Fatherland

Paganland are one of the oldest bands that belongs to the pagan and folk scene in metal, however the band’s discography isn’t vast at all. Founded in 1997 by Ruen, the project went on a hiatus in 2007, but one year later the musician reactivated it and 2013 saw the debut album “Wind Of Freedom”. Two years later, Paganland are releasing the sophomore full-length “Fatherland”, via Svarga Music, being an album dedicated to all the patriots of Ukraine fighting the Russian aggression – well, what a meaningful time to release an album with such background since Ukraine is sunk into a civil war with Russian forces involved.

With a strong epic taste, Paganland have Ruen’s keyboards as main role which doesn’t get limited to launch only one type of sound at each time; that is, there are arrangements in which we can listen to several variations and melodies – all of it combined in a splendorous harmony. That epic side that’s so well-known in Paganland’s music is able to create cinematographic canvas, but also landscapes and mental images of the Slavonic brave Middle Ages.

We can say that the guitars work as support to Ruen’s creations, but they can also have their spotlight with energetic riffs, like in “Голос Карпат” [The Voice of the Carpathians]. On the other hand, the guitars achieve some preponderance in the fastest and darkest passages since the rest of the compositions are headed by the keyboards. Some of those fast-tempo moments are clearly influenced by the power and speed metal scene, like in “Слово рідне, орле скутий” [Native Word! Shackled Eagle!].

Of course, the band wouldn’t forget about Eastern Europe’s rigid winters and in “Крізь холод зими” [Through The Winter Coldness] we can listen to the whirling of cold winds; this track ends to be the most melancholic one in the album. In turn, the song with more intensity is the last one “Вітчизна” [Fatherland] in which all Paganland’s characteristics unite as one: epic soundscapes, melody, tension, fastness and even structure’s changes.

Finally, the vocals alternate between black metal growls and heroic clean vocals that sometimes verge on operatic stages. In spite of Volodymyr’s remarkable voice, a downside is found in that department since the vocals’ production doesn’t fit quite well with the rest. That is, it’s felt at times that the voice was pasted there without great care sounding louder than the rest of the instruments and a little bit synthetic. Even so, it’s a cool and meaningful album.

Originally written at www.againstmagazine.com