Stribog - U Okovima Vječnosti (2010)

Pagan/black or folk/black metal is not something I cover often enough here, a situation I'll one day hope to rectify, because I'm constantly being surprised at how well that scene in general has progressed from its rustic roots. Where once I found a lot of production flaws and inconsistency in the strength of the 'metal' element to such acts, recent years have seen a wealth of better riff material to balance off against the acoustic guitars, female guest vocals, flutes, and other ingredients often incorporated to the formula. Stribog is a pretty good example of how Europe has become a hotbed for this aesthetic, as they've got most of the strengths and none of the weaknesses associated with this niche. U Okovima Vječnosti, their first (and thus far) only full-length, might seem a little 'garden variety' in execution, but its damn solid and has a lot to offer whether your tastes run towards an Arkona, Nokturnal Mortum, Finntroll or Temnozor.

First, there is the presence of these intense and justifiably blaring female vocals which sound superb wherever they manifest through the track list. Somewhere between Arkona and Dalriada in delivery, but never without a sequence of notes that carve out your brain and make you wish you were somewhere else, somewhere ancient, beholden to nature as beautiful as this woman's inflection. These are often meted out into a sensual whisper ("Morana") or joined to a more ominous male tone, but without a doubt they provide an intrinsic, vibrant energy through the debut that is essential to its success. Otherwise, you've got an amalgam of blackened/thrash metal with a lot of bone crushing force to the lower-end muted progression, and then a more wide open vista of glaring, atmospheric melody that is usually affixed to the female vocals. As for the male parts, it's a petulant, carnal black rasp, not so unique in of itself but effectively loud and raucous. The bass thunders along with a clear traditional heavy metal influence circa Iron Maiden, while the drums, if rarely interesting, give the riffing that added discharge of momentum.

As with many such albums, you'll experience periods of calm that both rise and fall from the faster, hostile movements, but U Okovima Vječnosti is up to the task of keeping it all in line. Flutes, ringing piano keys, waves, synths, and brooding, glorious backing choirs are all spliced into the mix to create the larger-than-life atmospheres, and you'll never pass a moment without some sort of ear candy carrying you off to a distant land. Lyrics paint paeans to the band's Slavic forebears and the majesty of nature, but a few of the tunes ("Follow the Silver Path", "Remember With Pride") are also in English. They wear their inspiration on their sleeves a bit much, but nothing too corny. Perhaps my least favorite part of the album would be the guitar progressions; as lively, appropriate and energized as they tend to be, the structure of the riffs very often just seems a vehicle for the atmospheric flourishes, a smattering of power, black and thrash metal sequences which are all similar to those we've heard before. But fortunately, they're not alone here, and all the elements in unison do create a grand, fun and at times memorable experience. Worth a spin if you're into the folksy bands I named earlier, the recent Skyforger material or Switzerland's Eluveitie.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/StriboG/109004042472158

Slavogorje - Vrijeme iza nas EP (2009)

Slavogorje are a Croatian duo that mix neofolk, ambient and post rock elements with a dash of raw, pagan metal for a sound quite unlike most. They've been productive in the half-decade of their existence, releasing some demos, splits and a pair of full-length albums, and have now arrived at their latest, the Vrijeme iza nas EP, a short effort with 3 songs in about 14 minutes. The material is pretty diverse, even for so short a release, and you never quite get the coherent picture. But I would be lax not to admit that they've got a truly original craft dripping with potential. Everything is played by Rugiewit and Isar, from the guitars to the pan flute and jaw harp, there is a lot of acoustic instrumentation.

"U Suton Bogova (A Dusk of the Gods)" is soothing enough, a vocal a capella which lasts about :35 seconds before the tranquil acoustics of "Perun i Ljeto (Perun and the Summer)", soon joined with Slavic whispers and deep percussion as the vocals and glistening guitars combine for neofolk bliss. You can also hear some woodwind within there. The track doesn't really develop much, but it does die out for a more somber moment of pipes and synth-induced ambiance. "Vrijeme iza nas (Time Behind Us)" itself sounds like something Vangelis would have written for Chariots of Fire, only with more drums and raw piano. If Tangerine Dream had a pagan metal guitar player, it might sound like this...and this is where Slavogorje are at their most interesting, dreamy scintillating post-rock with no shame for its electronic waves and pretty, wailing male vocals. The guitar does little more than trudge along with a few chords, but somehow its enough to send your mind racing as to the possibilities this marriage could produce.

