Graveland
Epilogue
[Witching Hour]
I was shuffling through tapes in Dark Realm Records when I stumbled upon a
seedy cassette with the words GRAVELAND EPILOGUE on it. Naturally I bought
it because, you know, it's Graveland. This old demo, though, will mostly
interest the band's completists, and as such it serves as an audio document
of the initial conception and embryonic stage of development of what would
later become the leading band in the Polish underground.
"Epilogue" is furnished with a mandatory intro and outro. Although very short, they still manage to give-off a few flashes of atmospheric proficiency and grandeur feel that Darken's keyboard skills will acquire on Graveland's later works. Among the four actual songs, the first two tracks are as primitive and minimalistic as Graveland could possibly get. The other two are longer, more atmospheric and better crafted.
"The Eyes Of Balor" and "Shadow Of Doom" are very short, somewhere around two minutes long each. They chug along quite unremarkably and end abruptly before you are able to understand what they are trying to accomplish. Darken does everything himself as usual. Instead of a drummer he used a very primitively programmed and hollow sounding drum machine, which stifles the raw and extra messy guitar sounds. The production is somewhat similar to "In The Glare Of Burning Churches," but more messy and muffled. The drum pattern doesn't change at all, except for slowing down when necessary. The riffs don't seem to go anywhere either. Darken's voice, however, is well recognizable. His rasps are perhaps not as painful as on "In The Glare Of Burning Churches," but they still do the job the way one would expect.
The two remaining tracks are the real highlights of this demo and hint fairly well into the future prospects. "The Forest Of Nemeton (part two)" consists of raw, messy guitar yanking, the same primitive drum machine and additional synth that leads the way, all of which somehow manage to produce a reasonably hypnotic feel. That is, if you listen carefully enough. The last track "Children Of Moon" goes for the same result, but does so with a much greater effect. There is no drum machine on this song, just a meandering, trance-like riff that plods along, embroidered with repetitious, atmospheric keyboard pattern. Together, they create surprisingly evocative and hypnotic effect, which is twice as impressive considering how primitive it is. Yes folks, sometimes less *is* more. This piece is, without a doubt, the best song on this demo.
"Epilogue" is not an essential item. It carries more of a historical value. Of course, if you consider yourself a Graveland fanatic, then you should seek it out because this is where it all began.
© 2000 boris
"Epilogue" is furnished with a mandatory intro and outro. Although very short, they still manage to give-off a few flashes of atmospheric proficiency and grandeur feel that Darken's keyboard skills will acquire on Graveland's later works. Among the four actual songs, the first two tracks are as primitive and minimalistic as Graveland could possibly get. The other two are longer, more atmospheric and better crafted.
"The Eyes Of Balor" and "Shadow Of Doom" are very short, somewhere around two minutes long each. They chug along quite unremarkably and end abruptly before you are able to understand what they are trying to accomplish. Darken does everything himself as usual. Instead of a drummer he used a very primitively programmed and hollow sounding drum machine, which stifles the raw and extra messy guitar sounds. The production is somewhat similar to "In The Glare Of Burning Churches," but more messy and muffled. The drum pattern doesn't change at all, except for slowing down when necessary. The riffs don't seem to go anywhere either. Darken's voice, however, is well recognizable. His rasps are perhaps not as painful as on "In The Glare Of Burning Churches," but they still do the job the way one would expect.
The two remaining tracks are the real highlights of this demo and hint fairly well into the future prospects. "The Forest Of Nemeton (part two)" consists of raw, messy guitar yanking, the same primitive drum machine and additional synth that leads the way, all of which somehow manage to produce a reasonably hypnotic feel. That is, if you listen carefully enough. The last track "Children Of Moon" goes for the same result, but does so with a much greater effect. There is no drum machine on this song, just a meandering, trance-like riff that plods along, embroidered with repetitious, atmospheric keyboard pattern. Together, they create surprisingly evocative and hypnotic effect, which is twice as impressive considering how primitive it is. Yes folks, sometimes less *is* more. This piece is, without a doubt, the best song on this demo.
"Epilogue" is not an essential item. It carries more of a historical value. Of course, if you consider yourself a Graveland fanatic, then you should seek it out because this is where it all began.
© 2000 boris