and now present us with the Falconer (Ultimate Edition) (Metal Blade). The tracks have all been remastered, and the bonus CD contains previously unreleased acoustic versions of some of their best songs as well as some of the original demos. If you’re already a fan of Falconer, this is a really good way to complete your collection.

For those of you not yet familiar with Falconer and their oeuvre, here follows a review of this album.

Falconer hails from an era when the Folk in Folk-metal was not so in-your-face Pagan as it is now. Their sound is generally that of Power Metal, but it feels more grounded than cheesy and over the top. However, many of the riffs, like those in the verses of ‘Wings of Serenity’ wouldn’t be misplaced in the modern Pagan Metal sound. The lyrics and themes in songs as ‘Lord of the Blacksmiths’ and ‘The Past Still Lives On’ also indicate their folk-metal status, in the latter case further emphasised in the acoustic guitar line. Then there are songs that are fully recognisable as Folk Metal, such as ‘A Quest for the Crown’. And then there is ‘Per Tyrssons döttrar i Vänge’, which is originally a medieval Swedish ballad. It cannot get much more Folk Metal than that.

As for the bonus material, the acoustic renditions of ‘Royal Galley’, ‘Wings of Serenity’, and ‘Mindtraveller’ are really well done and intense in their minimalism. They actually surpass the original songs. Mathias Blad proves again how good he is, as he has done throughout the album proper. He has a beautiful clear voice which is perfectly suited to the flowing melodies of this music.

While the demos on the bonus CD are most relevant to fans of Falconer, the quality of the music on the rest of this album means that it is much more than simply a collectible. This is an excellent album for anyone who likes both Folk and Power Metal.

 

8.5/10

Falconer on Facebook

 

LORRAINE LYSEN


Warmetal Part II – Petri Lindroos of Ensiferum

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With a brand new album entitled One Man Army under their belts and a brand new home on the legendary Metal Blade Records, things in the Ensiferum camp are looking the strongest they have ever been. In the second part, vocalist Petri Lindroos discusses the recording process, and how vigorous yet surprisingly relaxed the whole period was.

Another factor that arguably set Ensiferum apart from their peers is the venturing into the use of orchestral parts previously in their back catalogue, but in an overshadowing manner, but more as in a sense of bulking their palette and trying something new. 2009’s From Afar (Spinefarm) set the precedence for this, before 2012’s Unsung Heroes (Spinefarm) reduced the use. Interestingly, newest album One Man Army (Metal Blade) sees the dynamic of orchestration shift again; an overall process that Lindroos explains.

“From Afar was kind of an experiment with the orchestrations for Ensiferum and it’s pretty full of it now, that you listen to it in perspective and it sounded so cool during the recordings but it got a little out of hand, so after that we kind of learned that you don’t have to put it into every single riff part available, but I think we got it nailed on this one. Its pretty much trial and error, live and learn, every time you make a new album you learn and now we are getting the hang of it.”

“Finding a balance with the orchestration is difficult in the sense that heavy metal itself is already very powerful in its own way and adding a full orchestra to that is a little tricky, and making it sound good without eating away at each other is very difficult and pretty much a balance question.”

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Of course, no band’s recording story would be complete without tales of arduous and testing experiences, and with the sheer work rate of producer Ansi Kippo and his supposed super human abilities.

“Our producer/recorder/owner of the studio is a man who can work without any sleep, which is crazy and amazing at the same time, but he can do as long as necessary. If you have enough energy to sing until six in the morning he will stay up too, if you’re on a good run you don’t have to give up, if someone is fired up we can keep going all night.”

“We started a little later in the afternoon, there’s no point picking up a guitar at 8 in the morning, everyone knows that’s not going to work so we would start at midday, so obviously its going to go late into the night. I’d been working with Ansi a couple of times before and its been like that from the start, he just can’t stop, he’s a workaholic.”

