Heilung : "Drif"

 Is this going to be a band people just go see live or are they going to continue to make albums that are worth listening to when you take away the gimmick of what they do ?  For what these guys do, they employ a decent set of dynamic on the opening song, going from a guttural chant to a more sweeping melody with their female vocalist. The second song "Anoana" is a step away from the darker war like incantations they normally invoke with their music and is a lighter spirited celebration of nature. It is much more like Northern European folk music of the era they are drawing inspiration from. "Tenet" is almost like a summary of all the sounds they have worked with up until this point. It is also a sprawling 13-minute song that covers almost too much ground, after they have shown us, they are capable of writing memorable songs and not just playing with ancient sounds on the first two tracks. 

Though sprawling grandiose gardens of sounds are more than we get on "Urbani" that is just stomping and chanting. Iti very primitive and the least musical expression I have heard from them. Then there is the spoken word narrative that feels more like a dramatic book on tape that is "Keltentrauer", After two minutes of ambient sounds "Nesso" gets into a more ethereal melody, driven by female vocals. It soars off nicely. After this song, they flip back to more throaty chanting with minimal percussion for "Buslas Bann".  

They prove themselves more capable on the intricate harmonies of " Nikkal" . The instrumentation is very minimal, which for them is not surprising, things are not as layered in the studio on this album. They have been touring more these days, so I am sure they learned things are easier to perform live in this manner.  The close the album with a song called "Marduk".  When you name a song after such a dark Sumerian god, you expect the music to follow suit. It consists of bells and whispered invocations. Midway into the song the tension builds a little more.  This however does not go anywhere, and the song fades out rather than progresses.  I will round this down to a 7.5, sure there are a hand ful of good, songs which is why it scored as high as it did along with the fact, they prove themselves very consistent to doing what they do, but that is part of the problem making this predictable and sometimes riding a one trick pony into the ground when the moments they excel prove themselves capable of doing better.,     

7.4

Heilung : " Futha"

With members spanning Northern Europe... Norway, Germany and Denmark, they pool elements from each country. They use a Iron Age Nose dialect. The instruments they use are primitive things. These primitive things are however recorded with modern technology as a few songs in you begin to hear how modern studio technology enhances them. I  like the chanted groove the vocals create in the last few minutes of the opener, but it seems like there is a great deal of atmosphere that could be trimmed in order to make the most of this song. "Othan" is the first song that brings these sound together in a highly compelling fashion. While Wardruna, is in the neighborhood of what is being done these guys are more atmospheric and darker. At times not a minimal. The vocals stray from using folk tones, as at one point one of the female vocals sounds more like Bjork. 

This alum be great on hallucinogens.There is a surreal flow to "Traust'. It relies on the vocals to really pull it together. progresses they do balance out atmosphere and keep it focused on begin a song. The ritualistic aspects of what they do remain prominent. "Svanrand" is more of a normal song, for what they do. The guttural throat signing set against the lighter female vocal. Drumming provides a backdrop. There are a few "songs" that are really just interludes as they never lock on anything with enough melody to become a real song.Some points in time it reminds me of music from the VVitch. "Elddansurin" locks into more of a groove that will inspire primal dancing. The vocals are a gruff male chant. This eventually has waves of female vocals that wash it away. 

The album closes with a intense 14 minute song. It works off a throat singing chant and drumming.It has a similar pulse, though it ebbs some dynamically. It has more of a drone than a groove. I can see this inducing a trance like state. One drugs it might make some one lose their mind. The monotony of this gets broken up by sung vocals . This  does have the kind of pulse that thumps perhaps not with the same bass as dance music , but it creates the same trance. Or this was how people got in that space in the iron age. With their last album the popularity of this band had a boom and I do not see that waning with this album. I will give this album a 9 as they have created anoither peice of their legacy with no aspirations of selling out. This was released on Season of Mist. r

the Weekly Play list VOL- 8 Sonic Temples

Many of the past playlists have focused on either a particular artist or theme. This time I am going more for the sound of the soul. I wanted a departure from the more conventional forms of popular music consumed by the masses. Music is a universal language . This phrase has been said many times with not defined meaning to it. So what I have done is complied some of my favorite genre defying artists though most would be considered folk music of their cultures of as Brendan Perry said when I saw Dead Can Dance live “We’re going to play you a cover song, it’s about 500 years old” . So this is music that defies trends . None of this would make commercial radio, as it’s not about hooks it is about sounds that connect with the spirit.


 It is believed by some that “om” is the vibration caused by “the big bang” . Setting into motion matter from spirit. I am not going to debate metaphysics on this blog , I will save that sort of thing for Cvlt Nation. If you have followed my work on Cvlt Nation then you know I am out of the broom closet when it comes to my interest in the occult. So these are songs I find fitting for ritual. They range culturally from Egypt to Norway , yet hold the same exotic current. It hits you somewhere between a drone and slither. So if music is a language this is not for the consuming masses , but getting in touch with a transcendent place beyond the mundane. Enjoy, happy journeys.


Wardruna - "Hagal"

 


 Dead Can Dance- "Yulunga"


 


Peter Gabriel- "Of These Hope"


 



Hang Massive - "Once Again"

 

 Zywiolak - "Hela"


 

 Heilung - "Alfadhirhait"


 

 Anna Von Hausswolf- "the Mysterious Vanishing of Electra"


 

 Folknery - "Karchata"

 


 Natasha Atlas & Trans Global Underground - "Ali Mullah Lament"



  Odo Ensemble - " Nami Nami"