Polish black metal legends Graveland released a new music video for the rerecording of “Thurisaz” off of 1050 Years of Pagan Cult.
“Thurisaz” originally appeared on 1997’s Following the Voice of Blood album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIQsMdB3ppY
Tags: Black Metal, folk metal, graveland, music video, poland, Polish Black Metal, rob darken, Viking Metal
This should really be labelled as folk(/ pagan) metal (or maybe not as metal at all, more blackened, electric neo-folk). The album version is sort-of cool because its epic grandeur and sinister atmosphere over the simple, folkish melodies conjure up images of predestined, forlone quests in vast, grassy landscapes encircled by mountains engulfed in dark clouds, a pale moon, howling winds and stuff like that but the “polished for public consumption” newer verion, including live video with hipster chick in the front row (Gravland supports Diversity™) is just poor.
well I’ve got my daily dose of ridiculous German pedantry
why doesn’t he just grab it by the pussy? sad!
The idea that I’m a particularly typical German is probably actionable in parts of Germany.
This is why Leftism and Democracy are cancerous.
“including live video with hipster chick in the front row (Gravland supports Diversity™) ”
Hahaha, are you fucking serious? A girl happened to be at their live gig… OH NO! Yes, surely this video is just propaganda to promote diversity. We get it dude, you’ve never fucked a chick. Fucking dork.
Yes. With thick-rimmed glasses, tidily trimmed, fairly short hair and matching clothing and busy with staring at the guys on stage in dreamy amazment — looked pretty placed-there and absolutely unlike people one would usually expect in surroundings like this.
There’s a reason why I was using the description I did use and that was not “OMG! Women detected!” — these aren’t so uncommon, y’know, not even at metal gigs. One might even find them headbanging in the front row.
Sorry if this amount of detail seems too bothersome once the vagina sensor triggers.
Like I said, we get it. You don’t fuck chicks.
Something I don’t quite »get« is why you think reacting to a criticism of this (IMHO completely staged) video with entirely unrelated statements about me would be good for anything.
You think it’s staged, but they didn’t remove the fat slob playing with his camera front and center at 1:23? It’s edited together concert footage with the album track overlayed on it, not a big conspiracy by Graveland to insert subtle clues that they are now a PC feminazi band being bankrolled by George Soros. Fucks sake man, get a grip. Not everything is a conspiracy that only you are smart enough to crack the case about.
That soft guitar tone pisses me off and make that otherwise great song bland and undistinctive. What kind of improvement is that, if in order to make it more accessible, it is unable to show what made it so worthy in the first place?
Agreed, the original sounds better.
still pretty boring structurally. Nice folkish melodies and the spirit is there but Darken’s structures just cycle around and put me to sleep.
Graveland was exhausted by Thousand Swords, which has a nice vibe, but it is already only a remnant. It is surprising that The Celtic Winter came after that, but it was their redemption.
The best of Graveland was dark European shamanism, a.k.a. WITCHCRAFT, i.e. the demos and Carpathian Wolves, and the surprising The Celtic Winter, after which they should have stopped.
Thousand Swords was the weak link, and The Celtic Winter the best that their approach could ever achieve (one should also notice that it is actually written in a different technical approach). After that, Graveland is just neo-Pagan LARPing and propaganda.
Wikipedia lists Celtic Winter as 1993 demo following In the Glare of Burning Churches and preceding Thousand Swords by two years. There’s some folk already in there, in the rhythms and in the last proper track (which has a part that’s very similar to the track in this article) and also some church music, but it’s mostly (slow) black metal and actually quite good (listened to all of it while writing this).
But the later albums are really just in a different style (at least the bits I know): What has been referred to as »:predictable«, »circular« or »flowing« is an intentional property of that: The structure is supposed to be simple (and repetitive) because folk, at least of the genuine European variety, is simple and repitive but harmonically different from standardized “professional pop” (which serves the same role of distraction/ entertainment for ‘common people’ in mass production society). I don’t particularly like this (with the exception of Norns) but accusing a sheep of “not being a tiger” is pointless — of course it isn’t, it’s a sheep.
Black metal is supposed to be:
“Furious as tiger.”
– Tom Angelripper, “The Conqueror” off the Expurse of Sodomy EP included as bonus tracks on the Persecution Mania CD.
Music videos are wholly unnecessary, the very idea of it should be anathema to underground metal.
this! Unless they’re a visual aid that stands on its own to convey the same feelings as the music but through a video medium
I can only think of two music videos in metal that are actually worth a damn that aren’t just clips from live shows and both of them are self-parodies.
I can’t think of any! Doesn’t mean it can’t be done
I like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuqQW8kbUrA
Would be better if it wasn’t randomly chosen rehearsal footage — the difference between the track and the pictures is too visible.
“the very idea of it should be anathema to underground metal”
falling in line with some completely arbitrary rule should be anathema to underground metal.
1050 years of larping in the woods. I really wonder how much these guys drop on that stuff.
This new version is much better, you faggots. You can actually hear what’s going on instead of just “zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz” in the ‘bass’ and mids and “autistic screeching” in the trebles.
I agree, brahhhh, but still Graveland mostly sucks. Keep the last 2 Lord Wind albums, throw everything else out the window!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
Wow. Those are some bizarre dance moves Rob. And the guitar tone is gay because I’m pretty sure the dude is playing a Schecter.
I like the part where he is trying to grab invisible boobies. So camp, would watch again.
Their new drummer, while technically far superior to Capricornus, doesn’t have the right amount of aggression in his approach to the fills, especially in the 3/4 sections. Blastbeats sound awesome though…
What’s missing from the guitar tone is the clunky (almost clean sounding) layer. Instead we have keyboards which is not bad, but a little too soft.
Still, it’s great to see this band active and gigging.
Sorry but while plastic Graveland is 100,000 times better than plastic Mayhem can ever hope to become (and people who are into this type of stuff should really rather look at this), the only thing which still has something going for it are the vocals. This is pretty much the clothes walking and everyone pretending an emperor is still within.