Heriotz sustraiak

Dark ambient BM act Elffor is certainly an enthusiastic and energetic project, having released its tenth album "Heriotz Sustraiak" in the space of 14 years after its 1998 debut. I didn't think very highly of Elffor's first album "Into the Dark Forest" which was a solo all-synth effort: the limitations of using just synthesisers and electronic keyboards to try to create an atmospheric mediaeval-themed album were too obvious. To his credit main man Eöl must have realised that if his project was to be taken seriously, it had to be more than just himself surrounded by keyboards; after several other recordings this tenth album now sees Elffor expanded to a full group with an additional vocalist, a full-time drummer and two other guitarists. The result is a much better and harder sound, a style of music that is equal parts BM and dark atmospheric, and an album that is much more enjoyable for its energy. The drama that results feels like real drama coming from the music itself, and not something forced and artificial.

There are just four tracks, all quite long and one clocking in at over 15 minutes in length, and all quite varied. What is noticeable here is that the band does not rely on listeners having prior knowledge of what mediaeval or folk music of the past might sound like but derive the feeling of the past from its own musical arrangements and compositions: a big tick of approval is in order here. True, the synths are still being pounded heavily for that misty atmospheric touch, and a heavy-handed touch it can be with too much of that warm wash stuff in the background for my liking, making the music less sharp than it should be. Hopefully though Elffor is working its way towards lessening and maybe even ditching the keyboards altogether and replacing them with some original folk or mediaeval instrumentation for a much more raw style which I think suits the band and its aims much more.

Some excellent musical passages are present, in particular the instrumental parts of the title track which feature some field recordings, a piano and an unforgettable melancholic melody redolent with nostalgia and longing for a long-ago romantic and heroic past. Constant repetition does threaten to mar the effect of the title piece and later parts of it do sounds a bit schmaltzy. Good old straightforward black metal guitars and drumming come to the rescue to ensure the track doesn't completely fall down the rabbit hole of sentimentality.

The lyrics are delivered in Basque which makes the album and the band much less accessible to an audience beyond Spain or even beyond its home region in Spain. Basque is not an easy language for outsiders to learn so the band's decision to sing in Basque may have been a risky one that the musicians believed was necessary to get their message over. This of course means that the actual music itself must be the main attraction for us non-Basque speakers. The vocals become just another element in the music but at least they are heartfelt and seem genuinely anguished.

Most of the time the musicians get the balance of dark ambient and black metal right and the result is a much more intense and emotional work that better represents the band's aims and the members' feelings about the things they write about. The music has a raw edge and energy, and there is plenty of room for even more sharpness, drama and enthusiasm. The band successfully avoids bombast which could have been a big temptation. There is a bit too much repetition in the latter half of the album and maybe some sharing out of the songwriting and composition duties might be in order so that each band member has more of a stake in creating original work. But on the whole this is quite a good album working on a path towards a more original style of heroic ambient BM.

It was completely random that I happened to come across Elffor and the debut album, 'Into the Dark Forest' sometime in 2000. Back in those days this unique soul, whom hails from the Basque Country in Northeastern Spain captured my attention in a special way, and the music Eöl creates with Elffor has been amongst my favorites ever since. With each subsequent release being limited to just 500 copies, obtaining the music required swift action, even more so with this release since its limited to just 333 copies! It is however for good reason, this self-released album comes housed in a deluxe gorgeous digibook, which features fantastic artwork (as usual) as well as all the lyrics and more photos and art within. Pricey, yes, but certainly worth it.

'Heriotz Sustraiak' is his latest effort and its also his first release to feature lyrics wrote entirely in his native language, Euskara, which is the ancestral language of the Basque people. As far as the music is concerned, initially the project was within medieval ambient genre, but by the time of the second album, 'Son of the Shades,' Summoning seemed like a logical influence, though with more emphasis on Eöl's cultural roots, rather than relying entirely on the middle ages as inspiration. As the years would pass, three more albums would be released, although with each one more and more black metal characteristics would creep into the mix, but the medieval ambient, folkloristic and immense atmospheres would remain.

