Hand-numbered. Comes in tape-slipcase and professionally printed inlay.
This split, Legend/Wolfen Royalty, is a perfect demonstration of Eastern European metal bands’ fascination with mixing black metal, folk music and various forms of nationalism and paganism together. Shared between Ukraine’s increasingly respected Kroda and Russia’s relatively unknown Oprich, this split contains some of the best music that the Slavic folk/black/pagan metal bands of the East have been able to conjure up.
With all due respect to the Oprich side which we’ll get to soon enough, Kroda dominates this release. Theirs is possibly the very best mix of folk and black metal in Ukraine and indeed all of Eastern Europe, and Legend is among Kroda’s finest, if not their very best release. Musically, the closest release is the band’s masterpiece of a debut, Cry to Me, River.... The reason behind this excellence is complex yet astonishingly simple: Kroda take a rather basic kind of black metal, they add folk instruments and extremely melodic keyboard lines and, this is the genius of the whole thing, they are capable of mixing the elements together in a completely coherent way. None of the awkward stupidity of failures such as Nokturnal Mortum’s NeChrist can be found here: this flows perfectly from beginning to end due to the integration of the folk elements. In Legend’s case, the core of the music is the two-chapter epic Poppyflowers are Blossoming. Throughout this 16-minute portion the soaring, symphonic keyboards and folk instruments, notably flutes, work in concert to add a breathtaking aura of beauty and majesty to the whole thing.
Kroda’s music has always been rooted in themes of Ukrainian nationalism and love for nature, rather similar to the more well-known Drudkh in this regard. The band’s nationalistic themes are based on historical folk tales of Ukrainian struggles against Asiatic invaders – Turks and Tatars – praising those who fought these invaders. Both these lyrics and the music itself are witnesses to the band’s remarkable efforts put into the music: their dedication to what they do is readily visible.
Following this highly memorable section is Oprich’s take on folk metal. Kroda set the bar extremely high and Oprich aren’t quite able to surpass them. That said, Wolfen Royalty is also a competent release, somewhat underrated if plagued by a few weaknesses. The folk metal here is heavily reliant on various vocal approaches and when this is proven imperfect, the music suffers a bit. However, it’s remarkable that, from an overall point of view, nothing is actually bad. The vocals, although they might initially seem cheesy, are well-performed when analyzed in depth. This goes for both the clean and the harsh vocals, both of whom have that distinctive Russian sound to them which goes beyond the obvious linguistic effect: the melodies are radically different from, say, Scandinavian folk metal bands’ vocals.
What really distinguishes Oprich as a worthy band is their use of extremely catchy folk hooks in two particular songs, which are almost by default rendered highlights: the Song of these Woods and the title track. These melodic hooks seem to be achieved with an audacious combination of flutes and violin (and guitars in the title track’s case), which can often turn to disaster in the hands of less competent bands. Also worth noting is White Lake, a song which is clearly a tribute to Russian folk metal heroes Temnozor, being particularly reminiscent the classic Folkstorm of the Azure Nights period. The clean vocals and flutes are a dead giveaway. This is a nice surprise, although the band’s originality suffers a little bit. Otherwise, from a strictly metal instrumental point of view, Oprich fare well: the guitars are used to deliver the main punch of the folk sound, especially during the title track, while the drumming follows along solidly if a bit noisily on one or two occasions. The production is, like in Kroda’s case, good.
Anyone who happens to like the Eastern European take on pagan/folk metal is bound to find music to their taste here. Both bands deliver and, while Kroda is evidently the master, the Russian nationalists from Oprich are nevertheless able to make a very good name for themselves. Since I’m familiar with Kroda’s music, this split has, more than anything else, actually awakened in me an interest in Oprich’s music.
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