GUARDIANS OF THE RINGS

May 12, 2014, 10:38 am

≫ Next: THE LONG GREY ROAD - update III

≪ Previous: RAGNARÖK

$

0

0

Band: URUK HAI
Title: Guardians Of The Rings
Format: Four-way split release in a two-disc set, featuring Onyx and Black Jade on disc one, and Ringbearer and Uruk Hai on disc two.  The album comes housed in DVD sized case with full colour covers.  The release was issued by Aschefrüehling Records in 2014, no allocated catalogue reference.  
Edition: 99 unnumbered copies

Track Listing:

CD ONE
Onyx
01. Shining Sun Over Snow Fields  3.20
02. Leaves On The Forest Floor  2.56
03. Gandalf The White  5.06
04. Green Grass  4.29
05. Legend Of The Master Ring (Summoning cover)  3.26
06. Balrog  5.46

Black Jade
07. Awake!  6.26
08. Warrior Princess  6.05
09. Spirit Of The Water Lord  3.38
10. Ar-Pharazon  6.27

CD TWO
Ringbearer
01. The Road That Leads Us  5.59
02. Only Fire Can Tell  5.01
03. The Peoples Of Numenor  5.34
04. Shards Of Narsil  5.42

Uruk Hai
05. Elbenlicht  5.42
06. Gondolin  3.49
07. Ring Of Water  3.22
08. Gothmog  5.07

Well shiver me timbers and avast me hearties!  Here's a swashbuckling Tolkien infused feast of music if ever there was: a four-way split of some of the most Middle-Earth influenced bands you could ever hope to wave an enchanted stick at.  One can only begin to imagine the scenes of re-enactment that would ensure were these four bands to be let loose in a forest at one and the same time!?  Nazgul had held off reviewing this for a while, thinking (in ever hopeful optimism) that a plethora of internet coverage would surely surround such a monumental release as this hitting the planet.  But ... and thrice but ... absolutely nothing seems to have been written about it at all.  Nothing.  Zilch.  Diddly Squat.

And this is quite perplexing really as clearly a lot of thought has gone into putting this together, from the excellent artwork to the four bands included here.  Aschfrüehling (literally: Ashes Spring) deserve much credit for taking on the mantle of responsibility in getting this recording out there, but once again - as commented on in other recent posts - an edition of only 99 copies hardly suggests that they expect the thing to fly out of the shop door.  

So what we end up with is a highly promising and well polished release from both established and up and coming bands that even within the rarefied atmosphere of its own small genre is likely to have as much of an impact on the musical world as a pancake falling off a table.

But no matter, this is the part of the Blog where Nazgul cuts his teeth of these four offerings to see what's hot, what's not, and what's just plain weird.  

Onyx get the ball rolling, and it's a very piano-heavy approach (or synthesised piano, hard to tell).  Now I'm all for a bit of piano - give me a sunny window seat The Damned's 'The Portrait' playing gently in the background and I'm as happy a Nazgul as you'd ever hope to find - but sometimes Onyx's style comes across as a little heavy handed and (dare one say it) a little bit 'plinky-plonky' in nature (call it charmingly naive maybe?).  That might sound a bit rich coming from someone who wrote a positive critique of Uruk Hai's "Elbentanz" demo, but what the heck: Nazgul calls it as he sees it.  That said, there are some good bits in there, particularly in the first track where the use of bells (but not whistles) gives the music a bit of variation.  Ultimately, for me, the weakest set of songs on the album but enjoyable for what they are.

Black Jade come next, out of the blue and completely unknown to your scribe.  And knock me down with a feather, these songs are really rather good!  Using lots of melody amidst a flurry of spiky guitar and immense drumming, killer vocals and utilising a sound not a million miles away from Elvenking and Suidakra at times, Nagul has to say that he greatly enjoyed all of these tracks, and they are amongst the best on this album.  There seem to be more than a few Black Jade demos out there, so one to keep an eye on and hunt down methinks.

Ringbearer is the creation of Jaron, who has also recently become one half of Hugin's Eismond project.  Ringbearer are also to feature on an epic suite of split albums with Uruk Hai in the near future, so clearly a good working partnership is developing on that front.  The music here is certainly grounded in all of those elements you might associate with Middle-Earth ambient, augmented at times in unexpected ways: the American Indian flavour of 'The Peoples Of Numenor' being a case in point.  Great compositions and solid musicianship mark the songs offered here, which bodes extremely well for the new Eismond release coming soon too!

And finally we finish the album with Hugin's Uruk Hai.  Many signature touches come to the fore on these songs, the vast majority welcome and excellent, the odd one not so - the length of 'Elbenlicht' may not seem excessive on paper but the simple repetition of the melody in the song does make it seem like it lasts twice as long as it actually does, and it has an oddly lulling sensation to it that can send the unwary into a state of torpor.  Everything else sparkles in the Gondolin sunshine, however, and how nice to see an acknowledgement to Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs during the First Age and arguably the greatest Balrog ever to walk Middle-Earth.  

For those unknowing amongst you (what did they teach you at school?) Gothmog was a wily commander and fearsome fighter, often accompanied by others of his fiery kind, whose weapon was a great black axe.  Generally, he caused a great deal of hurt and pain to the forces of goodness over many decades, and Nazgul salutes him for it.  Sadly, Gothmog was not indestructible: He led Morgoth's deadly surprise assault on the Hidden City of Gondolin. In the square of the King in the heart of the city, he came upon the Elf-lord Ecthelion of the Fountain. They fought a great duel, and in the end Gothmog and Ecthelion slew one another. So ended one of the most feared denizens of the pits of Angband.  A shame, and Nazgul still lights a candle on his birthday to pmark his untimely passing.

In between first and last, 'Gondolin' manages a neo-folk vibe with a (surely?) recycled synthesizer part overlain by a catchy acoustic guitar, whilst 'Ring Of Fire' is a catchy and upbeat instrumental put firmly in its place by the sheer weight and crushing despair that signals 'Gothmog'.

This is undoubtedly a tremendous addition to any self respecting fan of any of the bands, or of Tolkien influenced music as a whole.  There's plenty of avenues to lose oneself in the wonders of other magical realms, and though there are peaks and hollows on the journey the general consensus is that this is a release well worth seeking out.

---

THE LONG GREY ROAD - update III

May 19, 2014, 10:15 am

≫ Next: UNITED - update

≪ Previous: GUARDIANS OF THE RINGS

$

0

0

Band:HROSSHARSGRANI
Title: The Long Grey Road
Format: Cassette tape release on the Wulfrune Worxx label (France) in 2014, cat ref WW444.  As is usual with Wulfrune Worxx releases, it comes with black photocopied inlays and in a hand-numbered edition
Edition: 44 numbered copies

Track Listing:
01. Intro  1.47
02. The Long Grey Road  9.24

Something of an oddity, this one.

Back in February 2010 Wulfrune Worxx published a demo tape featuring both Hrossharsgrani and Uruk Hai in their 'Split Series'.  This was, of course, the "Valkyrian Romance / The Long Grey Road" release, in an edition of 66 copies.  It featured the two Hrossharsgrani songs shown above together with a version of the epic 'Fimbulwinter' track.  As noted in the Honour and Darkness review of this release, the 'Intro' track was an old one recorded back in 2007 whilst 'The Long Grey Road' was originally conceived as the last part of the Lord of the Rings album trilogy after "The Secret Fire" and "Schattenkrieger".  This was also recorded in 2007.

