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/:: Artist :: Morrigan ::\
:: Album :: Anwynn ::
:: Year :: 2022 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CD . ::
:: Label :: Werewolf Records R.date :: 2024-10-08 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: EVIL-087 S.date :: 2022-06-24 __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 253kbps :..
. Quality :: 44.1 kHz/Joint Stereo .
. Size :: 100.39MB .
. .
http://www.deezer.com/album/324700947
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 1. Anwynn (Intro) 2:43 ::
:: 2. Herald of the Sleep 7:02 ::
:: 3. White as Snow 7:23 ::
:: 4. Blind Witch 4:03 ::
:: 5. Feoladaire 6:07 ::
:: 6. Taech Duinn 8:30 ::
:: 7. Rome 5:40 ::
:: 8. Ivy 8:04 ::
:: 9. Arawn (Outro) 2:32 ::
:: ::
:: ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 52:04 ..
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: A wash of water tossed upon a slab in proffer of divine ::
:: adventure. ù Returning for their eighth album and first in nine ::
:: years Gro▀bettlingen, Germany-borne (and I believe now ::
:: Finland-based) epic/pagan black metal duo Morrigan have ::
:: weathered the overcast skies and dead-eyed masses of today with ::
:: admirable strength upheld as they reappear out of thinnest air ::
:: with what could be considered a great work in æAnwynnæ. Shining ::
:: the light of the otherworld in the eyes of we falsest loathers ::
:: by compare with no complacency or torpor in their craft, this ::
:: auld legendry force return wisened and inspired perhaps more ::
:: than ever with this fine if not entirely niche craft mastered ::
:: in the old tradition. ::
:: ::
:: Morrigan is the essential continuation of Mayhemic Truth, a ::
:: black metal band thatÆd formed between two southern German ::
:: fellowes in 1992 as they produced an irregular, tumultuous ::
:: variety of recordings Ætil 1999 wherein their style went from ::
:: Samael-esque black/doom with what IÆd consider death metal ::
:: vocals on æSon of Dawnæ (1993) to a sound which was pulled ::
:: directly from late 80Æs Bathory by the time guitarist, ::
:: vocalist, bassist and lyricist Beliar had evolved his vision to ::
:: suit evolving capabilities and tastes. Chances are if you ::
:: arenÆt the sort of dick who snubs your nose at German black ::
:: metal and enjoy groups like Ungod an Martyrium youÆve likely at ::
:: least heard the æIn Memoriamæ (1999) compilation which isolated ::
:: the final stage of the band before splitting up. You wonÆt find ::
:: any original writing on the situation beyond this point, from ::
:: yours truly or otherwise, since the reunited state of Beliar ::
:: and drummer Balor (Blizzard) produced elite and unabashed ::
:: Bathory worship from that point on starting with their ::
:: incredible first album (æPlague, Waste and Deathæ, 2001) ::
:: serving as the bandÆs ideation of æBlood Fire Deathæ and the ::
:: well-underrated æEnter the Sea of Flamesæ (2002) acting as a ::
:: first stomp towards the æHammerheartæ-era vikingr (but still ::
:: black metal) side of the band, to the delight of anyone whoÆd ::
:: been keen enough on Barbarian Wraith releases of that era. ::
:: ::
:: The original fire stoked between the two musicians would expand ::
:: and contract in terms of line-up over the course of four more ::
:: full-length albums (and a split with heralded Nocternity) in ::
:: the space of four years. Now, most folks will prattle on about ::
:: how æCeltsæ (2003) was their full transition into viking/black ::
:: metal, or, Celtic mythos themed pagan metal as it actually were ::
:: but this is the result of short attention spans or foggy ::
:: memories because the harsh, thrashing fray of their sound took ::
:: some time to transition away. æHeadcultæ (2005) dealt in much ::
:: more atmosphere and emphasized clean-sung vocals much in the ::
:: vein of Graveland of a similar era but theyÆd never truly ::
:: fallen to the easy-listening sort of Falkenbach side of things, ::
:: eh, which is not a derogatory observation in either direction, ::
:: until they were a couple of albums into their Undercover ::
:: Records partnership. As a fan of everything Quorthon-esque IÆd ::
:: discovered the band through their first couple of albums and ::
:: the aforementioned split just prior to their return with ::
:: æDiananns Whisperæ in 2013 and thatÆd be the right album to set ::
:: the expectations for æAnwynnæ in terms of stoic, atmospheric ::
:: and largely slow to mid-paced viking metal hymnals heavily ::
:: inspired by the melodramatic, humble bardic tradition of ::
:: æTwilight of the Godsæ. If youÆd already had your fill of Æem ::
:: in the late 2000Æs or didnÆt like the rawness of the previous ::
