Black vinyl edition limited to 400 copies. Housed in a gatefold jacket with a printed inner sleeve and a poster.
El Kahetse Midagi is the first proper demo for the Estonian self proclaimed "flak and roll" project, LOITS. This demo begins with the powerful "Tulisilma Sünd," a fitting opener for what follows. Clear production and able musicianship define the demo throughout and here fast raging black metal meets a folkish pagan touch. One could bang their head to this one minute and raise a pint the next.
Next is "Sinimäed 1944," which starts out with a moody intro of piano and what sounds like thunder. Add to that some synth with the same folk feel of the first track and you're ready to roll into the next track, "Tõelised Kuningad." Here an acoustic guitar soothes you into a dreamlike state with light synth notes in the background. That mood quickly dissolves as the drums and vocals come in. This track has an early Satyricon feel to it and definitely is an ode to the Norge black metal days in the early 90's.
After the slow fade out, "Valge Nägu" begins with some guitar and light drums. This track has a more rock feel and starts with the mood of mid-Katatonia but quickly goes back to that Norge BM we all love. The music is a bit lighter here and has a very atmospheric quality in the guitar which competes with the urgency of the almost shrieking vocals.
"Hauast Aupaistesse" comes in with a militaristic feel and mosh like stomp. This quickly turns to double bass and Enslaved like riffs. "Hauast Aupaistesse" is the stand out track of the demo and serves as a climax to the rest of the release.
Stormy winds and tranquil synths start off "Kolmjalg." This then goes to more double bass and riffing which gives way to the old stomp we've grown accustomed to. This is a track to raise the glasses again and give a toast to victory. There is only clean vocals, no real black metal to be seen and it fades out with the wind and more synths that signal a storm to come.
Veri is that storm and has an almost ABSURD feel to it. Or at least later ABSURD, as this was released before Totenleider, the album this mostly resembles. This tracks stays mid-paced and has guitars that still have a folkish feel though are also modern.
"Sinu Mees, Sinu Vend, Sinu Poeg," finishes this out and it definitely goes out with a bang, not a wimper. Traditional Nord BM meets vokish music with a mix of clean and BM style vocals.
The concept of this demo centers around WWII and the Estonian involvement. When Russia got into the war, they were a super power that wanted to make all Eastern European countries part of one large nation. Estonia had fought for their independence many years ago and as a small country, could see Russia trying to invade and conquer them. Because of this, they fought on the side of the Germans. They saw the Germans as not enslavers, but liberators against a "red menace." This demo speaks of the beginning of the war and the talk of Russian powers. It then goes into the tale of a village soldier fighting at the front. Finally it talks of the German soldiers coming into that same village and villagers defending their home with the German soldiers. It is a great concept and one that seems executed quite well with the lyrics and music. This is definitely a release to add to your arsenal if you like well done black metal in that 90's style with a slight folk touch.
Sample: youtube.com/watch?v=a79U7nJAOTQ