So far, so good.

In 2011, the Australian maniac Leigh Stench released a 3" CD version of "The Long Grey Road" with colour artwork and in a tiny edition of 20 copies.  This lost the 'Fimbulwinter' song (which clocked in at over 15 minutes in length, rather more than a 3" CD would comfortably hold alongside the other tracks) and kept the other two.  And there you had it - the 'traditional' approach fulfilled of an initial tape release of a demo followed by a limited edition CD pressing, as has been done since time immemorial.

Which brings us to this unusual item: three years later, and for no obviously discernible reason, another tape version of the demo has been released.  And once again it comes out on the Wulfrune Worxx label, albeit with different cover art  - a different picture of a familiar scene, being the same Austrian ruined monument that graced the 1999 Hrossharsgrani demo "Krieg".  It's a rather odd thing, actually, as it's not an obvious instant seller (not that Wulfrune's market strategy seems to be mindful of such trivial matters) and puts back into the public domain two songs that were readily available on the original releases and which - by dint of being on tape - is not exactly on an in-vogue medium.

Most peculiar.

Still, there's no harm in revisiting old friends/songs with releases like this, and who knows: perhaps there's been a great uprising of popular opinion on social media sites for the material to be made available again.  Either way, it helps to keep the Hrossharsgrani name in the public domain in the absence of any new material, and that in itself can't be a bad thing!

UNITED - update

May 26, 2014, 2:03 am

≫ Next: DARK SECRETS

≪ Previous: THE LONG GREY ROAD - update III

$

0

0

Band:URUK HAI (or, more accurately, Symbiosis)
Title: United
Format: 2 x CDr discs and covering letter, being the Symbiosis side of the split
Edition:Presumably a single copy

Track Listing:
01. Travelling Through Rivers And Woods Of Memories  15:09
02. Still Alone In The Path Of Life  6:38
03. In The Fields Of Eternal Spring  4:14
04. Subliminal Instructions To The Void  3:26

Nazgul first covered the "United" tape release way back in February 2009.  This was the demo tape that previewed Uruk Hai's some of upcoming "Lothlorien" material, whilst giving the other half of the tape to Italian band Symbiosis (run by a splendid fellow called Valerio, who you may recall from a 2010 interview on the Blog).

This particular item is the original CDr discs and letter sent by Valerio to Hugin with his half of the demo tracks.  Nazgul has obscured Valerio's address and contract details at the foot of the letter in picture two for reasons of confidentiality, otherwise it's presented as-is (or should that be as-was?)

Most of you will have retained a copy of this demo in your collections now, I would imagine, but it bears remembering that Symbiosis make some enchanting music on these tracks and across their range of demos and full releases, so it would be well worth your while hunting them down online to add some more quality music to your life.  In fact, let Nazgul give you a head start on that one...

As to the letter itself, Valerio comments to Hugin:

"Hails Hugin!  Here is all the material for you.  As you can see, there is my first demo CDR "Passages" [not pictured here].  I hope you like it.  Then, there are two CDR's for the split: one with the music, the other with the files.

In the first of the two CDR's there is the audio master, with four songs, for a total length of 29:28 [track listing then given, as above].

In the other CDR there are some pictures, logo and other stuff.  Photos had all been taken by myself, most of them here in the Italian Appennino, while I shot the one with a 'desert' land in Spain.  There are also two photos of mine with face-painting.  Logo pictures are in different colours and sizes, both in *.bmp and *.gif (with transparent effect) formats.  There is also a file (*.ttf) with the font used to write 'Symbiosis', in case you need it.  I also added on the CDR the wave files (*.wav) of the four songs to be featured in the split.  If you need more or different material, just tell me and I'll send it through e-mail.

Well, that's all.  Let me know when this package arrives."

And there we have it, an interesting little insight into the other side of a well known Uruk Hai demo tape.  It would obviously have been a sensible thing to round off the post with an image or two of the Symbiosis artwork on the tape inlay ... which was Nazgul's intention until the tape itself decided to hide itself away in the Castle Library.  So at some point soon we'll have to have "United - update II" after the search parties track down their prey....

DARK SECRETS

May 30, 2014, 11:06 am

≫ Next: GORTHAUR / URUK HAI split

≪ Previous: UNITED - update

$

0

0

Band:URUK HAI
Title: Dark Secrets
Format: A professional CDr release on the Kadaath Records label (Russia), cat ref Kadaath 24, from 2012. This is a split release with Russian project Nebula VII.  The picture disc CDr comes sandwiched between two colour paper inserts in a clear plastic sleeve.
Edition: 30 unnumbered copies

Track Listing:
Uruk Hai
01. The Secret Of The Rings  50:44
Nebula VII
02. Synthesis Of The Dark Matter  27:30

Contemplate, if you will, the vastness of space.  If you were to stand next to me on the ramparts of Castle Nazgul and look out into a starry night sky, we would see thousands or maybe even millions of tiny dots, some shining brightly and others so pale we're unsure whether we are really seeing them or not. Some of these dots are not in actual fact single stars, but galaxies made up of hundreds of billions of stars. Some galaxies are so far away that the light emitted by them takes billions of years to reach us, and the image we see of them is therefore similarly billions of years old.  Space is, to be sure, pretty fucking big.

Filling an infinitesimally small part of that void is a peculiar brand of music commonly labelled space ambient or experimental drone.  In this genre, not a lot happens over quite a long period of time.  Many bands inhabit this sometimes doubtful musical spectrum, and a myriad of recordings have been released with many and various bursts of clicking, static, noise, humming and plain cold empty nothingness.  There's a fine line between musical inventiveness and creativity in producing such ambient textures with minimal beats, and releasing utter shite.  Some bands happily cross this line between (and even within) releases, so it can be a bit of a minefield to get a handle on.

Enter Nebula VII,  an experimental drone band from Russia with - Nazgul is assured by those who should know better than he - elements of black metal and neo-classical themes often being added to their violent and powerful mixes. An online review of one of their many releases suggested the listener "be prepared for a long, painful journey into the Maw of Madness when experiencing this first-hand.  A band with a sound ethereal and deep, a sound mysterious with a texture focused toward darkness in a vacuum, cold and desolate. A captivating sound but in turn introspective, an atmosphere created by the music of space ambient with dark ambient with touches of drone, developing a strong structure, giving absolute power to the adjacent programming."

Which takes us to their side of this release, 'Synthesis Of The Dark Matter'.  As far as Nazgul can make out, this is an edited version of a longer track which featured in their "Cold" box-set of a few years ago.  Based on the content of this piece (I hesitate to call it a 'song' per se) there certainly is an cold and desolate atmosphere being created: an oppressive one full of static and noise.  Imagine listening to an N.Strahl.N. track on full volume whilst sticking your head out of a car window at 70mph and you'll get the general impression.  It's frankly not an easy listen, and if you're prone to headaches I'd give repeat listening a miss, but it certainly makes an impression.  Then again, getting hit over the head with a baseball bat would also make an impression, and not a terribly favourable one at that.  One for experienced interstellar drone travellers only I think...

