Label: Gothoom Productions
Date: November 2nd, 2024
I think the time has come to return near my motherland. Poland’s south-western neighbor-country is Czechia. My the very first contact with metal ensemble coming from there took place, and here’s one more evidence I’m a teenager only in my heart and mind, in 1985 or 1986 when I saw in TV a clip of still active band called Citron (of course then both Czechia and Slovakia were one country and no one even though it can be in other way some beautiful day, the same like the political system will change to democracy in space of few years). Few years later I became one of these metalheads who decided to be active in the underground and then with every year I got to know more and more Czech hordes. One of the first of them was a heavy/black metal act coming from the second largest city of the country, Brno, called Root. Why do I name just this one at the moment? Well, the answer is as easy as pie – because the only member of Ravenoir played over there guitar for eleven years. in 2020 he realized it’d be cool to have a solo project and such way Ravenoir was born. It seems he worked hard from the very first day, because February 21st next year the debut album was released. And he mustn’t slow down the tempo of the job on new music at all – he serves a new full-length every single year. So, as you can count, “Nocturne” is the fourth one. Its premiere took place November 2nd.
It contains ten tracks which take forty-seven minutes and twenty seconds, which means it’s the longest ever album in history of the project (sorry, but “band” will never come through my mouth when there’s only one member who’s responsible for everything!). Musically that’s surely not what it’s written in the description on a portal dedicated to metal strictly music activities (bands and labels). I mean, Alesh’s creativity is surely melodic and atmospheric, for sure this is metal and there’s no doubts about it even a second, but somehow I absolutely can’t agree with just mentioned over there sub-genre of our beloved music. I can hear here some touches of old-school Gothenburg way of playing death metal as well – you know, “Lunar Strain” and stuff. But honestly, they’re very delicate in my opinion and that’s not what inspires Alesh the most, I think. As for me Alesh presents us with some specific kind of death/doom metal. Both ways of vocalization, and it’s also about these clean singing fragments, and even mostly very calm, but at the same moment somehow creating dark atmosphere riffs say it to me. I also hear some touches of black art in this creativity. Otherwise, I feel there is quite a huge element of ambient. Well, it’s not about songs themselves, but introductions or endings of some songs, maybe even some music inserts. But if you deduce from the above words we have here to do with structurally uncomplicated music, I must get you guys out of a mistake! On the contrary, there’s many touches, several guitar tricks, interesting passages and so on. That’s why for some of you this work can seem a little bit difficult. I know not everyone loves such creativity and it’s intended for people with certain sensitivity.
At the same time, it quite easily falls into the ears, which makes everyone, except hard die fans of classic death or black metal, welcome to taste it. Of course, to appreciate this, you need to listen to it in focus. In my opinion the best way to do it is to listen to “Nocturne” in the evening in a room lit only by candlelight, and of course with close eyes. As you can see, the title of the just reviewed full-length is very accurate and shows what you should expect from this. Anyways, even if I’m not sure if it is like that, I feel this is something called a concept album. Well, in fact, it’d be the best to ask at the source what I think will happen quite soon – especially we haven’t, hell knows how it happened, too many interviews in Abaddon Magazine.
What can or should I say more before I finally finish my writing? Well, only in anticipation of this very possible interview you should investigate this as soon as possible and spend these euros on a Slovak Gothoom Productions CD! By the way, if you aren’t convinced yet or just don’t believe my words, then you check it out on the ensemble’s several channels. I think you’re all smart asses, so will not mention what portals it’s about.
