Myrkgand’s second effort expands on what was built in their debut. Once again, Dmitry was able to recruit some great musicians to help him bring his creation to life.
I could go on and review each track separately, but I’ll stick to giving you a more general view on this work: it shines on most aspects, has some great surprises, some cliché, and leaves the listener longing for more.
Regarding the production and mix, the album presents the listener with a very full and warm sound. The drums are great: the bass drum isn’t too clicky, the snare is great, and the entire instrument is masterfully played by Kevin Kott (just listen to tracks 1, 2, and 5). The guitars are very well produced but don’t stick out too much, which seems like a safe bet, and the bass guitar is… just there. It’s not like you can’t hear it or you wouldn’t miss it, but it doesn’t stick out either. It really just glues everything else together nicely, and that’s it, but that’s not a bad thing. The keyboards add another dimension to the songs, but sometimes they feel a bit drowned out by the other instruments (see track 6). Sound wise, the vocals share the spotlight with the guitars, meaning that both can be very well heard. In the end, the sound is easily listenable and very enjoyable, but the nuance of the keyboards requires some attention.
Musically, the album reminds me of Blind Guardian and Emperor. The first album instantly reminded me of Nocturnus, the way it was sung, but this one, not so much. In general, the songs are very fast and in-your-face, beginning without any warning, but sometimes surprising the listener with great intros(e.g. tracks 6, the “Fiddler on the Green”-y 7, and 10). However, the tone of the songs can vary from inspiring (e.g. tracks 3 and 8) to more evil and dark (e.g. tracks 2 and 5), going through folky and epic (e.g. tracks 4, 7, and 9). Rhythmically, the album is pretty straightforward, but sometimes Dmitry puts some bumps on the road to keep you on your toes, like at the end of some parts of tracks 4 and 8. The songs are rather long (over 5:30 per song, on average), but they don’t FEEL long or drag on too much, with the exception of the last track, which spends too much time on the first part, before the solo.
It’s not exactly easy to say where one influence/style ends and another one begins; the fusion of genres is really well made and feels completely natural. The best example of this is probably track 4, which features both fast and aggressive riffs with harsh vocals (SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAWEED SCROOOOOOOOOLLS) and calmer sections with beautiful clean vocals by Korzus’ guitarist Antonio Araujo. Another vocal highlight are the backing vocals of track 2, which remind me of Cynic, a bit, and obviously the clean vocals of ending track. The artist managed to incorporate rather optimistic elements into dark and tense contexts, for example, the ascending melody in track 8, and the entirety of track 3.
Lyrically, the album mostly deals with fantastic themes (wizards, rituals, magical kingdoms, curses, demons), which is FINE, but not a big turn on to me, it just feels a bit overdone; but knowing the artist’s inspirations and tastes, it’s understandable. At the end, there’s a change of theme towards partying (track 9), and later, another change towards anti-christianity (track 10), but kept in a fantasy setting, which is also FINE, but less so than the previously mentioned fantasy, for the same reasons. In regards of themes, the highlights of this album are track 8 (a raw display of emotion, written entirely in Portuguese), track 3 (because of its almost power metal-y message), and track 1 (because it ties the stories told in the first album together, further solidifying Myrkgand’s lore). With all this said, the important part is that the words are all well put together and make sense when telling their story.
In sum, the album is very well produced, but maybe the guitars could have given a little of their space to the keys. The themes are consistent, even if a bit cliché, but some tracks shine on this aspect. The lyrics really paints their pictures in your head; they are very well written (attention to the cool use of the archaic “spake” in track 3). Considering the black/death/folk/melodic context in which Dmitry composes, his work is both lyrically and musically diverse and interesting, while still having space for more experimentation in future works. Listeners who appreciate very well crafted music will enjoy this work. If you see this album in your record store, get it.
Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVeIEQRZw88&t=168s