The Uruk Hai track is something akin to an ambient drone epic too, in as far as it is of prodigious length with long periods of relative inactivity in its inner workings.  The song is not new to this release, but comes from the Fallen Angels Productions released 6CD box-set ""...And In The Darkness Bind Them" that was also released in 2012.  This reminds Nazgul that he has singularly failed to review that particular release yet, so there's another treat in store for you all at some point in the future!  Anyway, back to "The Secret Of The Rings" and the first thing that will strike you is that it wafts around at over 50 minutes in length, a considerable amount of time to hold anyone's interest even if it happened to be the best composed piece of music ever.  

Being typically hard to describe or categorise, let's just say from the outset that unlike Nebula VII's creation there is a definite song here, with instruments, melodies and other established Hugin touches and flourishes. Parts of the song are very pretty, other parts more continuity or filler linking the more memorable segments.  Like many of Hugin's more epic compositions it floats around you and gradually seeps into your consciousness as you're happily engaged on other matters.

Imagine the length of this song to be the duration of a journey on a train, through whose windows you can see avenues of tall, green trees.  Now, Nazgul likes trees very much, particularly when the wind whips through their branches and creates that wonderful 'swishing' sound of leaves all aflutter.  So as our near hour-long train journey progresses the trees zip past the window, one after another, a line of green and brown, very pleasant, very restful.  And yet, after a while, one tree begins to look like any other tree, and the line becomes less captivating and more 'ho-hum' in nature.  As much as Nazgul likes trees, there's a limit to how long you can sit and look at them you know!   On which clunky metaphor we come back to 'The Secret Of The Rings', a perfectly reasonable composition that would have benefitted from a little self-editing and tighter focus.  To be sure, there's the odd magnificent oak to capture your attention amongst the many other trees, but by and large the song could be thirty minutes long and not be any worse for it.  

Let us finish on the wider subject of dark secrets, the title of this album, and with Nazgul sharing with you something strangely appropriate.  It is a little known fact that our hero Hugin is something of a fan of the television crime series Midsomer Murders, some of which has been filmed at Nazgul's daytime lair.  Moreover, Episode 2 of Season 14 of this series was entitled 'Dark Secrets'.  14 divided by 2 is, of course, 7, or VII in Roman numerals.  VII as in Nebula VII?  Some weird synchronicity going on here, methinks...?!

GORTHAUR / URUK HAI split

June 16, 2014, 9:27 am

≫ Next: UNRUAHNOCHT

≪ Previous: DARK SECRETS

$

0

0

Band:URUK HAI
Title: Gorthaur / Uruk Hai (an otherwise untitled split release)
Format: Released on professional CDr in larger DVD size box by Aschefruehling Records (Germany) in January 2014.  The split release features tracks from Uruk Hai and German black metal horde Gorthaur, who formed in 2003.
Edition:33 unnumbered copies

Track Listing:
GORTHAUR
01.  Snow  1.36       
02.  Warwolves  3.12      
03.  The Great Shadow from the Eastern Kingdom  4.29      
04.  Alte Feinde Neuer Hass  3.26      
05.  Darkness  0.57   
06.  Frostking's Realm  3.55      
07.  The Dark Lord's Tower  6.59      08.  Dusk  1.00  
URUK HAI
09.  The White Tower 6.06     
10.  Flucht  3.19     
11.  The Iron Doors of Angband  8.10     
12.  Numenor  6.20      
13.  In A Dream  3.23  

Nazgul did something quite unusual after playing the Gorthaur tracks on this release for the first time.  He stopped the CD before the Uruk Hai tracks could begin, and replayed the whole lot of Gorthaur songs again.  It's uncommon for Nazgul to forgo an initial blast of new Hugin material for any other band, but on this occasion I was glad to make an exception as the black metal on offer over the first 8 songs of this split release are really rather good.  Sure, opener 'Snow' does sound a tad like the background music for a 90's tv police drama series and is rather out of place here, but otherwise there's a vicious yet melodious mixture of songs here ('Dusk' excepted, being a calming little outro piece) that raises hairs and hackles as one.  Excellent.
 
If the band name is vaguely familiar to you, it's most likely from literature rather than music given their relative lack of released material.  Gorthaur, you may not be surprised to learn, is a name taken from the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien.  During the First Era and shortly after the return of Morgoth, the Noldorin Elves also left the Blessed Realm of Valinor in the Uttermost West, against the counsel of the Valar, to wage war on Morgoth, who had stolen the Silmarils. In that war, Sauron served as Morgoth's chief lieutenant, surpassing all others in rank, such as Gothmog, the Lord of Balrogs. 

Known as Gorthaur the Cruel, Sauron was at that time a master of illusions and shape-shifting; werewolves and vampires were his servants, chief among them Draugluin, Father of Werewolves, and his vampire herald Thuringwethil.  Blimey, there's a name to wrestle with after a few pints of Middle-earth's premier ale, Old Gothmog's Throat-Shafter!

If you're in the mood for a quick blast, you could have a listen to 'The Dark Lord's Tower' and see what you make of it...  

The Uruk Hai material, in contrast, is not black metal nor - arguably for much of its duration - could it really be called 'metal' at all.  It undoubtedly retains a full-on Middle-earth atmosphere about it, as much of Uruk Hai's music does, with interesting little influences of almost middle-eastern music going on in there.  The pieces are instrumental for the most part, lengthy and sinuous as is Hugin's wont, with the exception of 'Flucht' which contains some utterly bizarre vocal effects and peculiar music and is as incongruous in this company as it would be watching Gandalf in a naked foxy-boxing bout with Galadriel.  Not a pretty sight (well, not the first half; I suppose I could drag my blackened eyes towards a naked Galadriel if opportunity arose...)

'The Iron Doors Of Angband' gets things back on track with some effective female choral style vocals (courtesy of Asche) and some uplifting keyboards of the type that fill the soul with thoughts of gallant deeds and epic quests. 'Numenor' (a large island in the Sundering Seas, which was brought up from the sea as a gift from the Valar to the Edain, the Fathers of Men who had stood with the Elves of Beleriand against Morgoth in the War of the Jewels) continues the good work, throwing in some almost New-Wave style synthesisers and a rather COI-style club beat for good measure ... and manages to get away with it!  

The split ends with 'In A Dream', a very pleasant and wistful way to conclude with some nods in the instrumentation back to the classic release "Across The Misty Mountains (Far, Far Away....)" for good measure.

Other than the strange thing that is 'Flucht', there's much to admire here for Uruk Hai fans and with the nicely put together nature of the release it's certainly one worth seeking out whilst they are still out there for sale. 

UNRUAHNOCHT

June 18, 2014, 3:59 pm

≫ Next: CROSSING THE BORDERS [V/A]

≪ Previous: GORTHAUR / URUK HAI split

$

0

0

Band:HREFNESHOLT
Title: Unruahnocht
Format: Previously unseen cover artwork for an unreleased split album with Lousberg, proposed for 2010.
Edition:None - unreleased

#12 From the Vaults of W.A.R.

Do you remember the Uruk Hai / Lousberg split release, reviewed back on Honour and Darkness on 23 December last?  That made reference to this very item, noting:

"It's not the first time that Lousberg have come to the attention of Honour and Darkness.  The band were supposed to have been on the other side of a split release with Hrefnesholt about 4 or 5 years ago - the split tape "Unruahnocht / Lousberg" - which never actually came to fruition." 

