Germany´s Wolfchant have been active in the scene for almost twenty years now and this is their new opus, seventh full length and I am honored having listened to this magnificent album. There are 14 songs on two discs on this one and every song is a hit. Music of Wolfchant can be described as pagan folk metal with lots of black and melodic death metal influences in the songs, but I can also hear some gothic and some neue Deutsche haerte in some songs, maybe it is only me. Lyrics are mainly in German and since I speak and understand this language I love how this strong language fits perfectly into vocal lines. Besides epic guitar work, aggressive and folk/atmospheric parts in the picture, vocals are one of the main strengths of this band. Singer Nortwin transforms perfectly from death growling to clean singing, black metal screeching and yet remaining understandable. Lyrics are about nature, inner strength, personal, yet pagan and retaining that defiant metal heart vibe in them. My personal highlights are: Der Geist und der Dunkelheit, Jaeger der Nacht and The Flame.
It is time for Croatian band to grace the pages of this zine again. Manntra just released their brand new record and it was time for me to listen and find out what are the new songs like.
There is an intro invocation plus ten songs on this opus. Although this band is firmly rooted in some folk metal song structures this new record is so much more. Songs are very melodic just made for singing along and humming long after you finish listening to the record. Besides this, there are also lots of industrial influenced song structures, also melodic gothic parts, even some classic rock and pop influences are clear in the song structures. But, most important, this is well written, well played and quality modern folk metal album, Vocals are fantastic, also backing vocal harmonies are superb. My personal favorites are Voices of the Sea and I Want To Eat You which is instant hit upon first listening makes me wanna listen to it again and again. This band always delivers great music! Go listen!
Calarook are hailing from Switzerland and this is their debut full length album. When I listened to the intro on the album I thought to myself, oh no, not another Alestorm clone playing boring folk metal called pirate metal. But, fortunately I was wrong. This is more on melodic death metal side of things with growling vocals, epic guitar catchy riffs and perfect balance between aggressive fast parts and more melodic side of things. I must say that violin does a great job here, especially that fantastic violin solo in Kraken´s Chest, one of my absolute favorites on this record. This album sounds like a crosbreed of Amon Amarth, Skyclad, Running Wild and Edge of Sanity combined into one superb whole musical journey. The songs are hilarious, you just can´t go wrong with Quest For Booze or Invisible Pineapples., especially Paul the Parrot hehe. This is fine debut record, I would love to see and hear this band live somewhere, I am sure they make one hell of a party.
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 