Graveland
Thousand Swords
[Lethal/Isengard]
This is Graveland’s second real full-length album. Graveland plays grim and
hateful black metal in the Polish way. The politics of this band are always a
cause of controversy, but only rarely have I seen disrespect for this band for
musical reasons inside the black metal underground.
From their earlier more Nordic-sounding creations they have advanced to this point… a magnificent, epic creation on the scale of operas like Wagner’s "Nibelungen", literary creations like Nietzsche’s "Also Sprach Zarathustra" and classic metal albums like Bathory’s "Hammerheart". The scope and depth of this record is such that I could not imagine "entertainment" or "rock music" or "fun" used in the same sentence.
This album communicates the thought, emotion, philosophy and history of a whole culture, with a contemporary awareness and presence that is lost in most folk music. Nature, fate united by bloodline, battle, passage of time, birth and death, religion, enjoyment and suffering each have their part in this tale of a race and it’s culture, their continuous battle against the external parasitic, uncreative and unspiritual forces that nearly once consumed it.
Defeat also does exist in this record. It is not passive self-pity and neither is it empty, spiritless, self-destructive rebellion against certain forces of authority. It is a wise reminder of the failures that once came to pass and which should not happen again, if the fire would be rekindled and burn their enemies again.
Graveland’s music carries an audial and spiritual embodiment of this fire. The whole album is highly coherent and understandable, yet very deep and thoughtful and not simplified in the least. The riffs range from battling low thunderous chords to simple and beautiful folk melodies that appear as shadows from the past, bringing both beauty and pain in the understanding of truth, which is neither theoretical or rational, but highly intuitive and persuasive. The drumming of Capricornus might not be technically perfect, but it works perfectly in this environment. The rhythms and timings are instinctive, like the whole of the work, and very sharp in underlining the emotional and thoughtful currents in the music, forming a cycle of preparation to war, battle and the aftermath. Much of what I have said could also apply to Bathory’s classic "Hammerheart" and that is a very good point of comparison. "Hammerheart" and "Thousand Swords" have similarities on each level… the aesthetic, the spiritual and the contextual. Study both… they contain value that is all but lost today.
© 1999 black hate
From their earlier more Nordic-sounding creations they have advanced to this point… a magnificent, epic creation on the scale of operas like Wagner’s "Nibelungen", literary creations like Nietzsche’s "Also Sprach Zarathustra" and classic metal albums like Bathory’s "Hammerheart". The scope and depth of this record is such that I could not imagine "entertainment" or "rock music" or "fun" used in the same sentence.
This album communicates the thought, emotion, philosophy and history of a whole culture, with a contemporary awareness and presence that is lost in most folk music. Nature, fate united by bloodline, battle, passage of time, birth and death, religion, enjoyment and suffering each have their part in this tale of a race and it’s culture, their continuous battle against the external parasitic, uncreative and unspiritual forces that nearly once consumed it.
Defeat also does exist in this record. It is not passive self-pity and neither is it empty, spiritless, self-destructive rebellion against certain forces of authority. It is a wise reminder of the failures that once came to pass and which should not happen again, if the fire would be rekindled and burn their enemies again.
Graveland’s music carries an audial and spiritual embodiment of this fire. The whole album is highly coherent and understandable, yet very deep and thoughtful and not simplified in the least. The riffs range from battling low thunderous chords to simple and beautiful folk melodies that appear as shadows from the past, bringing both beauty and pain in the understanding of truth, which is neither theoretical or rational, but highly intuitive and persuasive. The drumming of Capricornus might not be technically perfect, but it works perfectly in this environment. The rhythms and timings are instinctive, like the whole of the work, and very sharp in underlining the emotional and thoughtful currents in the music, forming a cycle of preparation to war, battle and the aftermath. Much of what I have said could also apply to Bathory’s classic "Hammerheart" and that is a very good point of comparison. "Hammerheart" and "Thousand Swords" have similarities on each level… the aesthetic, the spiritual and the contextual. Study both… they contain value that is all but lost today.
© 1999 black hate