Cynick in Riksgränsen was minus 3 like 2 days ago, and mountain areas can come snow. Inside of countries like Arjeplog, Amarnäs can have wet snow. Last week we had 23,today it's 7 and windy.
We had a holiday day on Monday, and I booked today off as well. So nice having an extra long weekend. I wish I didn’t have to work. Maybe I’ll find a sugar daddy.
01. Lifelore Revelation 02. Once Fireveined 03. We, The Torchbearers 04. Goose River (Mourners' March) 05. Bones In The Undertow 06. Wanderer On The Continent Of Saplings 07. Maritime Shores 08. View Of A Million Trees 09. Borea (Pyre Of A Thousand Pine) 10. Elegy Across The Silence 11. Song Of The Nihilist 12. I Am The Viator
Additional info Produced by Joel Violette and Siegfried Meier.
Engineered by Joel Violette, Siegfried Meier, and Dan Gonzalez.
Mixed by Siegfried Meier at Beach Road Studios.
Mastered by Siegfried Meier at Beach Road Mastering.
Artwork and layout by Brett Goodchild.
Thrawsunblat is the incredible new blackened folk metal band formed by Joel Violette in 2009 while he was playing with Woods Of Ypres. Now, Woods is no more, but Joel is still making excellent music, this time alongside Americans Rae Amitay on drums, and Brendan Hayter on bass. And the trio has come up with something quite exhilarating.
Thrawsunblat II: Wanderer On The Continent Of Saplings wastes no time in letting you know immediately what kind of album this is. The first few seconds of the opening track are a bouncy, folksy piano - but then the black metal comes crashing through. This moment, where melodic folk and black metal collide, sets the stage for the musical variety present on this disc.
Featuring all the surviving members of Woods Of Ypres, these North Americans (1 is Canadian, the other 2 are American) have recorded an outstanding blend of black and folk metals with a good bit of melody.
I never really listened to Woods Of Ypres but from comments I've seen here and there this album is more akin to their black metal era than their later work. Musically, it also reminds me of Panopticon's Kentucky but not quite as "country-ish" and better.
Woods of Ypres is in my honest opinion superior to this, not that they play the same style, but I see the comparison thrown around a lot.
To be frank I'm disappointed with this album, I was hoping for something better.
*edit* I'm giving it some time still, due to all the good word I see this receiving all over, but I have found that people who listen to folk metal doesn't seem to be the most reliable people when it comes to music taste / reviewing... Well at least not for my taste.
If this is more l;ike black era WoY it certainly will be vastly superior to WoY's last 2/3 albums which were total shite derivative discarded crap era Katatonia and Draconian Times era Paradise Lost wannbees, but failing dismally at it.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal
Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
If this is more l;ike black era WoY it certainly will be vastly superior to WoY's last 2/3 albums which were total shite derivative discarded crap era Katatonia and Draconian Times era Paradise Lost wannbees, but failing dismally at it.
Oh, god, no. This is NOTHING like those bands. This is pretty much folk metal.
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"A life all mine
Is what I choose
At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
If this is more l;ike black era WoY it certainly will be vastly superior to WoY's last 2/3 albums which were total shite derivative discarded crap era Katatonia and Draconian Times era Paradise Lost wannbees, but failing dismally at it.
Oh, god, no. This is NOTHING like those bands. This is pretty much folk metal.
so it is infinitely better than anything Woods Of Ypres has ever put out, wow, must give it a listen.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal
Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
If this is more l;ike black era WoY it certainly will be vastly superior to WoY's last 2/3 albums which were total shite derivative discarded crap era Katatonia and Draconian Times era Paradise Lost wannbees, but failing dismally at it.
Oh, god, no. This is NOTHING like those bands. This is pretty much folk metal.
so it is infinitely better than anything Woods Of Ypres has ever put out, wow, must give it a listen.
Honestly, Marcel, I don't know if this would be your thing or not. I don't really know how you feel about folk at all. It's pretty "blackened" at times but then a few other songs are very melodic. Check it out and let me know, I'm very curious now!!
Wow, this is certainly some pretty diverse folk. Not at all what I was expecting before clicking the play button, fortunately. Song after song I'm being caught by surprise.
Comparing this to Kentucky is a bit of an odd one I think, as that album, and the band in general, were more about the whole yokel, appalachian folk thing. I mean it was called "Kentucky" after all. I don't get the same region of folk with this as this is more your standard melodic folk you get with more or less all folky black bands. Quite different to me. Needless to say Kentucky is more my thing but this doesn't sound bad at all really.
Yes this is quite unlike Panopticon's Kentucky, but both are excellent albums in their own rights. That was a folk-laden Black Metal album, whereas this is more of a Folk Metal album with some of the elements of Black Metal which we're used to hearing in this format. But that's not to say it's familiar at all, I can't think of any other Maritime themed Metal of any sort, and we're not going to hear any tales of battlefields and mystical realms. This is much more personal and passionate than anything I've heard in the Folk category, A+!
I think this record has been inflated by users who over-exaggerate the amount of Maritime folk that is actually in this album. It's prominent, yes, and extremely well executed, but not substantially original, to be honest (coming from someone who lived in the Maritimes for a couple of years).
I'm not a huge fan of black-influenced folk metal, and this is a good record relative to some of the utter garbage that has come out the last few years. I thoroughly hope that this group has more luck than Woods did.
This is pretty incredible. Definitely tops my list of favorite albums from this year so far. Haven't been able to stand much of any folk metal releases the past few years but these guys do a great blend of folk-black. While not groundbreaking or necessarily original, it's just a damn solid and well-rounded album that ventures into several really interesting sub-genres.
The more I listen to this, the more it seems like a seminal piece of work which evolves that whole blackened Canadian sound into something distinct and awesome.
After few listening, that's grewing on me more and more. That sounds great. I like the how the folk and the black are well mixed there. Good start! I give a 8
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"Another day, another Doug."
"I'll fight you on one condition. That you lower your nipples."
" 'Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
Yes very interesting melodic/black fusion.. Been a while since I heard something this good in that genre. Have not heard woods of Ypres either so this side project has got me interested..
Love this album and keep coming back to it. Perfect blend of folk/black/with the occassional clean vocals to smooth out the edges. I'm super excited for what this band will do next. 10/10 for me.
Can't comment on the rest of the album, but the title track and View Of A Million Trees ended up on my iPod after listening to this back when it came out, and offer up consistently enjoyable meloblack pleasure on the rare occasions I give them a play. Wonder if/when they'll follow it up
Can't comment on the rest of the album, but the title track and View Of A Million Trees ended up on my iPod after listening to this back when it came out, and offer up consistently enjoyable meloblack pleasure on the rare occasions I give them a play. Wonder if/when they'll follow it up