It's not easy to recommend Vrijeme iza nas, because it feels a little uneven. "Perun i Ljeto" does not live up to its potential, and while the title track is full of elation, it does become too repetetive for replay value. The intro is just too brief to consider. But Slavogorje are onto something. Granted, that something is hardly metal music, and it hardly needs to be. If they can take some of the strength of the last track and apply it album-wide to their next full-length, with a little more variation, it will be something to behold. Also, I love a good logo, and this band has one.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.myspace.com/slavogorjeslavicforces

Mischosen - Set Afloat (2009)

Mischosen is the work of the Croatian Svarog, who released a demo a few years ago called Magic, Miracles and Rhymes. Though that demo was good, it was highly derivative of Summoning's bleak, glorious form. The debut full-length Set Afloat continues in this direction, but boasts an excellent production and a number of expansive elements that mark it as distinct. From the swelling orchestration of synthesizer and strings, tasteful female guest vocals, and the varied death and harsher clean male vocals, Set Afloat is a pretty moving affair

Yes, the album does come with its fair share of cheese, much like any symphonic, epic work of a single individual is won to impart. Often it feels the synths too soaring, yet the effect remains magical. "When I Shall Cease to Be" is a beautiful track, its pianos and vocals flowing into a communion of bitter remorse and majestic landscapes. "Whip of the World" delivers through its fuzzed up, symphonic intro and glorious march unto a graying sky. "Blood Ink" embraces the Summoning influence, but nonetheless shines as bright as any other star on the album. Set Afloat is an impressive full-length debut which surpasses the potential of the previous demo, and honors its influence by teaching it a few new tricks.

Highlights: Beyond This Gates, When I Shall Cease to Be, Whip of the World

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

http://www.mischosen.com/

Omega Lithium - Dreams in Formaline (2009)

Do you remember the past few releases from Norway's Kovenant, kind of a poppy tinted industrial metal? Croatia's Omega Lithium recalls to me this musical style, with a young female singer the likes of Evanescence or Lacuna Coil. If you haven't already thrown up in your mouth, then I advise you: DO NOT look at pictures of this band.

Despite all these aesthetic nightmares, Dreams in Formaline actually isn't as bad as it could have been. But it is the sum of numerous unimpressive parts. To begin with, Mya Mortensen's vocal: mind you, she does not have a bad voice. It's crystal clear and not exactly annoying, but it always feels as if it's reaching for something it cannot grasp. The range isn't the issue, it's just her selection of notes is not very catchy. The 'vampiric' male goth vocals aren't much better. Below this, the other three members of the band write some pedestrian chugging guitar rhythms (kind of like Rammstein) alongside very synth-heavy atmospheres, which also never captured my attention throughout the record. While listening to the band's single "Stigmata", I found myself bored to tears. Of the songs that do not completely suck, "Snow Red" had its moments and "Angel's Holocaust" may have worked as a synth rock piece with the aggressive male vocals until Mortensen's voice appeared.

Some of the lyrics here are fucking TERRIBLE. I mean, like scratched-on-a-napkin-in-3rd-grade-lunch-and-then-saved-for-future-use terrible. For example:

You are the angel
Of all my dreams
And when you die
I'll be by your side

The album sounds pretty bright and loud, but unfortunately this cannot save the writing. Unlike the better female fronted gothic metal albums of the past few decades (most courtesy of Theatre of Tragedy), I simply hear no melody I want to replay. Dreams in Formaline is not the worst album I've heard lately, but it's nothing more than forgettable fodder that I'd expect to hear on the soundtrack to the latest shitty Underworld movie. While listening to this album, I kept thinking about the dialogue from a recent episode of South Park, which I will quote here in full:

Fellow students, over the past week, there's been a lot of confusion, and so we have asked this assembly to clarify the difference between goth kids and vampire kids. Let us make it abundantly clear. If you hate life, truly hate the sun and need to smoke and drink coffee, you are goth. If,
however, you like dressing in black because it's fun, enjoy putting sparkles on your cheeks and following into a cult while avoiding things that are bad for your health, then you are most likely a douchebag vampire wannabe boner. Because anyone who thinks they are actually a vampire is freaking retarded.

Digression is the sweetest distraction. Alas, if you think Evanescence and Lacuna Coil are great musical artists, then Omega Lithium will blow your fucking mind. If you actually have taste, avoid this like Hot Topic.

Verdict: Fail [3/10]

http://www.omegalithium.com/

Rising Dream - Failed Apocalypse (2008)

The debut album from Croatian Rising Dream is a crunchy affair of slow to mid-paced power metal with a lot of sweeping keyboards and some occasional growled vocals and snarls. Josip Ruic has a singing style which seems a more exaggerated and rugged version of Bruce Dickinson or Blaze Bayley, perhaps if they smoked a lot more and sounded like it.

This is the kind of power metal where the guitars usually do a mix of chugging and chords that accompany the keyboards, more so than the other way around. As a result, they don't do anything interest except for the rare case when the guitar and keyboard create a nice harmony. The heavier growl vocals do almost nothing to actually make the parts 'heavier', which I'm sure was the intent. The female vocals on "Dreams Come True" are both unnecessary and terrible.

Most of the songs are quite forgettable, but occasionally there was a catchy number, generally the instrumentals like the acoustic "Transcend", or "Voice of Gods" which is all growl vocals and sounds more like a melodic death tune. "Bird of Prey" is also quite decent. Other than that, there is very little I'd recommend here. I can't complain much for the mix, you can hear everything quite well and the bass playing is nice. The songwriting just isn't compelling enough to compare with much of the good power metal (even this slower variety) out there. I did enjoy the cover image and a few of the tracks, perhaps we'll hear more and better in the future. This isn't quite the Failed apocalypse of the title but it's close.

Verdict: Indifference (5/10)

http://www.rising-dream.net/