Skyforger
Latviesu Strelnieki
[Mascot]
The mighty Latvian warriors are back with a new war metal opus, and they do
not disappoint. After their highly acclaimed demo and equally great debut
album, Skyforger went on to do something that probably hasn't been done
before. First of all, there is this album's concept. It's not very often
that you find a band who base their record around World War I. The Second
World War - yes, that's a pretty common theme for metal bands to explore, and
so are all sorts of ancient wars and battles. The First World War, though,
has taken a back seat for some reason. Well, "Latvian Riflemen" is here to
rectify the situation. The album is dedicated to eight Latvian battalions
who fought against the Germans during the W.W.I as a part of the Russian,
Czarist army. This is a cool idea to implement. Skyforger have always been
a nationalistic band, but did so unassumingly, without turning to any sort
of NS-related stuff. Similarly with their new work the band simply
commemorate their countrymen who fell heroically and selflessly during the
bloody days of the war, fighting not for the Czar, but for their own
homeland.
The album effectively starts with a plain chorus singing an old Latvian soldier song that is recorded over the sound of marching feet, only after which we get to the first track that starts with a machine gun drum solo. Actual folk music injections were kept to a bare minimum this time, with only the second track "Battle Of Plakani, Battle Of Veisi" starting out with a cool pipe-driven folk melody, or the pipes being used briefly during "Death Island." Meanwhile, "March Of 1916" begins as a waltz before literally exploding into the actual music. The band also felt that they needed to alter their main musical frame into something that would better fit their new concept, so they decided to move aside the most obvious aspects of their black metal influence and bring in elements from other corners of the metal kingdom. What they ended up with is an unprecedented blend of all things metal: Black-Death-Heavy-War metal that is still very much Skyforger (even the Pagan feel still remained intact somehow, but in a kind of modernized form), but in a new light. Attempting to mix too many things into the mold could easily spell disaster, but the band's talent still stands tall. Very tall indeed because there is nothing lackluster or superfluous about "Latvian Riflemen." This is a totally kick-ass piece of work. Peter's raspy, evocative narratives (still in Latvian, but with quality English translation inside the booklet) about specific battles and overall war experiences of Latvian soldiers are backed by tight (the new drummer Edgar, on the lease from Heresiarh, is just amazing), massive, expertly produced (very bulky and noisy but clear sound) battle tunes full of power, fortitude, with great seamlessly blended folkish melodies, amazing feeling, and that ever-present Baltic ingredient, which helps to make Skyforger such a unique and impressive band.
The music really gets to you. After a while you begin to feel like you are right there in the trenches, wearing a gas mask, squeezing your old rifle with a rusty bayonet attached to the muzzle, under constant fire, explosions, poison gas attacks, with your comrades dying right next to you, and yet you are still holding on because you know there can be no retreat and no surrender, because you are fighting on your own native soil.
This album really does transcend the feeling and atmosphere of these past, turbulent times. I do not know how Skyforger managed to pull it off, but they were as successful in dealing with the subject of W.W.I as they previously dealt with the much more distant Pagan past. The CD includes archival war photographs as well as brief historical commentaries regarding specific themes the songs deal with. The band themselves are shown posing (in a very natural way, with none of those cheesy, overblown poses) in old Russian army uniforms, holding sabers and rifles, and with an antique machine gun by their side. Very cool, as everything about this CD. Skyforger are simply one of the best bands coming from Eastern Europe right now. Highest recommendations.
© 2001 boris
The album effectively starts with a plain chorus singing an old Latvian soldier song that is recorded over the sound of marching feet, only after which we get to the first track that starts with a machine gun drum solo. Actual folk music injections were kept to a bare minimum this time, with only the second track "Battle Of Plakani, Battle Of Veisi" starting out with a cool pipe-driven folk melody, or the pipes being used briefly during "Death Island." Meanwhile, "March Of 1916" begins as a waltz before literally exploding into the actual music. The band also felt that they needed to alter their main musical frame into something that would better fit their new concept, so they decided to move aside the most obvious aspects of their black metal influence and bring in elements from other corners of the metal kingdom. What they ended up with is an unprecedented blend of all things metal: Black-Death-Heavy-War metal that is still very much Skyforger (even the Pagan feel still remained intact somehow, but in a kind of modernized form), but in a new light. Attempting to mix too many things into the mold could easily spell disaster, but the band's talent still stands tall. Very tall indeed because there is nothing lackluster or superfluous about "Latvian Riflemen." This is a totally kick-ass piece of work. Peter's raspy, evocative narratives (still in Latvian, but with quality English translation inside the booklet) about specific battles and overall war experiences of Latvian soldiers are backed by tight (the new drummer Edgar, on the lease from Heresiarh, is just amazing), massive, expertly produced (very bulky and noisy but clear sound) battle tunes full of power, fortitude, with great seamlessly blended folkish melodies, amazing feeling, and that ever-present Baltic ingredient, which helps to make Skyforger such a unique and impressive band.
The music really gets to you. After a while you begin to feel like you are right there in the trenches, wearing a gas mask, squeezing your old rifle with a rusty bayonet attached to the muzzle, under constant fire, explosions, poison gas attacks, with your comrades dying right next to you, and yet you are still holding on because you know there can be no retreat and no surrender, because you are fighting on your own native soil.
This album really does transcend the feeling and atmosphere of these past, turbulent times. I do not know how Skyforger managed to pull it off, but they were as successful in dealing with the subject of W.W.I as they previously dealt with the much more distant Pagan past. The CD includes archival war photographs as well as brief historical commentaries regarding specific themes the songs deal with. The band themselves are shown posing (in a very natural way, with none of those cheesy, overblown poses) in old Russian army uniforms, holding sabers and rifles, and with an antique machine gun by their side. Very cool, as everything about this CD. Skyforger are simply one of the best bands coming from Eastern Europe right now. Highest recommendations.
© 2001 boris