На хрустальных качелях

Slavonic countries are blessed and born to create a perfect music and Ukraine is not an exception. Raventale is one of the best that Ukraine has to offer, so without further ado, let's just jump to the point.

First of all, I must mention, that Raventale is NOT as Drudkh, because many people have tendency to compare these two. Raventale is destructive, sad with brooding sound and painful vocals and Drudkh is... black metal, not the most typical I've ever heard, but black metal. Raventale is more to doom, in my opinion, but this is not important.

Raventale's On A Crystal Swing starts with beautiful soundscape of forest ambiance (actually, this is what makes Raventale and Drudkh alike), such as singing birds, and dark, sad keyboard melody. On A Crystal Swing has six songs and two of them are instrumental (or rather ambient, because both are full of natural ambiance). Intros are supposed to bring predictions of what we can expect from album (or just I take meaning of intros like that?) and song “Prologue” definitely made it. If I have to make an example of perfect intro, it would be this one. Other side of the album is crushing, destructive wave of music bearing on the listener with the might of raging tsunami. Really, I can't concentrate on one instrument. But... yeah, sometimes, keyboard is dominating. For example in song “The Forest Spread Out In Grey Melancholy”, there is long part of the song where guitars are playing that same melody for … let's say three or four minutes, and in this part, there are four keyboard tones repeating again, and again. It's hard for listener to sense something else.

I've just listed the only (or those most important) things, that I would change on this album. “The Forest Spread Out In Grey Melancholy” is almost fourteen minutes long, that won't be bad, but it gets a little boring after all those repeating riffs... For me, that song is based on repeating parts, which is tiring after ten minutes of listening. If that song would have about a few minutes less, it will be much better.

Besides that, this album is full of emotions, atmosphere and moods. Every song is specific, every song is perfect in it's own way. Some people insist, that aforementioned “The Forest Spread Out In Grey Melancholy” is the highlight of the album. I must disagree. The whole album is just one great highlight, and this song I like the least, from it, that's the reason why I'm talking mostly about it.

Vocals are mostly lows, occasionally high-pitched, but it doesn't lose it's heavy sounding (even his highs are not shrieks, but dark aggressive roars). Music is dark, bleak and sad, but it will wake your imagination to the top. It's like a gate to another realm. Realm of beautiful days and nature, but nights full of darkness.

In the end, On A Crystal Swing is truly a masterpiece. That little “problem” with one song can't decrease overall result. In my opinion, if Astaroth would end up work with Deferum Sacrum and will concentrate on Raventale, people will appreciate it more.