Graveland
1050 Years of Pagan Cult

THE REVIEW

On April 14, 966, the Polish duke Mieszko I accepted baptism. That day is officially considered the beginning of the existence of the Polish state; the baptism was accepted through the Czechs, already Christians, who were also the people his wife, Princess Dobrava, came from.

966-2016. 1050 years later, therefore, a historic group originating from Wrocław, already well-known in the international Black Metal scene, releases an album where many of the highlights that have characterized its restless and "controversial" career resonate and are "revisited." Obviously, we are talking about Black Metal, so the 1050 years of Polish Christianity are viewed with disdain and impatience, and become 1050 years of pagan cult. The cult of the combo founded and directed by Robert Fudali, alias Rob Darken, namely Graveland, is without hesitation: pagan, iconoclastic, viking, folk, of occult origin and undoubtedly infused with an ideology that can be classified within the NSBM (National Socialist Black Metal) movement even though Darken himself has dissociated himself from accusations of neo-Nazism in several interviews, has stated what he thinks in numerous interviews, many lyrics of his songs are unequivocal and associations like the Pagan Front speak volumes about the ideological basis of the founder of the group in question. Certainly, reviewing a group like this is always challenging, as it is for Burzum, another unequivocal source of inspiration for Graveland, along with Bathory, as expected and as for thousands of more or less extreme bands around the world. However, this group goes beyond everything that may lie behind the sound, the sacred phonè, purely understood, must be sifted from the lyrics in my opinion, here more than elsewhere, even though I admit that very few will agree to listen to a musical proposition that also wants to use its art to convey, at the very least, extreme ideas, and after all, it is more than understandable. Here I address exclusively those who loved and still love BM, those who may have known it from the beginning, who have lived those early '90s all "Norwegian" and then followed its evolution over the course of the new millennium throughout Europe and then far beyond, up to today, where this incredible genre knows no halts (far from dead!) and continues unswervingly its campaign – it's appropriate to say – warlike.

"In The Glare Of Burning Churches," "Carpathian Wolves," "Thousand Swords," "The Celtic Winter" and the famous "Following The Voice Of Blood," these are the albums from which the pearls of this collection are drawn, and note, it is not the usual anthology with copy-paste tracks but a total remake, a re-proposition of old pieces re-played, rearranged, and reproduced with the new line-up, with a result that is nothing short of astonishing. The impact force of sonic jewels like "Hordes of Empire" or the beautiful "Born for War" will not disappoint even those who still had some reservations about the early productions, as well as those who loved the raw and primitive feeling of the previous works from which the setlist is drawn; this example of mastery of execution and renewed brutal and technical force at the same time will make this album, in my opinion, beloved both by purists of the underground productions of the early '90s and by the newcomers. Even from the opener, "The Night of Fullmoon," it is very clear that these gentlemen are artists and that the tracks not only endure the passage of time but, revisited and brought to the forefront today, in these '10s of the new millennium, still result in a freshness and vehemence that make many productions of old and new glories of the genre pale! Personally, I consider (and have always considered) Graveland a talented and ingenious band, at the compositional level, as much as the phenomenal Nokturnal Mortum, and I believe their compositions reach where many of their colleagues have never, ever arrived, ideology or not. Here I'm talking about music and will not dwell on the history of the band's human vicissitudes (Karcharoth R.I.P.) and thus highlight this particular and beautiful album released at the end of last year, I highlight it to those who can appreciate, aware that insults will rain down as well as the curses of those who hate and do not listen to BM but still want to emphasize how disgusting they find it and of those who will attack for the reasons we know and of which I hinted above. For those who love the genre and already know Graveland well, nothing else needs to be added, for those who are neophytes here can find suggestions much more than interesting, those who see in these groups only and exclusively the political-ideological discourse will continue to see in Rob Darken and company nothing more than a gallows bait. Ah, I anticipate it myself, the site will dissociate itself from the group's ideas, I am certainly not advocating or other nonsense, I repeat, I'm talking about Black Metal in this case and this is it.