Despite the long days, Lindroos is very adamant that this was beneficial in the recording process and on the final result, being an absolute necessity: “Without that we couldn’t have finished in time, it would have taken a couple of weeks, cost us more money which wouldn’t have made anyone happy so a big thanks goes to him that we could do it pretty much on time.”

Speaking of recording, it has almost become cliché for bands to speak of sleepless nights, stress, even arguments and other problems that make for a mantra that Ensiferum clearly didn’t get: “There were no big problems, in our point of view the only thing stopping us was when a tube blew up from a guitar amp that took 45 minutes to change, that was the biggest issue. Otherwise it was a case of whoever is ready to record would do so. It was very relaxed and smooth. It was surprising, but I knew before that Ansi was a smooth guy, he makes it all so easy.”

WORDS BY CHRIS TIPPELL


Warmetal – Petri Lindroos Of Ensiferum

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With a brand new album entitled One Man Army under their belts and a brand new home on the legendary Metal Blade Records, things in the Ensiferum camp are looking the strongest they have ever been. Vocalist Petri Lindroos chatted to Ghost Cult about the the band’s sense of fun, experimentation and THAT infamous disco number.

For all the talk and stereotyping regarding metal music as a po-faced, overly serious and even evil and dangerous form of art there are also as countless moments of whimsy and cartoonish silliness and absurdity with a huge focus on that little word ‘fun’. Folk metal especially has a history of the OTT and tomfoolery with an equal measure of the anthemic.

At first glance, Finnish act Ensiferum may appear one of the genre’s more direct and hardened presences; but as vocalist Petri Lindroos explains, this isn’t the case at all: “We also like to have a lot of fun with the music but also do it very seriously. Having a small moment in a particular song, like we have “Stone Cold Metal” which had a western bridge part and we have a lot of fun with that, and it seems the fans also understood it, they didn’t knock us down”

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Compared to the likes of the instantly recognisable image and infamous camp covers of Turisas or the alcohol drenched party vibes ala Korpiklaani as examples, Ensiferum may not be as overtly animated, but a little digging reveals a lot of experimentation and forays into the ridiculous. Even so latest album One Man Army (Metal Blade) throws a number of curveballs; most notably the now infamous ‘Two Spades’.

“So we did ‘Two Of Spades’ and it felt it needed a special bridge part and I think someone said out loud without really thinking “hey lets do disco” and we were all like, sure lets do it.” “If he hadn’t said disco, he might have saud funk and we would have a lot more funk on it. I don’t think even god knows what’s going to be on the next one.”

The aforementioned ‘Two Spades’ encapsulates archetypal sides to the folk metal coin; a rather lengthy epic of powerful and empowering metal, with a bridge segment in the centre based on a disco beat and upbeat tone. On the one hand it’s a segment that makes perfect sense but on the other it remains quite a surprise. A surprise that Petri believes the band have pulled off substantially.

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Ensiferum, by Susanne A. Maathuis.

 

“If they see that coming then they have to be some kind of wizard. It all needs that fun aspect and needs to be entertaining yet done seriously and professionally. I think on this we did an excellent job.”

But it isn’t just ‘Two Spades’ that should catch people off guard, as the bonus edition also features a cover of a well known song that is a little unconventional even for folk metal:

The song ‘Rawhide’ came right before the studio, our label and our management wanted a few bonus tracks for different worldwide releases and we started running out of time; and ‘Rawhide’ is an excellent song and as we noticed digging into it, the Blues Brothers version is a cover, its actually a song from the 50’s, really old and with dozens of versions. But its very catchy, pretty much everyone knows it already, plus its nice and short and we didn’t need that much time to make it sound good.”

 

CHRIS TIPPELL


Heidevolk – Velua

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Velua (Napalm) is the fifth full-length album by the Dutch Pagan Metal band Heidevolk. Since their conception in 2002 this band has made music that shows their passion for nature, Germanic mythology, and the Veluwe; the beautiful nature in their native province of Gelderland. Heidevolk combine heavy riffs in dirty distortion with mellifluous string and violin arrangements, add the occasional power solo, and ground it all with solid drum and bass.

