Paganland - From Carpathian Land, (2016.)
[Scroll down for English]
Uvek
me oduševe bendovi koji dolaze iz zemalja rastrzanih raznim problemima, ali
nekako uspevaju da se izbore sa situacijom u kojoj nisu svojim krivicom, i
izdaju, uprkos svemu, odlične albume.
Jedan od takvih bendova jesu i ukrajinski pagan-blackeri Paganland. Dolaze iz grada Lviva i (u dva navrata)
postoje već nekih šesnaest godina. Bend
su osnovali Mykola Bilozor i Ruen kao studio projekat, ali su se 2001 okupili
kao full live line-up bend. Kroz bend je, u dosadašnjoj njihovoj karijeri
prošlo dosta muzičara na raznim mestima u bendu, i verovatno su ta silna
pretumbavanja i dovela do toga da se bend raspadne 2007. Medjutim, Ruen je ponovo okupio bend, postava
je kompletirana i krenula je u novo osvajanje scene. From
Carpathian Land, koji će biti u novembru izdat za Svarga Music je snimljen
u Lembergu u Ukrajini.
Najprimetnija
promena u zvuku benda je odsustvo vokala Volofymyra, ali novi čovek za
mikrofonom Zymobor ta je tako dobro zamenio da se njegovo odsustvo i ne
primećuje. Za razliku od Volodymirovog
više baritona koji je davao neki depresivni prizvuk prisutan na albumu Fatherland, Zymobor koristi više
klasičan black metal rasp vokalni stil, čime je ovaj album dobio na
agresivnosti. Sve zajedno, bend zvuči
mnogo žešće i, bar meni, mnogo privlačnije
za uho. Zvuk je nekako
kompaktniji i puniji, direktniji. Pet
pesama (četiri potpuno nove sa ponovo odradjenom modernijom verzijom genijalne
„Black Mountain“) sa sa introm i outrom kuca sasvim zadovoljavajućih 37 minuta.
Bend
je ostao veran žanru sa prethodnih ostvarenja.
Ono što ovaj bend izdvaja je upotreba klavijatura koje čine da njihova
muzika zaista zvuči epski. One su
zapravo i prvi zvukovi koji vas pozdrave nakon što pritisnete „play“, praćene
klasičnom gitarom, a nakon kratkog introa, miksu se pridružuju i ostali
instrumenti dajući paketu potrebnu žestinu ali zadražvajući taj izuzetno
atmosferičan doživljaj sa početka.
Visoki klasični black metal vokali u sebi nose neverovatnu energiju, a
veoma kvalitetan rad na bubnjevima upotpunjava ovaj muzički pejsaž koji u
paketu zvuči prilično ubedljivo. Brže
deonice donose uobičajene black-metal tremolo rifove koje muzici benda daje
neku sirovu notu, a pesme genijalno kombinuju brže, srednje brze i sporije
deonice tako da vas bend bukvalno drži konstantno na ivici stolice. Rifovi su prilično melodično odsvirani, što
važi i za solaže a produkcijski je osigurano da se svaki instrument odlično
čuje, iako u miksu deluje da su gitare ostale malo u pozadini iza klavijatura.
Album
otvara veoma atmosferičan intro „Стожари“
. Sve zvuči hipnotišuće i već vas
primorava da širom otvorite uši i pripremite se za on što dolazi nakon nešto
manje od tri minute. Prva prava pesma je
„At the Heart of Carpathians“ i kao da vam otvara vrata za ulazak u carstvo u
kojem vlada neukroćena divlja priroda visokih šumom i snegom pokrivenih
planinskih lanaca. Veoma dobra stvar
koja zadržava atmosferičnost introa, ali puca od sirove snage koju joj daju
klasični pagan black metal rifovi. Na
ovu pesmu se, na najprirodniji mogući način, nadovezuje sledeća stvar „Черногора“ (Black Mountain) i prosto
imate osećaj da muzika nije prestala koliko je prelaz sa pesme na pesmu
prirodan. Ako ovu novu verziju ove pesme
uporedite da starom, tačno ćete videti razliku, jer moderna verzija upravo i
zvuči tako – modernije od originalne verzije, što čini da se ona izuzetno
uklopi u društvo novih pesama. Iako se u
svim pesmama radi o kombinaciji istih elemenata, slušalac ni u kom slučaju nema
osećaj ponavljanja, jer se kombinuju novi rifovi ponovo praćeni veoma
atmosferičnim klavijaturama. Ruen je
neprikosnoveni majstor na svom instrumentu.
Ni jedna od pesama do kraja albuma zapravo ne unosi nikakve nove
elemente u muziku što sigurno znači da je bend izuzetno siguran u ono što radi,
jer smatra da nema potrebe da pažnju privlači nekim originalnim elementima čije
ubacivanje moće da se pokaže i kontraproduktivno tako što će zvučati nekako
neupareno sa ostalim muzičkim elementima po kojima su Paganland i postali
poznati. Naslovna pesma i „The Gloom“ su
definitivno više klavijaturski orijentisane, ali miks je dopustio da
klavijature ne preklope gitare koje se prosto iskradaju i ostaju prisutne.
Ovo
je definitivno jedan od bendova koji uspeva da prenese pravi doživljaj svojom
muzikom, jer svaka pesma prosto uspeva da slušaoca postavi u sred beskrajnih
šuma na obroncima Karpata, u nekom prošlom istorijskom trenutku, i da mu
prezentuje duboko ukorenjeno kulturno nasledje.