Well, this is the cover artwork for the demo that never was.  As you can see as plainly as Nazgul can, it was clearly advanced to the point that the Wulfrune Worxx label had allocated it a catalogue reference (WW116) and was supposed to be part of that label's Split Series in an edition of 66 copies.  Beyond that, not much is known, significantly about what the proposed track listing was to have been.  It may be that the Lousberg songs were the same ones as appeared subsequently with Uruk Hai.

It's also reasonable to suppose that the Hrefnesholt tracks would have been of the period around their "Uraungst", as the song 'Unruanocht' was the sixth song on that release, later to be found on the "Trostlos" box-set.

Nazgul rather likes the artwork for the Hrefnesholt side of the split, simplistic as it is: you can't beat the sight of the moon part covered by scudding clouds to quicken the pulse.

Oh - and about that odd title?  Apparently, according to our source of knowledge in deepest Austria, 'Unruanocht' broadly translates as 'Unsilent Night / Night where something evil will happen'.

File under: 'what might have been'.

CROSSING THE BORDERS [V/A]

June 20, 2014, 6:00 am

≫ Next: EISMOND interview in Fatal Underground #42

≪ Previous: UNRUAHNOCHT

$

0

0

Band: URUK HAI
Title: Crossing The Borders [V/A]
Format: An online compilation available to purchase through Amazon and iTunes
Edition:Unlimited download

Track Listing:
01. EPICA  *  Mother of Light  5:56  
02. ORPHEUS OMEGA  *  The Deconstruct  4:03  
03.  TURNING THE TIDES  *  Re Growth  4:15  
04.  OPTIC PERCEPTION  *  Doom  6:40  
05.  BRUTAL HOMICIDE  *  No Remorse, No Redemption  4:00    
06.  GREEN ARMY  *  Psycho Maniac  3:20  
07.  STAKATO  *  Yang  7:00  
08.  ARCH ANGEL  *  Annihilation  5:43    
09.  ABANDONED WORLD  *  Madness From Within  3:30  
10.  THE END  *  Across the Ocean  5:40  
11.  A SHIPMENT TO SPAIN  *  Known As David  2:51  
12.  URUK HAI *  Far Away   6:00  
13.  OBSCENE OPTIONAL  *  Siblings  3:47  
14.  APONTOKATION  *  Human Chaos  3:32    
15.  GURTHANG  *  My Darkest Corridor  7:26    
16.  SCARS OF TOMORROW  *  The Last Supper  2:30  
17.  COSHISH  *  Raastey   4:46  
02.  BRIGHTHAVEN  *  I'm Not Like You  3:08
03.  SUICIDE SEASON  *  The Liberation War 71  3:45  
04.  GODSIRE  *  The Crossed Out God  4:06
05.  SACRILEGIOUS  *  The G.O.D God of Defile  3:56  
06.  DOMINANT APPREHENSION  *  Omonushotto   4:17
07.  BRIANA  *  Dream Catcher   6:14  
08.  ABSENTIA  *  Not Alone  3:40    
09.  CONFUZONE  *  Chaotic Fusion  4:06  
10.  ZENITH  *  Gospel for Nimokharam  4:24  
11.  RINGBEARER  *  The Road that Leads Us  5:59  
12.  CHAINSAW  *  Juddher Golpo 2013    5:32  
13.  ROMAN SACRIFICE  *  Nishtha   4:45  
14.  RAGING INTO SLUT  *  Crime Against Humanity   1:52  
15.  NIBURU  *  Infested Virgin  11:37  
16.  AGGRONYMPH  *  Aadhar   5:02  

Like buses, Nazgul's posts come thick and fast after long periods without any to be seen. Or, somewhat more cruelly, in fallow periods they come along as frequently as England wins in World Cup tournaments....

Here's another for Uruk Hai related activity, this time to promote something new and only available since 30 May 2014.  Called "Crossing The Borders (An international band compilation by Tazwar Hossain)" it's a download-only one man labour of love venture by the look of it, containing an interesting range of genres and material.  It's truly international too, as the subtitle implies, as it features bands from all sorts of improbable places: No less than 11 from Bangladesh plus others from Mexico, Sweden, Singapore, India, Canada, Germany, Australia and - most unusually - Nepal (being Raging Into Slut, allegedly the Dalai Lama's favourite band).

You can check out the purpose and history behind this self-proclaimed 'biggest international underground band compilation ever' through Tazwar's Facebook page

As an online compilation the songs themselves are for sale via iTunes and Amazon, and features Hugin's pet project amidst a horde of other thrashing, banging and general walloping.  Inspired to commit a song to the project after being approached on Facebook, the Uruk Hai track in question is 'Far Away' and was the second track on the 2013 magnum opus "...And All The Magic And Might He Brought".  If you've forgotten what this epic sounds like, point your browser towards the featured Youtube clip and enjoy it all over again!  

Looking at the Amazon page was a source of much mirth for Nazgul's childish sense of humour.  Clearly there has been a mistake in linking old reviews of completely different releases to this particular page, as evidenced through one such review from User rainsong_1643 heaping praise (apparently) on the compilation, concluding:  "I LOVE this album. I originally bought it for bellydance purposes, as it has my favourite dance song ever. but I find myself listening to it all the time, it's an eclectic mix of ethnic sounds with a modern edge. I highly recommend this album to anyone, it's a great listen."  Belly dancing to the likes of Brutal Homicide - alas, if only....!

Prices per song work out as cheap as chips, so even though you doubtless have the Uruk Hai song tucked away in your private stash of all things Hugin there's no harm in downloading another copy, as one hopes that a modest amount of revenue might be shunted Hugin's away as a result.  Alternatively, you could have a little dip into the rest of the material to see what might tickle your fancy.  Will there be physical pressing of this compilation?  Stranger things have been known, and although no news on that front as yet keep watching those borders....

EISMOND interview in Fatal Underground #42

June 21, 2014, 2:21 am

≫ Next: DER PFAD ZUM TOR DE TOTEN - update II

≪ Previous: CROSSING THE BORDERS [V/A]

$

0

0

Band:EISMOND
What's this then? An Interview with Eismond for FATAL UNDERGROUND Fanzine, Issue #42

With apologies for taking short cuts when Google Translation couldn't assist in taking the German language original to anything remotely understandable in English, here is an interview in the German zine Fatal Underground featuring both members of the Eismond project.  It's been out for sale for a few weeks, but you can still grab a copy for a very modest amount to enjoy all 120 A5 pages of blood-soaked carnage.

Hails Alex . Nice that you found the time to give me a few words. Your musical project has the name 'Ice Moon' . How did you get the idea to use this name as a band name?
Alex: I found that this name alone already sounds very spherical and an extremely good fit for the project - I imagined a frozen landscape drenched in the blue of the moonlight.  When the first song ('Ice Moon') was written I had no name for this project, but this track and  these images of an icy landscape led to the band name Eismond being born.

