Tag Folk
Clarinets with black metal – that’s what we have here. It’s not only clarinets but a host of other instruments including the bagpipes, a violin, trombone, euphonium, darbuka and something called a mandoloncello. The individual behind this is a classical… Continue Reading →
I have never been to Appalachia or rural Pennsylvania, but as of lately there has been no shortage of movies and documentaries informing the public about the region’s shocking poverty, its decaying towns, its peculiar variant of Christian belief, and… Continue Reading →
In Greek mythology, Atropos is one of the three Fates, three sisters who enforce the destiny of mortals. Clotho spins the thread of life, Lachesis is responsible for measuring it while Atropos, the oldest of the Fates, chooses the manner… Continue Reading →
Always searching for that perfect Thy Catafalque release? An exquisite mix of blissful electronica highs, melancholy folk and extreme metal intensity? Preferably all audaciously combined in each and every track with a bit of lounge jazz thrown in for good… Continue Reading →
It is time to escape to the tranquil and pastoral Austrian Tyrol. Watch that cow-pat it’s freshly laid and still steaming, ouch, damn bitey bugs, achoo, stupid hay-fever. Ah it’s OK, still in the comfort of the living room, but… Continue Reading →
We all look for something in music, whether it is an escape, relaxation, or an exhilarating and uplifting effect – music is different things to different people at different points in time. The artform’s relevance is fluid and changes constantly… Continue Reading →
Wardruna are something of an enigma. Over recent years, they have grown from a very niche act into an international name regularly selling out large venues with their interpretation of Norse folk (a label which does not really do their… Continue Reading →
Epic traditional folk songs and mystical auras were what we experienced on “Ansur : Urkraft” (2017), Byrdi’s outstanding last album. Describing it simply as “Scandinavian nature music” is in fact an epic understatement. “Avantgarde Norse folk music”, which is the… Continue Reading →
As long-time readers will know, Ave Noctum likes not just to provide state-of-the-art reviews of all things short, nasty and brutish (and that is just the reviewers), but also to ensure that our mission of education is met. Therefore, for… Continue Reading →
Boasting former members of Nordjevel, Alsvartr and Dødheimsgard, I presumed that Varde was going to be a brutal barrage of barbaric black metal. I was wrong. This is a far more measured, almost cerebral, approach to the genre. This is… Continue Reading →
And now for something a little bit different… It’s time to shuffle the deck and pick some cards from the Minor and the Major Arcana of musician Jeff Grimal, formerly of The Great Old Ones. Fate is very much in… Continue Reading →
The first thing that this album’s arrival had me do was give me a nudge in the direction of what I guess we could refer to as sister act Blood Ceremony and see if there was any news on forthcoming… Continue Reading →