Here on 'Heriotz Sustraiak' Eöl gives us what I believe to be the strongest of the more blackened releases, and although only four songs are included the album still runs for almost fifty minutes. As I already mentioned, Eöl's compositions are immense and rich with atmosphere, sometimes varying between complete darkness, to total pandemonium as well moments of somber reflection, beauty and loss seem all a part of his work.

'Barrumbe Beltza' opens with an almost Dead Can Dance-ish vibe -- soaring female vocals (performed by Hildr Valkyrie), amongst light synths that create a mental image of gliding above and around misty mountains. Eventually militant percussion and an epic melody takes the forefront, invoking images of majesty and wonder when around the five minute mark the metal elements appear and the song continues along, varying in tempos and vibe, acoustic guitars appearing here and there too, and remaining brilliant throughout its twelve minute duration. 'Hildakoen Basoetan' is a bit more violent and fast in its delivery, featuring speedy tremolo picked riffs and pummeling drums, the synths play a less prominent role, but the cleanly sung male vocals are a welcomed edition to this otherwise different song. 'Heriotz Sustraiak' is a lengthy, but beautiful instrumental that bares a lot of resemblance to the opening song, while 'Kateek Loturik...' kicks off with a mournful synth melody for the first few minutes before diving into more turbulent territory and back again, solidifying itself as one of my favs on this album.

'Heriotz Sustraiak' didn't immediately catch me as being brilliant, but when I listened to each song more closely the individual moments really stuck out and grew within me. Therefore, I'd certainly act quickly if what I've said above sounds interesting, because they could all be gone very soon.

Originally wrote for, Lunar Hypnosis: http://lunarhypnosis.blogspot.com

After only two years the Basque solo project Elffor returns with its new opus called “Heritoz Sustraiak”, this project created by the keyboardist Eöl is a well established and highly respected band in the scene, not only in the Basque Country but also internationally. Initially this was a pure dark ambient project profoundly influenced by The Dark Ages but it slowly started to add metal elements which have gained prominence in the sound of the band. Anyway, the magnificent keys of Eöl continue to play a major role, evoking the pure darkness and sorrow of the medieval times.

“Heriotz Sustraiak” doesn’t differ too much from the previous album called “Frostbitten Pain”, which confirmed the reinforcement of the black metal influence, this evolution is especially noticeable in the drums which are now more intense and fast. It is also a reaffirmation of the interest of Eöl to create longer compositions (five in the previous album and now only four), but in this case the new creation is a step forward. In the new compositions the balance between the heaviest parts and the most atmospheric ones is reinforced and improved in comparison to the songs we listened to in the previous cd. Consequently I consider this new work as a more inspired one and one the best works alongside “Unblessed Woods” and “From the Throne of Hate”.

Each composition of this album is easily distinguishable because they are focused in different elements of Elffor’s trademark sound, it’s like a compilation of what you can expect from this brilliant project. The opening track called “Barrumbe Beltza” is probably one of the best songs in Elffor’s career, it’s a long and epic track, very atmospheric with the traditional astonishing keys but in this case accompanied in the beginning of the composition by the evoking and wonderful voice of Hidrl Valkirie. The track is the perfect balance between the old and the newer and heavier stuff, an absolutely flawless composition. “Hiladakoen Basoetan” is just the opposite, this track is tremendously fast and furious with the smashing drums of Ametsgaizto , they keys though being present play a slightly less important role in this case and are overshadowed by the guitars and drums. The added barbaric choir sounds incredibly good and reinforces the intention of Elffor to evoke a putrid atmosphere of death and violence. The third and homonymic composition brings back the old atmospheric stuff with these great ambient keys in the first half and it slowly adds more metal elements. After this calmer track the final composition “Kateek Loturik” summarizes perfectly all the elements of the album, it’s like a combination of the first two tracks and it perfectly flows between the fastest sections to the most atmospheric ones. It is also enriched by some acoustic guitars and another barbaric choir which perfectly suits the macabre medieval spirit of Elffor’s music.

In conclusion, I can only say that “Heriotz Sustraiak” it’s a highly inspired album, being the perfect bridge between the old and new Elffor and it brings all you can expect and want from this project. Moreover, the album comes in an excellent and impressing digibook (which is actually bigger than the usual one) and with the excellent artwork created by the Basque artist Igor Mugerza.