Their vocals, however, are what truly set them apart. The vocals of Mark Splintervuyscht and Lars Nachtbraecker combine to chants with a low voice moving over a limited range and a high voice adding counter melodies and definition. They rarely have two notes to a syllable, and you will not find many drawn out words, but a near spoken vibe which I have not encountered in any other band, but which works well with the Dutch language. Lyrically they paint scenes or recreate stories and since most Dutch rhyme is inherently clichéd, I am pleased that they rarely force rhyme into their lyrics.

The opening song, ‘Winter Woede’ (Winter Rage), sets the tone for the album: heavy and melodious intertwined with a catchiness that means you can hum along to the chorus before the song is out. The next song, ‘Herboren in Vlammen’ (Reborn in Flames), is more in the direction of Power Metal than pagan, with parallel guitars, fast drums, and a strong guitar solo. ‘The Vervloekte Jacht’ (The Cursed Hunt) initially reminded me of In Extremo in its riffs and vocals, but soon regained its individuality. ‘Het Dwalende Licht’ (The Wandering Light) was one of my favourite songs of this album, because it has an excellent balance between ethereal string arrangements and solid power metal, and with the addition of the vocals evokes a scene where the will-o’-the-wisp lures someone to their watery grave. The title track ‘Velua’ praises the hardy people who inhabited the Veluwe with dreamy guitar licks and chanting. Another favourite on this album is ‘Richting the Wieven Belter’ (Towards the Wieven Belter). It opens with very high female vocals, and they remain present in some form throughout the song, and tie the music to the lyrics about the mythological White Women.

All in all this is a very solid album which alternates between a Pagan feel and a more Metal feel. While not all the songs really catch the ear like these mentioned here, the remaining songs are far from bad, and I gladly recommend it to lovers of Pagan metal.

8.0/10

Heidevolk on Facebook

LORRAINE LYSEN


Árstíðir lífsins – Aldafǫðr ok munka dróttinn

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Icelandic/German three-piece Árstíðir lífsins (Icelandic for “The Seasons of Life”) are back with a new album, Aldafǫðr ok munka dróttinn (Ván Records); an expansive, sprawling exploration of Icelandic history and culture.

This is the third record from the pagan Black Metal outfit – Árni (Drums, Viola, Cello, Vocals), Marsél (Vocals), Stefán (Guitars, Bass, Piano, Vibraphone, Vocals) – in five years, and while it reportedly explores the era of Christian conversion of Iceland circa 1000AD, you’ll be hard pressed to know it. The album is “sung entirely in Old Norse-Icelandic, with added Skaldic verses from the Icelandic sagas.”

This double-disc affair is packed with tracks that rarely clock-in at less than eight minutes long; each track is packed with enough style and time changes to fill a dozen “Kvlt” black metal outfits. The music swings from folky acoustics and haunting ambiance to raw blast beats and even death metal. The vocals range from spoken word and choirs to screeching howls, often within layers of the same song. Epic but never overly bombastic, every track is intricate, dense and atmospheric. The mood is mostly bleak and sombre but rarely strays in monotony or tedium, which is impressive given the length and complexity of what’s on show.

Authenticity is a big part of this album. While some acts that base themselves on the history and mythology of Scandinavia can often stray into easy stereotypes, this feels like a living history lesson. At 80 minutes, Aldafǫðr ok munka dróttinn is a big investment that requires your attention to be fully appreciated. But those willing to put the effort it, Árstíðir lífsins will reward with an epic listen.

 

8.0/10

Árstíðir lífsins on Facebook

DAN SWINHOE


Primordial – Winterfylleth – Malthusian: Live at Sound Control

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On an ever-poignant date for Manchester, and in a venue situated within a small area of the city known as ‘Little Ireland’, it seems apt for the morose, blackened death of Eireann quartet Malthusian to be laying waste. Through the bloody annoying strobe effects, impressive frontman Pauric Gallagher stood behind his bass like a colossus, his Lemmy-style stance and ferocious, deep scour complementing the blackened rasp of co-vocalist Andrew Cunningham. Brutally savage yet with added elements of crushing doom, this was a huge assault on the senses and a delicious aperitif.

