Fredlös are hailing from Sweden and this is their debut full length opus. This one contains nine songs of darkened folk metal with dual male/female vocals that interplay perfectly. This is not your growled death metal/angelic voice interplay, but both sing mainly clean, adding to folk element of the music taking me as a listener to past, bringing nostalgia and melancholia, especially in longest song of this opus called ‘Requiem’ with that beautiful violin solo melody. I can hear Lacrimosa in the music of this band, as I can also hear Vintersorg, so you will have to listen for yourselves if you want to discover how this band really sounds. To me they are a vessel to the past times that I feel I belong with, not these new times of fear, paranoia and modern warfare. The music on this opus is taking me somewhere where I can be me, where I can understand who I am, what I am. Although lyrics are in Swedish I can musically totally relate to the atmosphere of this opus. Besides above mentioned song, my personal favorites are also: ‘Farsot’ and ‘Uppror’. Superb album.
Although I love Romania as mystic country of mountains and deep forests, I have not listened to Bucovina until this new opus. The band has been in the scene since 2008 and they got their name after a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathians. This is their fifth full length opus, first in four years. This one offers ten songs of melodic and epic folk metal mixed with black and some little death metal influences. The guitar melodies are astonishing and fantastic leaving me with goosebumps all over my skin. Vocals vary from black screams, death metal growling and multiple clean vocal harmonies with such beautiful voice that reminds me a lot of Vintersorg. Lyrics are in Romanian language so I don’t really understand but let the music do the talking. What I understood from the translator and titles, it is about nature and Romanian folklore. This is album just made to listen multiple times on a winter’s day after or during the walk in the pine woods of our North under a steel grey sky.
Al-Namrood are hailing from land not known for the appreciation of extreme music, namely Saudi Arabia. These guys have been in the scene since 2008 and this is their brand new e.p. containing 6 songs of thrash metal influenced black/death with many oriental music folk parts thrown in the song structures thus bringing a superb vibe of desert, relentless nature, ancient times and demons. Songs are in English language so my personal favorites are Guerillas and Sun of Liberation. Vocals dwell more in the black metal oriented screaming, with guitars and drums at times delivering real groove metal parts besides already natural blast beats and fast thrash metal drumming. I listen to this band for couple of years now and I am fascinated how good they sound and how mighty their message is, also music is something that can cross any border, any so called state and hierarchy, connect true underground creatures into a network. Good one.
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 