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Rating: I was on my favorite lyrics portal (Darklirics:)) and a band caught my eye with titles poorly transcribed in the Latin alphabet. Band name: Butterfly Temple. First thought: are these Butterfly Temple guys Thai?? Intrigued, I searched for their site, and then I understood! They come from Russia and there are many of them (the latest "leaks" mention 7 members of which 3 are singers!!), and they play a strange genre they call Slavonic Metal; in reality, nothing more and nothing less than a sort of symphonic Black Metal spiced with folk inserts. They formed in 1996 when they recorded their first demo, "Veles", and then other albums that went unnoticed worldwide.
The first doubt was about their originality because indeed this genre is excessively flooded by the most diverse bands.
The surprise occurred when listening to the first track: the symphonic inserts are not at all pompous or flashy like some songs by Dimmu Borgir or Cradle of Filth (with whom they might be associated due to their approach to melodies), on the contrary, you notice a truly unparalleled theatricality, and they prove to play wonderfully. The production is also excellent! As for the lyrics, I'm sorry I can't really say anything because they are all in their mother tongue and I didn't understand anything... however, according to the translations, they draw from Russian esoteric mythology, from kingdoms that no longer exist and from a kind of "butterfly brotherhood" to which they belong. I must say these concepts have always fascinated me, and indeed my intuitions were confirmed by digging into the site listen.to/btemple (I recommend the English version), adorned with splendid Renaissance images, and where—in the "hymns" section—you can view their discography and download some mp3s even from the older albums.
Regarding the musical content, I point out—besides the opening track, with the unpronounceable title "Babit’, klikat’, ston glotat’"—the beautiful Polny chaši vraj’ey krovi with a truly monumental intro and also Slaše vsyo je mnje [obrug mesyats] (enough, I'm going crazy!) based on the union of a male and female voice. This album ends with the instrumental title track, a further demonstration of the capabilities of this group.
In short, to sum up, it may not be a masterpiece, but it stands out from the mass of metal bands that no longer know where to go. Original (within the limits that a genre like this allows) job by a skilled, technically valid group that is also somewhat outside certain norms.
One last (positive) note concerns the cover, which is really well crafted.
Gothic? Black? Folk Metal? Slavonic!
PS: Sorry, another similar one arrived but I made a mistake with the email because I added a ù at the end. Can you correct it please? Thank you. Remember the genre: Slavonic Folk Pagan Black Metal
Tracklist
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