Kastalija

"Rock of the East" is how Slovenian band Avven themselves call their music. They formed almost a decade ago, in 2003, and released their debut 'Panta Rhei' in 2006. It took quite a while for them to get their sophomore full length album 'Kastalija' out. How did this septet manage to do with this, then?

Avven perform folk music with rock and metal ways, so their range on this album is rather wide, but not overwhelming for listener. One thing that band seemingly can do very well is noteworthy songwriting, meaning their music is usually very, very catchy. The band go from epic heavy metal ('Tornach') to pure folk music ('Nuala'), from Spanish music ('sPain') to gypsy vibes ('Ibo'), and from Peruvian elements ('Vvile') to pirate spirit ('Tarak'). As I mentioned, there are a lot of styles presented here! However, the compositions aren't just catchy, they are working well too. The basis of songs are quite simplistic, but there are a huge amount of varying details in every single song. It's fun to discover something perfect in a song, and it only happens once in it! Talk about elegance.

Together with typical rock/metal instruments, there are pipes, whistles, flute, accordion, trumpet, violin, cello, piano, and other percussion. Everything isn't used all the time, of course. The production magnificently lets every instrument and voice be heard. The soundscape can be called as rich and bountiful, but also multilayered, and never messy. The sound isn't very heavy in metal way, but still this packs some good punch.

Vocals are, not surprisingly, varying. Male voice is clean, a bit to "Eurovision", but still appropriate. All but one guy provide backing vocals, which range to a tad more rougher territories. Female voice is some kind of a classical style, which I'm not going to guess here... Choirs are utilized when suitable, and are spot-on. The lyrics are all in Slovenian language. I could not get any translation for the title of the album, and just one, 'Zmaji', which means vixen or dragon. Anyways, Slovenian language sounds nice, so that's enough for me. There are some lines in English, too.

Avven offer a nice flux to typical folk metal styles, so if you're looking for something different, then you shouldn't go wrong with 'Kastalija'. It's just so catchy, filled with good vibes, and simply put: It rocks!

Two long years have passed since the release of the single “Ros”, but “Kastalija” is finally here and I must say that it was worth a wait. It’s a brilliant piece of art, so outstanding that one can hardly believe the band that created it comes from Slovenia. It soars well above the music standards of the country. It’s good to see that the sleepy musical scene of Slovenia is finally waking up.

The music on Kastalija is extremely rich and majestic. The all-powerful crunch of the electric guitars mixes beautifully with either jolly or melancholy sounds of folk instruments (violin, tin whistles, flute, accordion). The additional string instruments provide a strong and rich background. It’s interesting how they sometimes even add to the hardness of the guitar riffs and don’t soften them at all. Also the trumpet adds a truly mighty sound to “Zmaji” and makes “sPain” sound so typically “Spanish”.

The vocals are another strong point of the album. When the band members sing in a choir, the sound their throats produce is so mighty that it immediately fills you with a strange and powerful urge to stand up and charge into battle. This is especially evident in “Zmaji”, “Hej ti!” and in the chorus of “sPain”. The female vocals on “Ros” and “Nuala” are really beautiful and in the latter, Anam manages to produce an extremely soft and emotional voice, not so typical of the other songs.

The biggest surprise of the album for me was “Tarak” since it is somehow different from the other songs and not just because the lead vocals are sung by Ierlath (whose harsh voice is exceptional by the way). It has a strong guitar riff and the violins give it a really dramatic sound. Unfortunately, grammatical mistakes in the English lyrics are painfully obvious and make the text hard to understand at times, but who would notice such a thing during a headbanging frenzy that this insanely good and energetic track is bound to get you in.

Another highlight of the album is the song “Ibo”. Its lyrics are fun and the tune is so up-beat that one can hardly stand still while listening to it. I can easily picture a video for it: a whole village dancing at a feast after a successful harvest. Perhaps I like it so much because it’s so darn unique. It shakes of the influences of the great folk metal bands and sounds so typically Slovenian (but also strong and “metal” … unlike Avsenik and Slak).

The song “Zmaji” is complete with a catchy tin whistle part and a soaring chorus. It is also one of my favorite songs on “Kastalija”. “Vvile” is extremely melodic and stands out because of the pan flutes and a heavy breakdown that will surely make you headbang. The only ballad on the album “Nuala” represents the softer side of Avven and provides us with a truly beautiful interchanging of the male and female vocals with an enchanting melody. Another “softer” song is “L.75” with a catchy melody and lovely lyrics.

“Hej ti!” has huge potential but seems to be missing something (perhaps some accordion) but is nevertheless a mighty energetic battle song, just right for moshing or even a wall of death (since the live version is much better than the one on the album in my opinion) . “sPain” hasn’t got a particularly strong sound (despite the trumpet) but the majestic chorus makes up for that. “Tornach” is perhaps a bit boring at times but provides a good indicator of just how much this band is capable of doing with their instruments. “Ros” is the least folky song on the album and combines a lovely melody sung by a female and a mighty chorus song by Anam, but is a bit repetitive for my taste.

To sum up, Kastalija features a number of good songs and some great ones. In my opinion, there is not a bad song on it and is definitely worth a listen, even if you are not generally a fan of the genre. I can only hope that the band is already writing new material and that the wait for the third album won’t be as long as the one for Kastalija. Rock on Avven!