Iraganeko Bide Malkartsutik

Don’t you just love it when a band comes seemingly out of nowhere to perform musical miracles? Me too! Aiumeen Basoa, a seven piece Spanish band, have been around since 1994. Unbelievable but true. Almost twenty years since they first formed and only one full-length, ‘Iraganeko Bide Malkartsutik’, an album which, again unbelievably, only came out in 2010, this very year. Stories like this aren’t unheard of but they most certainly are very rare. Not often will a band wait for such a long time adjusting their line-up on several occasions before finally settling down to write and record a debut. Their first involvement with the recording industry actually came nine years previous to this album but still seven years after they had formed in the form of the 2001 split with Adhur and Ilbeltz, two fellow Spanish bands from the Basque country, a region of the world which has recently played host to two exquisite debut albums. This one and Ilbeltz’s magnificent ‘Auskan Gabiltz Olatun Gainian (1598 Potrobizargorri I)’, an album which also holds a very similar story to that of this one, though that isn’t entirely surprising given the fact that both bands share members.

My experience with Pagan music isn’t exactly limited when it comes to fusions with black metal but when it comes to Pagan inspired folk music, well, I’m completely useless. I have very limited knowledge of this fusion, though Pagan inspired music tends to take on a very aggressive, black metal-esque sound anyway, as can be heard on this debut album, ‘Iraganeko Bide Malkartsutik’. Given the fact that the line-up consists of seven members, I had expected a very diverse album and that is precisely what we have here. The line-up, which consists of several musicians and vocalists, is incredibly important to the band, which probably explains why it has taken almost twenty years to fully adjust the line-up and appease whomever is in charge enough so that they can finally enter the studio and record this beautiful, emotionally charged album for the world to finally embrace the full extent of the bands vision. As with the formally mentioned Ilbeltz, this Basque country based band are inspired by both folklore and nature, two themes which run through the veins of the atmosphere and general style of play. From the jazzy sections of ‘Jentil Odola’, with its free roaming bass and wonderful vocal duet, to the use of the accordion, keyboards and violins on the other songs, Aiumeen Basoa embark on an impressive and immersive journey into their heritage and past with wonderful conclusions.

Pinpointing particular songs for praise is rather difficult given how well each song is constructed so I’ll pick one at random to examine to give the reader an idea of how this Spanish band operate and to what kind of results. Each song tends to be fairly lengthy, with the shortest just eclipsing the six minute mark so there’s plenty of time to fully immerse oneself into the soundscapes, though it doesn’t take much effort given how truly beautiful and well crafted each song is. ‘Aintzinako Guduen Oroimenak’, for example, is almost perfect. It combines every element that makes this band so wonderful to listen to with such ease and this gives the album an instant sense of longevity whilst most bands take a lifetime achieving such a quality. This song combines the diverse use of instrumentation and vocals well, with the clean male and female duet being a particular highlight of this and other songs featured on the album. The vocals aren’t overbearing and overblown as they can tend to be in certain other genres, or within certain types of folk bands. They’re tastefully done and achieve maximum success in terms of the emotions they portray. There’s a real sense of passion about exploring their culture and heritage which is infectious. I really enjoy it when metal bands immerse themselves and their listener in their country’s heritage.

Generally speaking, the Japanese tend to be the best at this but Spain is proving more than a match for their talents at incorporating a sense of culture in their music. The folk aspect sits very well with the Pagan themes, a side to the band which takes the form of a rather symphonic black metal band, if you will. The keyboards which are portrayed on songs like ‘Aintzinako Guduen Oroimenak’ are particularly reminiscent of the early symphonic scene which used majestic, ancient sounding atmospherics to light up the background whilst the repetitious and fast guitaring will give the soundscapes a slightly dark edge. Towards the middle and end of songs like the aforementioned, Aiumeen Basoa have a go at breaking up the foundations of the songs and implementing elements which might appear uncharacteristic at first but that actually fit in superbly. Like the acoustics, or the use of flutes, for example. These elements offer the album a different appeal and a different vibe, one which makes the album sound far more dynamic and sustainable. Not unlike bands such as Chile’s Uaral, Aiumeen Basoa embrace the folksy side to their style and use the full extent of their gifts well, incorporating sounds and instruments into their ploy fantastically, even alongside charming, clean vocals, as shown delicately on songs like ‘Akelarrearen Sua’. As songs like this progress the band live up to their own high standards as they seek to draw back in the harsher side to their game. This is an incredibly well crafted album with lots to take pleasure from. A joy to listen to.