What is the idea behind the project as you are presenting them to us here?
Alex: The idea was/is to combine music with ambient Black Metal and other sounds and create a somewhat spacey atmosphere. Dark Space Ambient Black Metal, if you like!  A soundtrack for a ride through space :-)

Eismond is now a two-man project: maybe you should introduce yourselves?!
Alex: Since 1984 I  have been working in various bands with perhaps Uruk-Hai being the most famous.  I am still working with Hrefnesholt, COI, WACH, Hrossharsgrani, Bonemachine (B-Machina), Manwe , Elisabetha, Solid Grey ... a lot of fun things to do!  I was born in 1969 in the Steel city of Linz in Austria where I still live now .

Jaron: I am also a musician from Vancouver, Canada, active in my solo projects Ringbearer , Almuric , Funeral Fornication and also as a bass player in the Technical Death Metal band Archspire.  Additionally, I was front man of symphonic black metal band Artep. I play 5 instruments and I was very excited when Alex asked me to work with him in the Eismond project since I've long been a big fan of Uruk Hai!

Will the band permanently remain a double-act or are there plans to change this situation?
Alex: I do not think that in the near future anything will change - Jaron and I are currently working on a new Eismond track. But who knows what the future will bring us , we are open to anything!

Since the start of the project in 2010 you already boast a truly remarkable bunch of releases! "Demo 1" 1st edition tape (ltd. 99), "Demo 1" 2nd edition tape (ltd. 99), "Behind The Moon We Are looking Into The Distance" CD (ltd. 200), a split CDr with Dysonsphere (ltd. 20) and now sold out , "As We Hide The Moon" digipak CD ( ltd. 500 ), "Another Moon" split with Noldor CDr out soon, "Are There Dragons Behind The Moon" tape ( ltd. 44 ) also sold out ! 

You must still have an immensely creative streak that you can offer so much to new musical material?
Alex: In 2010 we had the first demo tape "Demo 1" which consisted of a long ambient track and came out at Wulfrune Worxx and also at the same time at Depressive Illusions Records. This demo was reissued on CD in 2012 via Kristallblut Records, revised with other instrumentation plus 2 other tracks. 

In 2012 there was also the Split CDr with Dysonsphere where we contributed two tracks. Regarding the "Another Moon" with Noldor we wanted to have nothing to do with that band due to their right-wing leanings: the songs from this split we used for a split with the German ambient project Karg, which appeared as a CDr in 2013 on Ash Spring Records. On our debut album "As We Hide The Moon" (again on Kristallblut Records) we worked with Jaron's great vocals for the first time!  Both our lives consists mainly of music and we work almost daily on new songs so the productivity is not as crazy as it may seem :-)

A conspicuous feature of your releases for me is that some were released as tapes. What makes you a fan of the cassette and how does this sit with your fan base?  Would it not be appropriate and inevitable to publish your music as a cool vinyl release?
Alex: Yes, cassettes still have for us a very special appeal, we are probably going to bring out a few tapes again as there are still quite a few unreleased demos and first takes of Eismond songs which want to see the light of the world :-)  Vinyl would of course be A1 and we are always looking to find a good label for an LP version of our releases, but we also know the vinyl productions are not exactly cheap. So: if any label is interested - we are ready :-)  I can certainly imagine "As We Hide The Moon" looking very, very good as a 12" gatefold LP with the artwork and blue vinyl, man, yes that would fit perfectly!

Judging by the band name one might have expected more icy and ominous sounds. To my ears, this does happen but everything sounds quite 'warm' , soulful and contemplative.  This consistently makes a damn strong , almost comforting atmosphere. This makes for a pretty stark contrast from the band name and the offered material!
Alex: Strange - I find the song really cold and clear, For me is brings to mind infinity, where the universe is somehow a kind of journey in space . But I have heard exactly your words from other people.  Maybe this helps create the appeal: moving between worlds, between icy cold and toasty warm, a balancing act if you will.

You even call this style 'space ambient atmospheric black metal' and whilst I think this term applies quite well,  you have admit that the proportion of black metal elements are quite marginal. Furthermore, I would but even mention various slight psychedelic and progressive influences.  What does it mean to you, and what is the ideology behind it all?
Alex: The black metal content in Eismond songs should always be in the background, as it were.  We like it that way because this "background noise" called black metal makes up the atmosphere in our music . We do use guitars sounds to create this psychedelic effect, there are a lot of little gimmicks in the songs that emphasise this effect. The ideology behind our project is to mix the 70's psych sounds with the ambient and black metal sounds of today to create something completely different.

What bands have influenced you here? I would say Pink Floyd in particular?
Alex: It was during the recording of "Behind The Moon ... " that I realised that somehow I was moving toward a Pink Floyd sound.  I've since added the guitar sounded which enhances this, and what we had we really liked!  Another original influence was Vinterriket.

What makes a 'typical' Eismond song? What are the criteria for a piece to be published under the Eismond name?
Alex: That is very simple: Keyboard and a hypnotic drum rhythm . That said, the insertion of the 'icy' guitars in the background and all the little sound tinkering gradually turns the songs towards the psych sound. There are songs we have discarded because they were just bad:  every day is different and sometimes writing music does not come easily and the work of an entire day can be for naught. It is not always easy since I in Austria working on my part of the song and Jaron is at home in Canada ... there is an endless cycle of file uploading and downloading until we get to a good result , and we chat in between for hours to develop a common musical denominator  :-)

Does the music of Eismond even hold something like a spiritual value?
Alex: You'll laugh, but yes I use this music in demo form (without guitar & F/X, only the keyboard layers of Eismond) to meditate.  Spirituality in my life has a great importance and none of my projects would probably exist without my spiritual side existing.

So would you say that composing and recording music is a form of spiritual process for you?
Alex: I would say yes , as when I make music it transports me into another world and I can disappear there for hours - it is clearly a spiritual realm. I think everyone who works intensively with music , whether listening or making , are immersed in a spiritual world and can relate to this, especially in the metal genre.

In contrast to all of your other musical projects are you working on, Eismond songs have a lot of singing. How important to you now is this particular project, given this development?
Alex: In "As We Hide The Moon" we have used Jaron's voice for the first time as an additional tool. It was a big step for us and for Eismond!  If we have a second album it will be with 100% confidence that we once again enhance it with singing. The singing is very important as Jaron conveys somehow the personal element of music, distinct from the mechanical part and sterility.

The lyrical content of your songs is heavily based on the nature, especially the mountains. How or where do you draw your ideas to create new songs?
Jaron: My way of writing the lyrics go a little bit away from the 'normal' path as they very long. When Alex sent me the songs he told me the vocals should be, if possible, in a black metal style.  I tried it ... and musically it just didn't sound right. What you can hear now is what I transformed it into with my own touch. So I needed text which could match Eismond's musical style and which could express the coldness in the music.  Well, first because of the length of the tracks I ordered the guitar parts to be able to filter out parts of the song better where I could then insert the lyrics. 

The only song influenced by external lyrics is "Name Of The Wind", where the text comes from the book of the same name that I had just been reading, which I thought would fit wonderfully on this album. The other 3 songs are all very similar since they all tell of a journey. "The Wind Shakes The Grass " is a journey into the wilderness , and the evolution which results from the sense and nonsense. " The Gilded Mountain" is about experiencing a physical journey to a cold, lonely place on the way to abandonment. "Stepping Beyond" is about the evolution of people into something else forever ... the next step when the small existing element of mankind acknowledges that problems no longer exist and their inner eye to the true universe opens.

