You may know Vladimir Pavelka as Cult of Fire’s Infernal Vlad. This album however is different. “Spomienky”, which means Memories, is a long standing atmospheric instrumental work in which Vladimir evokes eight memories of his rural childhood in Slovakia – playing with animals in the yard, catching fish in a stream near his grandfather’s watermill, building dams from mud, extracting honey from beehives with his grandfather, rest and work, swimming in the local reservoir, and a trip to the hills and the nearby castle. While revisiting the locations of his happy childhood, Vladimir recorded the sounds of animals, nature and the surroundings.

To the background sound of birds, there is a lush and calming guitar piece. I imagine “Rána” (Mornings) to be a sunny summer’s day, maybe with a little nip in the air. The ambience reminds me of April Ethereal’s “July Afternoon” but “Rána” is the start, the awakening. There is purity. After this dreamy beginning, a harder rock style introduces “Detské hry” (Children’s games). Although it softens and is expansive, and for sure is a tight and well-crafted piece, I felt a musical barrier and didn’t get the connection with the theme. It’s too powerful for the subject. Dreamy days and drifting memories return with “Dedov vodný mlyn” (Grandfather’s watermill). I can imagine how a watermill and in a rustic setting can translate into an ambient musical cycle but as on “Detské hry” Vladimir ups the ante as “Dedov vodný mlyn” is represented as powerful and sharp post rock. Knowledge of the theme again distracted me from enjoying this striking piece. Kostolník (The Creek) is about the stream where Vladimir spent much of his childhood, catching fish with his hands. The post rock has melancholy and harshness. It’s not dark and indeed the power could be interpreted as being the forces of nature. Time for a rest: Poobedný odpočinok (Afternoon rest) is just that, and provides quiet momentary respite from the active world. “Túra na Čachtický hrad” (Hike to the Čachtice Castle) is uplifting and majestic, reflecting Vladimir’s visits to the legendary castle and times spent there enjoying the views and sleeping by a bonfire. The views are the subject of the next piece “Výhľad do okolia” (View of the surroundings). That post rock style gives rise to a gentle majestic piece. The final story “Stáčanie medu” (Extracting honey) is more the bucolic piece that I expected. We hear the bees buzzing before Vladimir launches into another epic post-rock section to finish.

I think that having the knowledge that this album was a representation of childhood memories, particularly with the detailed descriptions of them in the accompanying text, threw me off track. My childhood was not like Vladimir’s but even so I understood his words, and his words about a happy childhood didn’t match the occasional hardness of the music. I could connect to the gentleness and to the moments of majesty which are here but less so the hardness. Leaving aside the lack of connection, which in any case is a personal interpretation, each piece has character and is nice to listen to. It didn’t blow me away, but the gentleness and hardness in a broadly post rock style do lead to a series of journeys and, from the composer’s point of view, to a series of pleasant memories.

(7/10 Andrew Doherty)

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https://beyond-eyes.bandcamp.com/album/vladim-r-pavelka-spomienky