:: album there may yet be plenty magick to be regaled with here ::
:: quite a few years later on what could consider a strong ::
:: application of the wisdom afforded by time. ::
:: ::
:: Ah, and by that I mean Beliar has refined his clean vocals, ::
:: expanded his use of harmonization and stretched the tuneful ::
:: limits of his timbre without losing the sombre overstretched ::
:: yarning of Quorthon ever in mind. Synths are a bit bigger and ::
:: atmospherically set, æcleanÆ guitar tones often accentuate epic ::
:: melodies with the rhythm guitars hanging beneath and as far as ::
:: IÆve gathered the only big change to staff since 2014 is the ::
:: addition of drummer Impudicus (Totalselfhatred, ex-Ordinance) ::
:: whom is nimble by direct comparison with Baloræs ::
:: thresher-whipped, aggressive style. YouÆll still need to be the ::
:: sort of fellowe who loves Bathoryæs cinema-minded, grandiose ::
:: viking metal classics as prerequisite to sign up for the ::
:: experience, though, I mean you arenÆt going to make it through ::
:: the double-epic feature of ôHerald of the Sleepö and (my ::
:: favorite song of the lot) ôWhite as Snowö if youÆre no friend ::
:: of this very specific vocal style, though we do find some ::
:: tempered use of deeper growls and rasping narrative throughout. ::
:: ::
:: With ôBlind Witchö and ôFeoladaireö hitting in the crucial ::
:: midway point on the full listen it begins to feel like Beliar ::
:: is taking stock of what Morrigan did best in the momentum of ::
:: their first several years beyond Mayhemic Truthæs 1996 demo as ::
:: these songs feel like a step back into the realization of those ::
:: efforts on æEnter the Sea of Flamesæ. These songs showcase some ::
:: of the aforementioned wisdom in action as the artist can still ::
:: burn through an beauteous epic/pagan metal piece while giving ::
:: their raw, aggressive side a proper vikingr spin, leaving a ::
:: unique dent in mind with their efforts. This is the point where ::
:: Morrigan begin to convince me that theyÆve taken a worthy step ::
:: taken beyond æDiananns Whisperæ and, as we push on to Side B, ::
:: the verdict becomes that for my own taste this is the best ::
:: release from the band since æHeadcultæ. ::
:: ::
:: Though I donÆt have the lyric sheet or more than a basic ::
:: understanding of what æAnwynnæ dictates within its larger ::
:: narrative, I have spent a couple of months re-reading through ::
:: Middle-Welsh epics/collections the Mabinogion and the Book of ::
:: Taliesin this year, so, references to Ceridwen, Donn and the ::
:: general Celtic otherworld mythos are clear enough in the ::
:: albumÆs exploration of the ôafterlife.ö Where this narrative ::
:: comes to life most (again, without lyrics) is in the final ::
:: third of the running order where a consistent æepicÆ viking ::
:: metal thread is woven through ôTaech Duinnö, ôRomeö and closer ::
:: ôIvyö with the melodicism and performative values appear to ::
:: double with each piece. These songs do not feature a strong raw ::
:: black metal notion in mind, erring toward the ethereally ::
:: striding sort of pace as they explore the ever-aggrandizing ::
:: statements of this traditional early 90Æs viking metal sound ::
:: yet the melodies of ôIvyö do take us to a peak send-off ::
:: statement, a truly bardic piece in terms of its folken vocal ::
:: narrativeÆs inspired dance of melody. At this high point of ::
:: performance we find æAnwynnæ stepping beyond a rad ::
:: Bathory-alike procession and into a passionate work which ::
:: stands to justify all of the hammering away which Morrigan have ::
:: been doing since long before this æepicÆ style had held any ::
:: water within all but the smallest niche ear. ::
:: ::
:: As a listening experience the major thirds of æAnwynnæ ease in ::
:: their challenge of amateur-yet-earnest metal fortitude in ::
:: diminish. The opening moments which set up the opus of it all ::
:: represent a jarring return to this sound, which very few ever ::
:: get even nearly this right, and the middle/later thirds of the ::
:: tracklist warm to the touch with their inspiration. A death ::
:: Ætil otherworld experience in truth and, much like æDiananns ::
:: Whisperæ a decade ago, IÆd found it a bit na∩ve upon ::
:: introduction and moving in its finish with the compulsion to ::
:: listen on repeat only intensifying over time for the sake of ::
:: (again) next to nothing æproperÆ being done to this standard in ::
:: this style. Anyhow, something especially fine and inspired for ::
:: the true Bathory cult and likely nobody else. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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