It seems no country wishes to be left out of the folk metal explosion of recent years, with acts emerging from hitherto unknown metal locations to espouse their love of metal and local, traditional folk melodies. Of course this point is lost on the many who simply repeat the actions of their heroes from other regions, but with Aiumeen Basoa from the Basque region of Spain there are no such issues. Despite apparently forming way back in 1994 yet with just one previous split release to their name thus far the band can largely be labelled a product of the recent folk generation, a fact clearly borne in listens to "Iraganeko Bide Malkartsutik" with it's flirtations between symphonic, proggy folk and faster moments of nigh on black metal.

While the basic features of AB's sound might not suggest of anything too ground-breaking, the combination of unusual instrumentals, lyrics in the Euskara or Basque tongue and some heavily developed song structures do at least ensure an identity is fairly quickly spawned in the long songs throughout. Opening with a feint and summery feel is not what I'm used to with metal albums but in "Kantauriko Trabain Erruak" we get just that before the shackles are soon unleashed for the first of many crossovers between the varying styles on show. To their credit, in this opener and "Jentil Odola" work the combinations and bridges of genres well, not sounding as uncomfortable in their use of harsher sounds that others like Ironwood have in their own attempts, but the highlights of the piece are always guaranteed to be the cheerier folk sections. Korpiklaani may be an obvious comparator for the violin but given what else AB offer their symphonic feel echoes of Orphaned Land mixing with the riffery of Forefather through uncomfortably named songs like "Ahintzinako Guduen Oroimenak" and "Akelarrearen Sua" that do have a habit of drifting on much longer than a band of greater experience would have allowed.

Sitting here trying to put to words exact reasons for not grading "Iraganeko Bide Malkartsutik" higher than the below mark is only down to insufficient moments of pure greatness with which to take away from the experience. The composition and passion are utmost and professional and Aiumeen Basoa's songcraft is evidently deeper than almost any other 'folk metal' band I've come across, yet even with the Green Carnation/Opeth prog metal meeting Enslaved folk/black metal meeting Orphaned Land exotic folk-isms the feel of a 'complete' record is just missing. That always being the indicator of a truly great band, Aiumeen Basoa have at least built a very solid base from which to climb to those levels on their second album, assuming of course that next one isn't the same 16 years in the making.

Originally written for www.Rockfreaks.net

Nine long years have passed since the excellent “Triarchy of Vasconia” was released, this great split album showed the immense potential of three pagan basque bands, Adhur, Ilbeltz and Aiumeen Basoa. The first one has released its first work some weeks ago and the other one is currently working on its long awaited debut album, so it was very pleasant when Aiumeen Basoa announced the release of “Iraganeko Bide Malkartsutik” (Through the winding path of the past). The expectations were extremely high and with great satisfaction I can assure you that the waiting has been worth. “Iraganako Bide Malkartsutik” is an extremely elaborated, dynamic and original combination of Basque folk sounds, black metal influences and some progressive and atmospheric touches. Everything is mixed with subtlety in 6 long compositions, four brand new ones and two recovered songs form the mentioned split, the lyrics are all sang in the ancient basque language and are based on the traditional folk-lore and a deep esteem to nature and paganism.