How would you express visually what you have recorded musically on "As We Hide The Moon"?
Alex: A little spaceship floats through the cold of space and the pilot is alone only with his thoughts as he travels from planet to planet, just the sound of the craft and his own breathing can be heard, onward for years to come. As he flies in a kind of fog his mind is merging with the universe and his thoughts join with a collective of millions of other thoughts . Has he now found God or is he just a prisoner  ....

In our society,  the musical field is flooded and it is not really easy to stand out from the crowd.  However, I do think that you have managed this with Eismond.  Do you worry that your musical work is not at all great and ultimately as a musician and as a label owner you don't achieve success or sales?
Alex : Because I do not look at it as my job - more as a special hobby - I am happy to invest whatever time or money is necessary!  Of course it would be great if the albums also sell well , as that would help a lot - but as it is it's good I think!

Can I ask about the reactions to the release so far and whether all the effort was really worth it?
Alex: Responses to "As We Hide The Moon" were really great, we did not expect so much positive feedback! Whether the effort is rewarding will have to be seen: in once sense sales will never amount to very much and will barely cover the costs of production, but it was worth for us as we are more than satisfied with the album!

Eismond is not the only one of your bands with which you have taken slightly different musical paths recently. Is Eismond now a kind of catch-all for ideas, that you could not incorporate into your other bands/projects?
Alex: Possibly, yes, there are pleasing sounds to me in this project which would simply not fit to my other projects. A catch-all for ideas sounds good, actually all my projects are a pool of my ideas but each goes in a different direction, I always want to show the differences clearly !

Is there a chance that you can even see Eismond perfoming live? If so, will it also give a chance for visual treats in addition to the music?
Alex: Clearly no - the distance between Canada and Austria is just too large ....

Before we get to the end, you should also tell the folks a little bit about your other music projects and, of course, also tell us about your label!
Alex: I have my own little label : WAR Productions, which has just released a blues album by Trevor Sewell. Yes, blues! I cover everything at W.A.R. Productions which I personally really like, so from black metal to melodic rock to blues and even ambient and industrial genres.  In January Joe Matera's album "Terra Firma" was released, an Australian melodic rock guitarist and a review should be in this issue :-)   My number one project, however, is Uruk Hai where I can live out my love for fantasy.  The new album "... And All The Magic & Might He Brought ... " also just came out on my label as a limited edition digipak!  

Furthermore I work with Piette of Dead Man's Hill in the project Solid Grey. With Rich Davenport  I have the project Manwe  ('Epic Metal') though unfortunately we really do not often get a chance to record and thus there are only 2 tracks from this project, both on compilation CD's!  There are still other projects I'm working on though:  Hrefnesholt ('Doom Folk'), Bonemachine (Industrial), Ceremony Of Innocence ('Dream Pop'), Elisabetha (vampyric avant-garde) , and WACH a project that I run jointly with Chris Huber, in which we try very dark ambient with great sound quality to make it worth a listen :-)

I think I have taken more than enough of your time. As a busy musician you have much more important and better things to do than spend hours toiling with answering questions!
Alex: 'Bye and thanks for your previous reviews and tireless support!

---

DER PFAD ZUM TOR DE TOTEN - update II

June 30, 2014, 8:02 am

≫ Next: EMYN MUIL - update

≪ Previous: EISMOND interview in Fatal Underground #42

$

0

0

Band:HROSSHARSGRANI
Title: Der Pfed Zum Tor Der Toten
Reason for second update: Copies of the CDr in its original packaging obtained!

Track Listing:
1. Der Pfad Zum Tor Der Toten 15.10
2. Schönheit Gibt Es Nur Im Kampf 7.40
3. Schwerter & Äxte 10.10
4. Heimfahrt Nach Hördaland 6.10
5. Barbarenblut 5.02
6. Bußfertigkeit 11.21

Back in the mists of time, those halcyon when Nazgul used to have opportunity to post updates to Honour and Darkness a dozen times a month or more, this Hrossharsgrani demo was first reviewed:  Stardate - 23 April 2009, and the review focused on the CDr pressing of the release as the uber-rare tape version (of 33 copies) had not been found at that time.  And, indeed, that's still sadly the case as the original cassette has yet to be added to Nazgul's horde though the reissue on Wulfrune Worxx was reviewed on 24 June 2011.  However, two additions to the collection meriting this update coincidentally occurred within a few short weeks of each other about a year ago, and here's the tale...

Were you to look back at the 2009 review you'd see that the last paragraph contained the sentence: "Stop Press!! I also recently discovered that the original CDr release came in a coloured jewel-case and had a rusty nail enclosed as a gimmick." Nazgul's copy - #7 of the 200, did not have a nail and was not in a coloured case, as it came via an online auction site and presumably the original owner had replaced the case at some point in the past.

Many years of looking around yielded no joy in finding a complete original, and so Hugin very kindly made his personal #1 copy in a red case available to Nazgul, complete with an original and very rusty nail, and this was welcomed into the fold like the prodigal son returning home. 

By strange coincidence, however, within a few weeks of that occurring another copy came up for sale online (#17) and was also complete with (very rusty) nail, so Nazgul in classic OCD mode added this to his treasure trove too.  It arrived in a completely shattered blue jewel-case (thank you postal courier!) which was sadly too far gone to be salvaged, so the hunt is now on for a similar light blue case to rehouse it in.  

Issue #17/200

In conversation with Hugin it turns out that there were a variety of coloured cases used for the original release, including yellow and green as well as the red and blue already identified.  Now the hunt is on to collect all hues of this long deleted release as Nazgul attempts to expand his stock of "Der Pfed..." and increase his holding beyond the 1.5% of the total global stock currently housed in the Castle Library!

3 of the 200 copies all safe and snug in Castle Nazgul!

EMYN MUIL - update

July 5, 2014, 8:56 am

≫ Next: THE GREAT UNKNOWN

≪ Previous: DER PFAD ZUM TOR DE TOTEN - update II

$

0

0

Band:URUK HAI
Title: Emyn Muil
Format: C90 style tape in pro-printed colour cover, released on the Tryby label (Poland) in 2012, catalogue reference 19/2012.
Edition:25 hand-numbered copies
Reason for update: Cassette version of the previously CD-only release

Just a quick one today (as the actress infamously said to the bishop), as Nazgul features the cassette tape version of Uruk Hai's "Emyn Muil" release.

The original CD of this demo was released by the Steel Blazes label in November 2011 and garnered a positive review here on the blog.

This - the tape version - bears the same striking artwork but was released by the Tryby label the following year.  The track listing is the same, with 'Emyn Muil' [37.05] on side 1, and 'At the End of the First Age' [29.03] on the reverse.

Neither song is unique to this particular demo so the chances are you've acquired one or the other over the years anyway, and given the limitation on this tape release is a fleeting 25 copies only you've probably missed the boat by now if you wanted to put this specific format into your collection.

That said, it's tidily produced by Tryby and certainly looks a quality product so would be worth a little effort to track one down.  You could always drop them a note at trybylabel@gmail.com and tell them Nazgul sent you....

