Folk

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    Riitaoja – Mantereelle (2013)

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    Keeping things very weird and confusing, today we have Finland’s Riitaoja and their mystical release “Mantereelle”. With each song being weirder than the previous one, this band mixes elements from Folk, Southern Rock, and Jazz creating a very dark and experimental mix that is quite puzzling, but at the end of the day it is quite enjoyable and unique. An extra layer of mystery is added by the Finish lyrics, making the music even more confusing since it sounds familiar but we have to clue what they are trying to say.

    “Vähän matkaa vielä” opens this release with a very solemn vibe thanks to the subtle bass guitar and desolate female vocals. This track reminded us a bit of earlier Hexvessel but with a darker and slower pace. The experimental Tenhi-esque “Ilmiliekki”, leads to the quite interesting “Hengitän”, a song that has a Southern Rock vibe to it. As the album progresses until “Allergiset oireet” the band starts making their Southern Rock/Americana influences more evident by introducing traditional rhythms and elements like the harmonica.

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    My Silent Wake – The Anatomy of Melancholy (Remastered) (2012)

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    Being huge fans of Death/Doom Metal, we are pleased to be reviewing My Silent Wake and their 2012 remastered release titled “The Anatomy of Melancholy”. In this double release, the band delivers 90 minutes of soul crushing Death/Doom Metal with some Gothic influences very similar to My Dying Bride and related bands. Since the original recording is from 2007, we can clearly hear the time-stamp on their musical style and won’t be criticizing them from the ‘retro’ sound.

    The band opens the first CD with the typical keyboard intro only to fully explode into Doom brilliance with the opening riffs of “Dying Things We’re Living For”. The band’s similarities to My Dying Bride are undeniable with the excellent “Heretic”. The clean vocals and riffs are superb and really nail the atmosphere created by Death/Doom releases from back in the day. Not everything is all mellow and just slow and painful, the band does a great job in also having harsh elements in their music and whipping out some very aggressive sections like on “Into Silence”.

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    Hexvessel – Iron Marsh (2013)

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    Staying busy after the release of “No Holier Temple”, today we have Hexvessel’s “Iron Marsh”, their latest EP delivering five tracks of their very enigmatic Psychedelic Neofolk music. Featuring over 30 minutes music, this EP is the perfect companion for a hike on the woods in a dark and gloomy day. Fronted by Mat "Kvohst" McNerney, this band has a very unique sound to them that will give you goosebumps thanks to their very dark and eerie atmospheres.

    Opening with the jazzy “Masks Of The Universe”, the trumpets nicely create a very unique and lounge-like atmosphere. Kimmo Helén greatly helps the band build a very unique atmosphere with him handling the keyboards, trumpet, and violin duties. McNerney’s vocals are pretty solid and very soothing for the band’s music and are greatly enhanced by the backing vocals provided by Marja Konttinen. This track also clocks in at 13 minutes, making it almost half the EP.

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    Russkaja – Energia! (2013)

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    In the same vein of truly unique and completely bizarre bands like Diablo Swing Orchestra and the Leningrad Cowboys, today we have Austria’s Russkaja and their latest release “Energia!”. Featuring 12 tracks of ‘Russian Turbo Polka’ music as the band describes it, any fan of truly experimental and very unique music will be creaming their pants with this bizarre musical output. Combining Polka, Metal, Ska, Rock, Jazz, and Funk, this release is anything but standard and predictable.

    Open the release wide open we have the catchy “Energia!” a track so engaging that we are sure some people will immediately start dancing. The band’s sound resembles some of the Ska we have listened to in the past, but with a higher intensity and heavier guitars. “Barada” sounds like old Russian Rock songs that we had the misfortune of listening to on the net, but the band adds the wind instruments to keep it interesting and very catchy.

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    Blaze of Sorrow – Echi (2012)

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    With the amount of releases we get here at Infernal Masquerade it is rare that we spend as much time reviewing one as we have with Blaze of Sorrow’s “Echi”. In this killer album the band combines tons of atmospheric and folk-ish elements into their very melancholic blend of Black Metal. For the duration of the 52-minutes of this album we found ourselves constantly wanting to replay the songs one more time in order to fully appreciate the intricacies of the expertly crafted tracks.

    Opening with a lush acoustic intro, “All'Ignoto” greatly sets the mood for the release, once the melodic aggressive guitars hit, we just knew this album will be magical. There are indeed very fast-paced moments, but they are very well balanced with beautiful slowdowns and killer vocal work. The Folk-ish acoustic sections on “Empatia” reminded us of early Alcest, and their excellent combination of lush atmospheric slow sections and powerful guitar riffs. The Doom-ish edge to this track greatly enhances the overall mood of such a sublime track.

