Hyrgal‘s latest effort is a smasher. Check it out below and preorder /J.
Category: All posts, articles, reviews etc
All posts, including all subcategories.
Empyrium return with their sixth album “Über den Sternen”
With their sixth full-length, “Über den Sternen”, EMPYRIUM still draw from the magic and spirits of wild places, nature’s beauty, and human relics of ages long past. “Über den Sternen” echoes this reconciliation of the old with the new on a musical level as well. The duo is putting more emphasis on the electric guitars and harsh vocals again, which marked their first two albums and stood strong upon the band’s melodic black metal foundations. Yet EMPYRIUM also revisit the dark folk style, which the Germans had progressively embraced on their third and fourth albums.
What used to appear to be a crossroad in their musical development has now merged into one breath-taking sound. The combined force of mastermind, multi-instrumentalist, clean and extreme vocalist as well as producer Markus “Schwadorf” Stock and classical singer Thomas Helm, who lends his amazing voice also to the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, is painting a radiant sonic picture. It comes with the melancholic grounding of the sophomore album “Songs of Moors & Misty Fields” (1997), adds brushstrokes of the fairy-tale tempera colours of “Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays” (1999), and also makes use of a few hues from the palette that Dead Can Dance have infused with world music, which EMPYRIUM have already employed on “The Turn of the Tides” (2014). The crowning varnish is diligently crafted from rougher elements that reach all the way back to the Germans’ legendary debut ” A Wintersunset…” (1996). EMPYRIUM have reconciled their early vintage sound with the acoustic expression of later recordings.”
Staying true to the Romantic tradition, EMPYRIUM continue to take inspiration for their lyrical flights of fantasy from the local myths, ancient places, and natural wonders of the Rhön Mountains and their Lower Franconian homeland in the West of Germany. A circle is closing, and with EMPYRIUM‘s label Prophecy Productions, which were originally founded with the mission to release the band’s debut album, celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2021, it happens in more than one way.
Don’t forget to check out the taster “Über den Sternen”:
Tracklist
- The Three Flames Sapphire
- A Lucid Tower Beckons On The Hills Afar
- The Oaken Throne
- Moonrise
- The Archer
- The Wild Swans
- In The Morning Mist
- Über den Sternen
Bonus track (only artbook and box)
- The Crimson Heath
My Dying Bride release the first ever vinyl version of “Evinta”
The vinyl is officially released today, December 4th, and is available on preorder.
Rightly hailed as one of the most instrumental & influential forces in doom metal since their inception in 1990, UK legends My Dying Bride have forged an illustrious career through a flawless discography of immaculately crafted, haunting art.
Now marking the thirtieth year of My Dying Bride with this special vinyl release, Aaron Stainthorpe describes the new edition
“Evinta is a reworking and a re-thinking of some of My Dying Bride’s best compositions, we brought together some outstanding classical musicians as well as opera singer Lucie Roche for the venture. It was directed by myself, Andrew Craighan and Jonny Maudling and the music comes together with all the pomp you would expect from such a project, featuring violins, grand piano, cellos a variety of woodwind and brass instruments as well as new lyrics. A recent discovery from this recording session was a cover version of our song ‘The Cry of Mankind’ with all new instrumentation and a differing vocal approach, which gives the song an altogether majestic and ethereal sound.” – Aaron Stainthorpe
Check out the unboxing by Aaron below. I must say that I don’t like him removing the plastic, but the tool he uses is pretty fantastic:
