In light of the problems a lot of Graveland fans had with their last full-length album "Immortal Pride," it seems that their latest mCD, "Impaler’s Wolves", may be viewed with some suspicion - after all, it’s simply two re-recorded songs from their first full- length album "Carpathian Wolves", and considering the price a lot of places are charging for it (coupled with the recent re-issue of "Thousand Swords" that only features new artwork), one might wonder what the motives behind this disc are. Fortunately, it seems to me that Darken has come through once again.

The songs in question, "Impaler of Wallachia" and "In the Northern Carpathians" (tracks 5 and 4 from Carpathian Wolves, respectively), are excellent choices, being two of the best tracks on the album. Rather than simply re-record the same songs, Darken re- interpreted them significantly. The arrangements are basically untouched, with only intros and outros added to both tracks and the tempos brought down a few notches. The production is quite different, however. The drumming is noticeably cleaner, and the guitars more crisp than on the originals. It is the keyboards that have had the most re- tooling; different patches are used throughout, to great effect: "Impaler..." sounds much more sinister with the tubular bells instead of the eerie ‘horror house’ keyboards of the original. More keyboard parts are added to "Northern Carpathians", with that ‘triumphant brass choir’ patch added over a lot of the main riffs. While that may not sound like so many changes when put into words, it’s the overall effect of the songs that see the most changes, with even the subtle variances having great effects in the way the songs come across - more epic and almost doomy in spots. I personally find this mCD a worthwhile purchase, though for some reason I hesitate to say it’s essential for all Graveland fans; I guess it mostly depends on whether or not you want to hear re- interpreted versions of two of the best early Graveland songs.

© 2000 lord vic