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Ygg - Ygg review




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Reviewer:
8.7

29 users:
8.45
Band: Ygg
Album: Ygg
Release date: April 2011


01. ...Знаю, висел я в ветвях на ветру...
02. YGG
03. Урд, Верданди, Скульд
04. Гимн природы
05. Кровь
06. Ритуал
07. ...Стеная, их поднял и с дерева рухнул...

If you're into atmospheric black metal, then you must at least have heard of the Russian band called Walknut. Yup, they're the ones who released a magnificent opus in 2007 and then went into hiding in the grim woods of the north. If you'd listened to that album and liked it back then, you would've drooled for more, but unfortunately, there WAS no more (at least till now). However, 4 years later - in 2011 a young Ukrainian band by the name of Ygg gave us something that brought back the long-lost moments of Walknut's Graveforests And Their Shadows.

Ygg's Ygg starts with an intro of strange sounds depicting something related to Ukrainian nature. After that, you get nearly an hour of excellently-executed and well-performed, minimalistic tremolo riffs, with some heavy, relentless bass lines and your typical black metal blast-beats. On the top of this fine blend, you get a less tortured Varg Vikerenes to do the screaming. Simple formula, yet effective.

You might have noticed that the instruments don't cross any borders. That is true, if you mean each instrument alone, but the overall sound of the music is simply amazing. Never have I heard anything so engulfing. The music captures the listener upon first contact and throws him into Ukrainian forests of endless beauty. Aided by some great, not-so-raw BM production, it never fails in what it's meant to do; Ygg's Ygg is nothing but a harmonious choir of trees singing with anger and misanthropy a la Burzum.

Despite all that, Ygg doesn't offer newness into the world of black metal. What it does - excellently - is recycle the old stuff into better material. But lack of originality in black metal is something not easily forgiven these days. Another weakness of this record is its length. It would have been okay if Ygg's effort was less minimalistic. Most songs are 9-10 minutes long, and are made up of 3-4 riffs. Might be boring for some, even if those riffs are actually of the highest quality.

The song titles are written in Ukrainian, which makes it difficult to judge the originality of the content. All the songs are equally good. The last track is a not-so-successful attempt at copying Drudkh's "First Snow". Nevertheless, it comes off decently. So, if you're a black metal fan, this must be one of your picks from 2011. It's one of the year's best, and a solid black metal album in general.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 9
Songwriting: 10
Originality: 7
Production: 9

Written by Oaken | 13.04.2012




Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.


Comments

Comments: 11   Visited by: 101 users
13.04.2012 - 12:23
Lokaeda
Account deleted
Varg Vikernes* not Vikerenes ^^

Sounded interesting until I read "minimalistic tremolo riffs, with some heavy, relentless bass lines and your typical black metal blast-beats". Might still give it a try though.
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13.04.2012 - 14:18
Rating: 9
Oaken
Hipster
Written by Guest on 13.04.2012 at 12:23

Varg Vikernes* not Vikerenes ^^

Sounded interesting until I read "minimalistic tremolo riffs, with some heavy, relentless bass lines and your typical black metal blast-beats". Might still give it a try though.

If you like Walknut, you'll like this.
Thanks for reading.
----
In that case, man is only air as well.
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13.04.2012 - 14:27
Rating: 8
Urs Blank

I would probably give this record a bitter 4 or 5 in originality, but sadly the same goes for many Black Metal releases. As you rightly noticed, this album is mostly an attempt at recreating what the likes of Drudkh and Walknut have already done. However let's see it as a tribute more than a rip off. And a good one at that.

Good review and thanks for giving them a bit more exposure.
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13.04.2012 - 14:32
InnerSelf
proofread free
Nice review bro, keep it up
----
He who is not bold enough
to be stared at from across the abyss
is not bold enough
to stare into it himself.
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13.04.2012 - 14:44
Slayer666

Written by Oaken on 13.04.2012 at 14:18

If you like Walknut, you'll like this.


Am I the only one on MS who was like "meh" after hearing that Walknut album? Most of it sounds like rejected Transilvanian Hunger b-sides with a slightly different production.
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13.04.2012 - 14:56
InnerSelf
proofread free
Written by Slayer666 on 13.04.2012 at 14:44

Written by Oaken on 13.04.2012 at 14:18

If you like Walknut, you'll like this.


Am I the only one on MS who was like "meh" after hearing that Walknut album? Most of it sounds like rejected Transilvanian Hunger b-sides with a slightly different production.


Nope you're not alone, it wasn't meh but after all the praise that was given to the album here and on other forums I was anticipating something massive but instead all I got was some nice Atmospheric Black nothing more, nothing less
----
He who is not bold enough
to be stared at from across the abyss
is not bold enough
to stare into it himself.
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13.04.2012 - 16:38
Alex F
Slick Dick Rick
Definitely going to check this out, nice review
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13.04.2012 - 17:54
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
Honestly didn't even check this out last year, but I'll give it a listen asap. Another nice review.
----
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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13.04.2012 - 17:59
Rating: 9
Oaken
Hipster
Written by Alex F on 13.04.2012 at 16:38

Definitely going to check this out, nice review


Written by Troy Killjoy on 13.04.2012 at 17:54

Honestly didn't even check this out last year, but I'll give it a listen asap. Another nice review.


Les many thanks for le positive feedback!
----
In that case, man is only air as well.
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13.04.2012 - 19:48
Vombatus
Potorro
Agree with the review. Some may think it's boring, but the riffs are just too good... minimalism + repetitiveness just helps to make a great atmosphere.
Haven't listen much of Walknut, will check out more.
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13.04.2012 - 20:03
Rating: 9
Oaken
Hipster
Written by Vombatus on 13.04.2012 at 19:48

Agree with the review. Some may think it's boring, but the riffs are just too good... minimalism + repetitiveness just helps to make a great atmosphere.
Haven't listen much of Walknut, will check out more.

Make sure to listen to them soon. Great band.
Thanks for reading.
----
In that case, man is only air as well.
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