BAND: TVERD
ALBUM: Follow The Sun's Way
FORMAT: CD
RELEASED: 2009
LABEL: Wicked Music Records
8.00 out of 10.00
LINE-UP:
Alexander Ivanov - Academic opera vocals, narrative voice
Svetlana Lebedeva - Folk & Academic opera vocals
vetrodar - War Screaming, voice, guitar, 12-str. guitar, classic 6-str. guitar, folk instruments
Ratibor - Guitar
Sigurd - Bass
Demosthen - Drums
1. Wolf & Gyrfalcon
2. The spring
3. Wide Maslenitsa
4. The Motherland's heart
5. ...Under the sun's magic arrows
6. When the steel is being broken...
7. A falcon is over Rus
8. To the foreign land...
9. The Bogatyr's gates
10. Russian land's sorrow (Kalinov's bridge)
I follow folk metal scene today and I can not remember with some kind of nostalgia the black metal early years. Not more than 20 years ago bands like Satyricon, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, Burzum and Mayhem opened a musical direction very few giving them a little chance to survive. Years passed, and in the third millennium bands feel a need for a return to the roots, but in another form. Now it's time for a new artistic expression, bands such as Korpiklaani, Eluveitie, Moonsorrow, Helheim, and why not, In Extremo, rewrite the metal history. As a separate entity, folk metal in Eastern Europe began to grow more serious and more sincere than in the west, big names appeared in Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, everyone knowing about bands like Arkona, Skyforger, Bucovina, Obtest or Rossomahaar.
Not so known, but with some rich activity behind under the name Pagan Reign, year 2007 gave shape to the new band Tverd. Ironically, Russia's band Pagan Reign last CD was called "Tverd", being the link between past and present band of Vetrodar.
"Follow The Sun's Way" is a first metal CD built in traditional Slavonic folk vein. With lyrics in Russian, with obvious traditional elements in compositions, with typical folk instruments such as flute, panpipes or mandolin, Tverd proposes this album to the fans of such sounds. Good impression on special vocal duality (the band having also female vocals on various songs). It's that kind of album that wouldn't be charming if it would had been appeared in another corner of this world...
Released in 2009 with the support of the German quality label and with strong support of Twilight Distribuition, one of the most active resalers in Europe, Tverd will easily reach the pagan metal elite in the coming years.
Watch out also for unpredictable end of the album: "The Bogatyr's gates", the most folkish song on the CD, comes before the completely unexpected end, with "Kalinov's bridge", finishing with a spectacular electro sampler! Fantastic and original!
http://www.tverd.com
Titus Constantinescu
