Satarial - Heidenlarm
2002 - Beyond... Prod
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Beyond... Prod website.
Folk metal is a fairly odd beast, conjuring images (at least in my mind) of ribbon and bell-bedecked metallers singing thrash metal songs about morris dancers and suchlike. Which probably explains why I've never really managed to get into the style.
Sadly, Satarial are unlikely to be the band that changes my mind. Heidenlarm is basically an album of two styles, alternating between tracks of mid-paced and quite bludgeoning black metal coupled with folk melody accompaniment from violin, flute and female vocals, followed by traditional Russian folk ballads and other acoustic or otherwise songs more or less totally absent of any metallic content.
The metal songs are well-written and performed, and the folk music accompaniments are unobrusive and well-written, and indeed even fitting to the themes of the album and it's music. It's merely the fact that after every one of these songs is a totally folk-centric piece, which while interesting does tend to totally stop the album from picking up any sense of momentum at all. Just when you're settled into a heavy song and are ready for more of the same, along comes another dose of 'hey-nonny-nonny' - and then you settle into that, before being jarred by crunching guitars, harshly screamed vocals and a faster pace.
It's this constant jarring that makes it almost impossible to fully get into this album. None of the songs are bad or unlistenable, it's just that the arrangement of 'heavy-light-heavy-light' makes for an uncomfortably incongruent listening experience.
My advice? Try Primordial instead.
5.5/10
2002 - Beyond... Prod
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Beyond... Prod website.
Folk metal is a fairly odd beast, conjuring images (at least in my mind) of ribbon and bell-bedecked metallers singing thrash metal songs about morris dancers and suchlike. Which probably explains why I've never really managed to get into the style.
Sadly, Satarial are unlikely to be the band that changes my mind. Heidenlarm is basically an album of two styles, alternating between tracks of mid-paced and quite bludgeoning black metal coupled with folk melody accompaniment from violin, flute and female vocals, followed by traditional Russian folk ballads and other acoustic or otherwise songs more or less totally absent of any metallic content.
The metal songs are well-written and performed, and the folk music accompaniments are unobrusive and well-written, and indeed even fitting to the themes of the album and it's music. It's merely the fact that after every one of these songs is a totally folk-centric piece, which while interesting does tend to totally stop the album from picking up any sense of momentum at all. Just when you're settled into a heavy song and are ready for more of the same, along comes another dose of 'hey-nonny-nonny' - and then you settle into that, before being jarred by crunching guitars, harshly screamed vocals and a faster pace.
It's this constant jarring that makes it almost impossible to fully get into this album. None of the songs are bad or unlistenable, it's just that the arrangement of 'heavy-light-heavy-light' makes for an uncomfortably incongruent listening experience.
My advice? Try Primordial instead.
5.5/10