Svaki fan pagan black metala iz 90-ih će biti itekako zadovoljan ovim
albumom. Definitivno pun pogodak za
fanove starog Borknagara, Skyforgera i Manegarma.
Paganland
pagan black metal
Svarga Music, (04. 11. 2016.)
01: Stozhary [Стожари]
(Intro)
02: At the Heart of
Carpathians [У Серці Карпат]
03: Black Mountain [Чорногора]
04: Belted by Spirit [Підперезаний
Духом]
05: The Gloom [Морок]
06: From Carpathian
Land [З Карпатського Краю]
07: Chuhayster [Чугайстер]
(Outro)
Ocena: 9,5/10.
Paganland - From Carpathian Land, (2016.)
I am always happy to see bands that are coming
from those parts of the world torned appart by some problems,but somehow they
succed to fight out the situation in their countries and release, no matter what,
wuite good releases. One ofthose bands
are Ukrainian pagan-black metalers Paganland.
They are hailing from the town of Lviv and (in two parts) they exist
some 16 years already. The band was
founded by Mykola Bilozor and Ruen as a studio project, but since 2001 they
decided to become a full live performing band.
As in almost everybands case, in their career, many musitians had pased
through all on diferent places in the band, and probbly those many inner
changes are guilty for bands spliting up in 2007. But, Ruen has gahtered new line-up, and band
has started conquering the scene for second time. FromCarpathian
Land, which will be released in November through Svarga Music, has been
recorded in Lemberg in Ukraine.
The most notable change in the sound of the
band is the absence of Volofymyr on vocals, but the new man behind the
microphone Zymobor has jumped in his shooes and jumped in so well that
Volofymyr's absence is almost unnoticed.
Volofymyr's more baritonic made bands music sound a bit sorrowful, if
not even depressive, as you can hear on the album Fatherland. Zymobor is using
more classical black metal raspstyle in his vocals, which gavethis album more
aggression. All together, the band
sounds evenmore heavyer and, to me, much more attractive to the ears. The sound is somehow more compact and fuller,
more direct. Five songs (four completely
new joined by a new and more modern sounding version of fantastic „Black Mountain“)
, together with intro and outro, are klicking on fully satisfying 37 minutes.
The band has stayed faithful to the genre of
previous releases. What singles this band out of many others of similar genre
is their use of keyboards, that make their music sound trully epic. They are eventhe very first sounds that are
greating you after you press „play“, joined by a classical undistorted guitar,
and after a very short intro, to the mix are added other instruments giving to
the package necessary heavyness, but keeping this trully atmospheric feeling
fromthe very beginning ofthe album.
Classical high pitched black metal rasps are bringing with them high
level of energy, fulled with a high quality drum-work, and together they
aremaking this package sounding pretty persuasive. Faster parts are usuall black metal tremolo
riffs that are giving to bands music some raw note, and each of the songs is
masterfully combining these faster and other slower parts, so the band is
literally keeping you at the edge of your seats constantly. Riffs are played pretty melodic, andthe same
is true for leads, and prduction has made certain that every intrument is heard
equally good, even if it looks that guitars are a bit in the background of
keyboards.
The album opener is a very atmospheric intro „Стожари“. Everything sounds mesmerizing andyou are
forced already at the beginning to listen carefully and prepare yourself for
what is coming after less that three minutes.
First real track is „At the Heart of Carpathians“ and it sounds like an
opening of the gates for entering into the kingdom inwhich the only ruller is the
untamed nature of forests reaching toward the clouds and high peaks covered
with snow. Very goos track that keeps
the atmosphere ofthe intro, but in the same time is bursting with strength grom
its classical pagan-black riffs. To this
song, in the most natural was, is being attached next song „Черногора“ (Black Mountain) and simply
you do not feel that music has stoped with this natural transision in between
songs. If this new verssion of the song
compare with the old one, you will clearly see the maindifference, because the
new version is more modern-sounding then the original one. This helps her to fully integrate itself into
the company of other new songs. Evenif
all songs are combining the same elements, listener never feels that thereis
some unnecesary repeating, because new riffs are combined again followed with
very atmospheric keyboards. Ruen is
trully a master on his instrument. Not
even one song, all the way to the end of the album, is not bringing into the
mix any new element, whixhmeans that the band is very sure in everything they
are doing in their music, and believes that there is no need to attract the
attention of the listener with some „original“ element. By dong this can become
even contraproductive, because those „new“ elements might even sound odd with
other musical elements that already are making Paganland's music. The title song and “TheGloom“ are definitely
more keyboard oriented, but the mixis done professionally so keyboards are nog
going overguitars, that are sneaking out and stay present all the time
throughout the album.
This is definitely one of those bands that
succedes in transfering the real experience with their music, because every
song is puting the listener into the surrounding of endless forests onthe slopes
of Carpathians,in some past hisstorical moment, and are presenting some deeply
rooted cultural heritage. Every fan of
pagan-black metal fromthe 90s will be fully satisfied by this album. Definitely bulls-eye for fansof
earlyBorknagar, Skyforger and Manegarm.
Paganland
pagan black metal
Svarga Music, (04. 11. 2016.)
01: Stozhary [Стожари]
(Intro)
02: At the Heart of
Carpathians [У Серці Карпат]
03: Black Mountain [Чорногора]
04: Belted by Spirit [Підперезаний
Духом]
05: The Gloom [Морок]
06: From Carpathian
Land [З Карпатського Краю]
07: Chuhayster [Чугайстер]
(Outro)
Mark: 9,5/10.
Made by: Igor Živić
Нема коментара:
Постави коментар