Graveland
Following The Voice Of Blood
[No Colours]
1. Intro
2. White Hand's Power
3. Thurisaz
4. Following The Voice Of Blood
5. Forge Of Souls
6. Raise The Swords
7. And The Horn Was Sounding Far Away
8. Fed By The Beasts
9. Outro
After all the "Graveland/nazi" threads which have plagued the newsgroups lately, I thought it only fitting that someone actually dissect the music. "Following The Voice Of Blood" is Graveland's 3rd full length album-proper, and yes, its without a doubt, their best yet.
Lets not beat around the bush here. Aesthetically, Graveland are about as bad as you can get. In terms of technical proficiency, they suck, I'm the first to admit it.
Capricornus' drums (he's a session player now) often sound forced, his fills not quite fluent, and often he sounds like he's missed a beat, and hurriedly tried to make up time with a quirky fill. His style itself is unmistakable, especially to those who heard Graveland's last masterpiece "Thousand Swords".
Add to that, Darken's grim-as-fuck vocal style, totally incoherent, and often drowned in the mix...and that WOEFUL guitar sound he's given himself for this album - hardly any distortion/overdrive, and a sickly echo to it. But, that's Graveland's beauty, the ability to blend these elements, and often overlaying a thick blanket of horns/keys/synth to enhance mood. "The underlying melody, beneath simple riffing" (or similar) was the way someone described it, and I couldn't agree more. If you dissect Graveland's music, you'll be disappointed.
Lyrically Darken has shared duties with "JFN" from co-nazi ABSURD (Germany), and Capricornus, who's lyrics are surprisingly... palatable...("...In the garden of human plants, there is a lot of thorns"...from "Thurisaz"). There is nary a reference to Hitler, nor any overt references to the swastika, nor nazism, apart from the white-supremacist rants of the first track "White Hand's Power".
Whatever your opinions on Darken himself, only a moron can deny that he is a master of his (now own) art. Graveland cannot be called "generic" any longer, for this (and the last) album draws upon no obvious influences, Graveland have their own, unmistakable sound. If you like your black metal -G-R-I-M-, then by all means, seek it out...if you like your black metal flashy, with lots of "gnarly screams and solos and stuff", you've just wasted 10 mins reading this review.
http://www.anus.com/metal/graveland.html
http://darkwolf.black.art.pl/~hatred/Graveland/
© 1998 brett
2. White Hand's Power
3. Thurisaz
4. Following The Voice Of Blood
5. Forge Of Souls
6. Raise The Swords
7. And The Horn Was Sounding Far Away
8. Fed By The Beasts
9. Outro
After all the "Graveland/nazi" threads which have plagued the newsgroups lately, I thought it only fitting that someone actually dissect the music. "Following The Voice Of Blood" is Graveland's 3rd full length album-proper, and yes, its without a doubt, their best yet.
Lets not beat around the bush here. Aesthetically, Graveland are about as bad as you can get. In terms of technical proficiency, they suck, I'm the first to admit it.
Capricornus' drums (he's a session player now) often sound forced, his fills not quite fluent, and often he sounds like he's missed a beat, and hurriedly tried to make up time with a quirky fill. His style itself is unmistakable, especially to those who heard Graveland's last masterpiece "Thousand Swords".
Add to that, Darken's grim-as-fuck vocal style, totally incoherent, and often drowned in the mix...and that WOEFUL guitar sound he's given himself for this album - hardly any distortion/overdrive, and a sickly echo to it. But, that's Graveland's beauty, the ability to blend these elements, and often overlaying a thick blanket of horns/keys/synth to enhance mood. "The underlying melody, beneath simple riffing" (or similar) was the way someone described it, and I couldn't agree more. If you dissect Graveland's music, you'll be disappointed.
Lyrically Darken has shared duties with "JFN" from co-nazi ABSURD (Germany), and Capricornus, who's lyrics are surprisingly... palatable...("...In the garden of human plants, there is a lot of thorns"...from "Thurisaz"). There is nary a reference to Hitler, nor any overt references to the swastika, nor nazism, apart from the white-supremacist rants of the first track "White Hand's Power".
Whatever your opinions on Darken himself, only a moron can deny that he is a master of his (now own) art. Graveland cannot be called "generic" any longer, for this (and the last) album draws upon no obvious influences, Graveland have their own, unmistakable sound. If you like your black metal -G-R-I-M-, then by all means, seek it out...if you like your black metal flashy, with lots of "gnarly screams and solos and stuff", you've just wasted 10 mins reading this review.
http://www.anus.com/metal/graveland.html
http://darkwolf.black.art.pl/~hatred/Graveland/
© 1998 brett