The Emyn Muil family

THE GREAT UNKNOWN

July 10, 2014, 6:48 am

≫ Next: HROSSHARSGRANI > Metal Message interview 2003

≪ Previous: EMYN MUIL - update

$

0

0

Band:URUK HAI
Title: The Great Unknown
Format: Previously unseen cover artwork for a proposed Uruk Hai album that was never released.
Edition:None - unreleased

Proposed Track Listing:
01. Into The Great Unknown
02. Lay Of Leithian
03. May It Be
04. Gates Of Summer
05. Enter Mordor
06. Beneath The Moon, Beneath The Sun
07. Einsam In Dunklen Waeldern
08. Morgoth

#13 From the Vaults of W.A.R.

Another one of those 'nearly' releases from the ever fruitful mind of Hugin, hidden away for aeons but now released from its bondage and being shared with you - honoured Blog reader.

So the back story is fairly straightforward on this one: a demo of songs circa 2006 was being compiled by Hugin for release under the Uruk Hai banner.  The songs selected - shown above - were duly sifted and sorted for final release until, with a characteristic last minute change of plan, the proposed release "The Great Unknown" morphed into the well received "Lothlorien" release instead.  As such, "The Great Unknown" concept was shelved and the draft artwork filed away in the voluminous vaults of W.A.R. Productions.  Until now....!

Most of the proposed track listing from "The Great Unknown" did make it onto the Lothlorien release but there are some differences and changes to the running order on the final version.  Let's quickly run through them for the sake of completeness:

• Into The Great Unknown - didn't appear on the final Lothlerien album but did get utilised as track 4 on the split release "United"
• Lay Of Leithian - retained, and became track 4 on the Lothlorien CD release
• May It Be - retained, and became track 8 on the Lothlorien release (and track 10 on the tape version!)
• Gates Of Summer - retained, and became track 9 on the Lothlorien CD release
• Enter Mordor - retained, becoming track 2 on the Lothlorien CD release
• Beneath The Moon, Beneath The Sun - whilst not appearing on the CD version, this was the final track 9 on the original cassette release of the album
• Einsam In Dunklen Waeldern - not used on the final Lothlorien release, but appeared instead on the "Valkyrian Romance" demo
• Morgoth - not used on the final Lothlorien release.  May or may not have been the same lengthy epic that became part of the "Orkstahl" and "Morgoth" releases

The "Lothlorien" CD pressing also added the introductory track 'The White Trees Of Minas Ithil' and, on the tape version, added three additional bonus songs in 'Precious', 'Umbar', and 'Blood Of Stone'.  More tracks again were added on the 4 x 3" CDr reissue of 2012 on the Tryby label, but we digress.

The artwork for the release will look familiar as it was reused on subsequent Uruk Hai demos - well, why would you waste the effort you've made in creating it?! 

Proposed CD artwork

HROSSHARSGRANI > Metal Message interview 2003

July 31, 2014, 10:44 am

≫ Next: CITY LIGHTS

≪ Previous: THE GREAT UNKNOWN

$

0

0

Band:HROSSHARSGRANI
Item: An interview with Hugin on 25th March 2003 by Markus Eck for German online 'zine Metal Message

Over the years a number of interviews with Hugin have come to light, either lurking in shadowy corners of the online universe or written in obscure underground zines.  Surprisingly, at least to Nazgul, this 2003 Hrossharsgrani interview in Metal Message had managed to slip under the Honour and Darkness radar.  

Accompanied by some classic photos of the time, the content is a mixture of things commonly reported in such interviews together with other, more unique and interesting snippets.  Well worth a look through, as it dates from the brief period where Hrossharsgrani were a trio which including the 2 additional members from CCP Records members.  Not a period often subject to close examination nowadays!  As always, Nazgul takes limited responsibility for oddly translated passages from the original German....!

Brought to life in unholy fashion and ravageded by blizzards and ice storms in the Wolf Winter 1998 Anno Bastardi were some demo recordings from these ambient Austrian Middle-earth musicians. In the dark fate in 2000 they finally released their official debut album, the EP "... Of Battles, Ravens And Fire".

A year later the successor "The Secret Fire" established Hrossharsgrani's Tolkien-based anthems further into the dark ambient and fantasy scene, which gratefully took the superficial radio play and monumental soundtrack-like productions of these three Austrians into a previously unheard sound phenomenon. This extraordinary debut was an atmospheric tribute to J.R.R. Tolkien and his famous Ring trilogy. Now their new sound spectacular "Schattenkrieger" (Shadow Warrior) is released.

When Hugin learned (in a roundabout way) that I am a follower of the dark trio, he made an exception for me and sat down with me for many hours around the crackling campfire to do this interview.

"Hrossharsgrani was founded by me. The first age and glorious stories of the following eras started at this point: In 1998, the battle-machine Hrossharsgrani formed for the first strike.  After a few first rehearsals the first real demo (CDR/200 pieces + MC/33 pieces) "The Path to the Gate of the Dead" was published, and celebrated rough, primitive Barbarian Black Metal .  The front cover was painted by Nick Resch especially for these recordings. In the coloured jewel-case a rusty nail was included as a gimmick!  The cassette version included three bonus tracks. It was followed by the tape `From The Dark Ages'. This limited edition of 250 pieces is a compilation from various rehearsals around 1999, released as a split release between Ered Gorgoroth Productions and Nox Infandus Records.

After a few moments of silence, his haggard lips spoke again: "Between December 1999 and January 2000, I went back into the studio to the successor demo`Ancient Tales' (on CDr + tape). This time it was a concept album about Norse mythology, and over 74 minutes of raw Viking Black Metal was presented. Accompanied by many acoustic effects and battle/nature sounds it told of the glory days of the Vikings. The CD layout explored medieval images on which the Valkyries were shown, and an A4 poster was included in the booklet, in a limited edition on CDr of 300 pieces. 

The tape version also contained the four bonus tracks. The poster from the CD release graced the cover of the limited edition tape (100 copies). The CDr was released in March 2000, the tape in May 2000. There was also a limited edition (20 copies) CDr version with the bonus outro `Weltenbrand` (a different version to the tape release) including a specially signed inlay card. Between the demos were `Blut` (CDR; 9 copies), `Sagen & Gedichte ` (CDR; 10 pieces), and `In The Mystic Forest '(MC; 300 pieces). 

In the first age of our musical work, the worlds of dark ambient music told of beings who wandered through the night, the undead vampires. It was a tribute to the bloody heritage of Lord Byron and Bram Stoker. `The Path to the Gate of the Dead 'and' Ancient Tales' simultaneously formed the conclusion of the first age." 

Very release-happy then, this guy Hugin!  At the start of 2000, another major step in Hugin's story:

"So the halls of the CCP studios spawned the debut mCD/LP '... Of Battles, Ravens And Fire' with battles and choirs, leading the listener through a bygone era full of myths and legends. The cover of the mCD depicts the 'Ride of the Valkyries'. The cover of the limited edition (300 pieces) picture-disc vinyl version (split with Mittvinter) is decorated with a dragon breathing fire. Both motifs depict the music of the debut. The 2001 successor 'The Secret Fire' established Hrossharsgrani's hymns on the scene. Fylgja, Munin and I put this work the foundation for a new era. A musical journey so far from the well-trodden and widely beaten paths of heavy-metal formed the basis for a deal with the CCP label."