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Minor issues blighted the early Winterfylleth sound but old favourite ‘Ghosts of Heritage’ had the floor bouncing. Emotive new track ‘Careworn Heart’, from the band’s The Divination of Antiquity (Candlelight) opus, was led in by a beautifully taped acoustic intro; the more subtle yet crashing, almost mournful feel which displayed the new expansion and versatility of the band grasping the room in the palm of its hand. It’s this creative freedom, embodied by much of Dan Capp‘s delicate, post-style leadwork, which has propelled these local boys-next-door to hero status. Crowd favourite ‘Defending the Realm’ was greeted with unfettered joy, yet there was more an awed reverence rather than a pulsating throb for this adored outfit.

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A stirring Irish lament played Primordial to the stage, whence the unmistakable figure of the painted, hooded Nemtheanga roared “Are you with us?”. Generating rapturous, impassioned crowd accompaniment, one of Metal’s truly great frontmen stared wildly and prowled like a possessed madman through the rousing ‘Where Greater Men Have Fallen’, sorely apt given tonight’s close proximity to the site of the 1819 Peterloo massacre. Fiercely expressive, yet allying the bitter anger to a dark humour, the spokesman for The Committed announced the outrageously powerful, emotive ‘Babel’s Tower’ as “my confession”; whilst the ‘skipping bullet’ guitar line of ‘As Rome Burns’ is introduced to ecstatic roars with the tagline “This is the United States of Europe – you have the right to hate who you want”. The constant wall of resonant riffs were part of the defining proof that this is no mere backing band, subtly and skilfully producing a thunderous swell of sound, the rhythm and drums a colossal thunder. Tolling bells blending with brutality, classics ‘The Coffin Ships’ and ‘Empire Falls’ were greeted like old friends and closed not merely a scintillating night, but the most passionate, moving, Herculean live performance I have ever seen.

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Winterfylleth on Facebook

Malthusian on Facebook

Words by PAUL QUINN

Photos by LUKE DENHAM


Finsterforst – Mach Dich Frei

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While folk metal may revel in being the life and soul of the party, its slightly more bookish cousin pagan metal is more likely to be found attempting to educate listeners about cultural heritage and ancient lore than waving a plastic sword around and extolling the virtues of wenches and mead. German septet Finsterforst (Dark Forest) may wear war paint but apart from that they’re gimmick free and are more interested in taking the listener on a journey of discovery via the medium of epic-length songs, full-blooded metal passion and a hearty sense of ambition.

With a crystal-clear production that allows every instrument to breathe and an impressively nuanced approach to songwriting, fourth full-length Mach Dich Frei (Napalm) which translates as ‘set yourself free’, carries on the epic and stirring tradition begun on debut release Weltenkraft (World Chaos Production) back in 2007. Influenced by the likes of Moonsorrow and Falkenbach, the band offer a variety of styles over the course of eight lengthy tracks, from the mid-paced stomp of ‘Zeit für Hass’ to the more hook-driven refrains of the title track, all the while ensuring that while grandiose may be the order of the day, things never get out of hand.

Traditional instrumentation plays a big part in the record with the braying horns of keyboardist Sebastian Scherrer in particular lending proceedings a cinematic feel. The guttural Teutonic lyrics of vocalist Oliver Berlin may soar over the heads of many listeners but his delivery is full of passion and grit, while the dual guitar attack switches tempos with ease, no better demonstrated on twenty-three minute closing track ‘Finsterforst’ which features everything from classy melodic interplay to snarling black metal whilst remaining exciting and authentic throughout.

Although a seventy-three minute album will be far too long for many listeners, the sheer quality of songwriting on Mach Dich Frei is enough to warrant many repeated spins and the band deserve every success in reward for their efforts to inform and entertain.

8.0/10

Finsterforst on Facebook

JAMES CONWAY