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    Tusmørke - Underjordisk Tusmørke (2012)

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    From Termo Records, the label that brought us one of 2011’s standout releases White Willow’s “Terminal Twilight”, today we have Tusmørke’s “Underjordisk Tusmørke”. In what it is probably one of the oddest releases we have every received at Infernal Masquerade, This album is undoubtedly beautiful, haunting, and plain weird (for us at least). This Norwegian Psychedelic/Progressive Folk Rock packs a mean punch in this nine song release, and it will surely rattle your eardrums considering how original their music is.

    Opening with very high spirts with the track “Fimbul”, the band instantly reminded us of Dark Reality and their “Blossom Of Mourning” album but with a twisted psychedelic edge. The band brilliantly incorporates their folk elements into their dark Psychedelic Rock side, and creates a very unsettling but quite unique mix. The vocals are quite lush and greatly bring the folky vibe to life on the excellent songs “Watching the Moon Sail out of the East” and “The Quintessence of Elements”. With an uncanny old-school Psychedelic vibe, this release heavily relies on their unique atmospheric elements.

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    Dordeduh – Dar De Duh (2012)

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    After their excellent teaser of an EP “Valea Omului” back in 2010, the expectation grew immensely for Dordeduh. Consisting of the original song writers of Negură Bunget, this band has had so much expectation leading to this release that while a very solid and unique release, it kind of falls short and feels somewhat underwhelming. While not saying this release is bad, it just feels that it took so long for what it actually is.

    Opening with the epic “Jind De Tronuri”, this track eclipses the band’s first EP, duration wise, since it clocks in at 16 minutes. With an excellent atmospheric ritualistic feeling, this track is quite engaging and it nicely builds up to some killer Black Metal sections with some progressive elements reminding us of Enslaved. This whole approach continues on “Flacararii”, but in this track, after the atmospheric section the band chooses to go with a very crappy raw BM part before jumping into the progressive sections. This track also shows that the band sounds a lot like Enslaved in some of their progressive parts.

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    Arbor – The Plutonian Shore (2012)

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    With a very interesting musical proposal today we have Wisconsin’s Arbor and their debut release “The Plutonian Shore”. In the ten tracks presented in this first effort, the band mixes folk elements with Doom and Post-Metal sections in a very unusual and sometimes weird sounding fashion, but it all comes together in a very exciting way giving them a very fresh and unique sound.

    Setting a very ethereal and folk-ish mood with opener track, the band quickly comes back with very aggressive vocals and a Doom-vibe on “Trees”. The music is very well crafted to not give things away too quickly and build momentum, allowing the atmosphere and expectation to grow with every note. The band’s clean vocals are definitely an ‘acquired’ taste and for sure need some work, but they are used to perfection to contrast the harsh screams and the rest of the more ‘growly’ vocals.

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    Din Brad – Dor (2012)

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    As a side project of members of Negură Bunget, Din Brad delivers very interesting and exotic Neofolk music that creates an atmosphere unlike anything we have ever listened to. With “Dor”, the band crafts 11 tracks of dark and somber music that will send chills down your spine and will make you appreciate and dig-up more about Romanian folklore and history.

    Opening with the bone chilling “Amar”, the music of Din Brad is stripped down from any Metal influences and presents traditional instruments (i.e. panpipe) surrounded a by heavy atmospheric elements and a the excellent and enchanting exotic vocals of Alma. The lush and organic sound to the band is pretty awesome since it transports you to outer worldly locations in one instant. The folkish edge of the male vocals in songs like “Poarce'n Suflet Greu Păcatu” might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but it gives that sense of authenticity to the music that many other Neofolk bands are lacking these days.

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    Evenoire – Vitriol (2012)

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    Making its way from Italy, today we have Evenoire’s debut full-length release titled “Vitriol”. Featuring a Gothic Metal sound with some Folk elements, Evenoire manages to sound a little bit different than ‘traditional bands’ giving them a small edge over the competition. With 9 tracks of music, “Vitriol” is a very solid debut effort that while having some minor issues, shows that the band is ready to be heard.

    With a very ethereal opening track titled “Vitriol”, the band sets a very lush fantasy-like atmosphere that generates high expectations for this release. This is nicely continued with the very classically inspired “Days of the Blackbird”. The band’s singer Elisa "Lisy" Stefanoni has a very sweet voice that has that natural retro sound at times, when bands had regular singers on not extremely trained ones, but she can also do all the classical stuff very graciously.

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