“Kantauriko Trabain Erruak” is the opening track of this album, it commences with a subtle combination of sounds coming from the Cantabric Sea, a precious violin melody and an evoking accordion. Everything is followed by an acoustic guitar which is abruptedly cut by the entrance of the rhythmic guitars and drums, then the violin enters again with another excellent melody being closely followed by the accordion. On the other hand, the combination of vocals is tremendous, eerie screams are mixed effortless with clean male vocals and a delicate female voice. The song has countless tempos and style changes between the straightforward pagan metal attack and the folk/atmospheric parts, being especially noticeable the leaded part by Ohiane´s vocals which are simply enthralling, Beleak and Milelot also do an awesome work with guitars, always adding impressive guitar solos and solid rhythmic riffs, which depending on the moment, sound quite progressive. “Jentil Odola”, a song dedicated to the old Basque pagan inhabitants, stars with a straightforward fast-paced section, accompanied by a good atmospheric key, and once again some breathtaking clean vocals, Mikelot´s labour in this aspect is unbeatable. Before the song arrives to the third minute it suddenly stops leaving the main role to Ohiana and a delicate violin again, the parts leaded by both are precious in all the sense of the word, it’s really difficult to see such a perfect combination of voices in other bands. After two minutes of peaceful melodies the song recovers its strength with the return of the guitars, Forys devastating drums and Beleak´s awesome screams which attack us with ferocity, the last part demonstrates us how this band can sound absolutely shattering. “Iraganeko Guduen Oroiemenak” is the first of the two songs recovered from the split and from my point of view is the true anthem of this band. An unforgettable synthesizer introduces the song, closely followed by excellent guitar melodies and the already well-known mixture of clean and extreme voices, once again done in a tasteful way, but if I have to choose the most prominent and inspired instrument in this song the honour should go to the keys of which flamboyant melodies convert this song in a classic tune, this piece of art finalizes with a beauty and touching folk melody, which is as haunting as only this band knows how to do. “Akelarrearen Sua” begins with a French folk-lore influenced flute and accordion, and evokes us a little town in the Atlantic coast (it has to be commented that these band comes from a nice seaside town called Mutriku). This initial part is suddenly broken by the guitars, epic keys and flutes, this combination is rapidly stopped by a delicate section with cleans vocals, Aiumeen Basoa surely knows how to compose songs with multitude of changes, always connecting them all coherently which is very admirable, the folk arrangements are always of high quality, being specially inspired the accordion, which always finds its place in every song. By the seventh minute an irrintzi (traditional Basque scream) take us by surprised perfectly accompanied by the violin, the song is ended by a sort of jazz-jam very well-done though it doesn’t fit with my tastes and I would personally prefer to skip it.

The last part of the album shows us the most extremely different faces of Aiumeen Basoa. “Ekaitzaren Begitik” is by far the most distinguishable track of the album; it’s a softer piece, slower and introduces some doomish influences, being the most melancholic composition of IBM. The very first time I listened to it I felt a little bit surprised because it seemed to be out of place, but each time I listen to this song again I appreciate it more and more. It begins with Milelot and Ohiane´s vocals which sound even more delicate and with an emotive sad touch, the haunting piano brings to my memory some gothic/doom bands, this comparison is reinforced by the introduction of death metal growls and a daunting violin, and if this is not enough an original guitar section elevates the rhythm of the song, in this case accompanied by Beleak´s screams, simply awesome!. An absolutely different song but as good as the others, it sometimes reminds me bands as My dying Bride or Lacrimas Profundere (early stuff of course) which by no means is bad because I truly love them. On the other hand, this amazing album reaches its end with the heaviest and overwhelming song entitled “Arlekina” (Aiumeen Basoa)”, the other composition re-recorded from the split. In comparison to the other tracks, this song has not so many changes but it’s also varied though mainly it is a fast track, the guitars are excellent but the keys simply captivate every listener with astonishing melodies, finalizing the song with an insistently fast drum and some good solos.

In conclusion, “Iraganeko Bide Marlartsutik” supposes one of the most inspired and remarkable debuts I have ever listened, and its undoubtfully one of the biggest highlights in the pagan/folk scene in the last times. For all those who think that this genre has lost its freshness, give a listen to this masterpiece and you won’t be disappointed. A must have for not only every fan of folk and pagan music, but also for everyone who enjoys an exquisite mixture of different styles.