Listening patiently, I could also elicit below that Hugin's taste in music is broad. Hugin spoke: "Anything from Black Metal to industrial electronic sounds can inspire my music actually. Currently my soul is in the Pagan Black Metal described, which you bring back to life for me with this glorious time of the sword. My passion actually began in 1988 when Bathory's "Blood Fire Death" appeared on Under One Flag Records. When I held this gatefold LP in my hands for the first time and listened to the powerful pagan hymns, I knew that sound would accompany me to - and beyond - my grave. This album was the cornerstone of the Pagan Black Metal, and influenced an army of other bands, which paid tribute to this legend. 

Making an important connection to Pagan Black Metal is, of course, why the music has a proportion of folk passages. I am a great admirer of medieval or war-like folk music as it creates a terrific sound. But as mentioned, I'm not adverse to experimental soundscapes too: however, these must be very threatening and gloomy! Older albums from Ljubljana or Melek Tha and Eupraxia are my favourites. 

I also identify with 'True Metal' like the Austrians Angry Angels (who celebrate it perfectly) through to dark ambient art of Mortiis.  Otherwise: check out Bathory "Twilight Of The Gods", the Conan soundtrack, Venom "Welcome To Hell",  Saxon "Power And The Glory", Running Wild "Gates To Purgatory", Judas Iscariot "Distant In Solitary Night", Summoning "Dol Guldur", Vinterriket , Ozzy Osbourne "Blizzard Of Oz", Manowar "Battle Hymns", Juvenes "Riddle Of Steel", Pink Floyd "Dark Side Of The Moon" and a few hundred such acts. But soundtrack albums can make my dark heart beat faster. 

This digression into his listening habits led Hugin into discussing his passion for the cinema:

"We have the first two parts of the [Lord of the Rings] trilogy and I like them very much. Every detail has been taken into account, so that the entire work accurately reflects the world of Middle Earth. That fictional characters like Tom Bombardil have not been drawn in the film is, as I understand it, because they do not necessarily contribute to the overall sense of the story. Furthermore, I found the landscapes of Middle-earth New Zealand suitably grandiose, and this alone justifies every second of the film. I look from time to time into Tolkien's books and the Tolkien illustrators such as John Hove and Allen Howard draw me in.  The soundtrack by Howard Shore is inspiring, by those same soundtrack I got into the music of Enya, whichis very spiritual and has become indispensable for certain times in my life. "

Hugin equally can to identify with several fictional characters from the trilogy: "The lust for flesh probably makes me the same as the orcs!  In the desire to fight, I'm possibly a Uruk-Hai. In honour I would actually be an elf - but at the end of the day I am a human being in all I do."

The creative musical cohesion Hrossharsgrani has made over the years has also established cohesive fighters for their own cause: "Two of my closest allies are Fylgja and Munin, who came to Hrossharsgrani in 2000 and strengthened our combat readiness!  It was not necessarily looking for people to join the project and it was more a natural course of events, which welded us together after years of close friendship. Each of us has long been active in the field of Metal; only the type of metal that we indulged in was different. 

And it is precisely this mix of different genres and also the use of foreign elements which ​​ultimately made the sound of Hrossharsgrani. We had never before spent so much time together, and due to the long time in the CCP studio and rehearsal room together to record the new album "Shadow Warrior" our friendship became even stronger.  We meet two to three times a week to discuss new ideas or just to hang out."

I chatted to Hugin about his current artistic view of the debut album. Interestingly, he said to me: 

"'... Of Battles, Ravens And Fire' was first intended as a demo, it was recorded in a single day in the CCP Studio. Still, I find it quite successful from an artistic point of view, as it entered new musical territory and thus paved the way for our kind of sound. Just half a year after the recordings I came to make a deal with CCP Records. As I have previously never thought of a full label release - I wanted to release this EP as a split CD with the German Viking Black Metal band Nachtfalke initially. But, of course, as soon as I got offered the deal of CCP was it for me as a springboard into another dimension, a world of which I had not dared to dream. And because it has always been very original music, it brought Hrossharsgrani good attention."

And Hrossharsgrani will also finally give us - even if being planned for the distant future - a live gig: "We have one (epic) song writing specially for this concert, which just this once will be performed live. There will be a true battle on stage. Blood, swords and axes will put the hall in ruins! There will be no prisoners!"

Then we came to speak of the Hrossharsgrani logo:

"The band logo came from my then-girlfriend Heidi Bagar, which also designed the logo or cover for a few other bands. Our logo has remained the same all these years, only a shadow was added to give more emphasis to the logo following the release of the latest album."

Hugin records many musical influences: "In the first place there are soundtracks á la 'Gladiator' or the mighty sound of Rammstein, and also the use of classical elements. Otherwise, there really are no special effects, since we're always trying to make our own way, far from the cliched and beaten path of 'Metal'.  One thing is certain: the new album is a typical Hrossharsgrani album.  We added sounds from various sample CD's together, laid traces of a variety of sound over each other and even added a sounds of our own devision. Thus, was the atmospheric background to "Shadow Warrior" made. Anyone who can lead you to another world full of myths, battles, courage, honour, and power, and not want to do without the epic of Metals is advised to delve into the world Hrossharsgrani"

Then Linz's premier Tolkien admirer gave me notice about the importance of the new album title:

"As you've already noticed right at the beginning of our dialogue, "Shadow Warrior" relates in principle to Tolkien's 'The Lord Of The Rings'. However, one difference to other Tolkien bands is that the story is loosely based on the master's work - sure, it's the world of Middle-earth with all its creatures and lands, but told from the perspective of an outsider - specifically, from my perspective. The 'Shadow Warrior' represents the Nazgul [Editors note: Yaay!!], sad beings from the dark ruler with only one purpose left in their shadow lives to hunt for the One Ring. The text of the title song is written ambiguously, so it makes good sense outside of Middle-earth too. For me the image means exactly what it says for our music -  shadows, darkness, mysticism, horror, warriors, battles, glory and honour."

The current album cover is typically Hugin: a photo collage of various relics of Nordic antiquity.

"The idea and the photos were mine, put together by Munin. The cover of the limited edition digipak version is a little different than that of the jewel case version and is limited to 1,000 pieces; the procedure for the design was the same. As both shield and helmet are listed on the cover, this clarifies the martial aspect of the music on the album!"

The work on the new album lasted from October 2001 to November 2002, the whole creative process only ending with the completion of the work. It was therefore the longest time so far creating a Hrossharsgrani recording.  Hugin looks back:

"The largest share of the music on the current album came from Munin, who sat night after night while composing. He devoted almost all his free time to the creation of new Hrossharsgrani songs. As it extended over such a long period, the compositions spanned nearly every state of mind. Most of the new tracks were written after midnight. Where everywhere else this is a time of calm, for Munin this was the time of the fight!  It was mostly positive, there was a tense atmosphere in which you could often hear a pin drop. The lyrics for "Shadow Warrior" all come from my pen, but I took the ideas of my companions too, which is also why the overall concept works very well. I usually tried to think of lyrics whilst running through the wonderful forests near my home, before sitting down and hammering away at my computer. After a few days later I decided whether the text is best used with the samples or alone."

As already mentioned in my album review of the new album, I'm unfortunately not satisfied with the implementation of the spoken passages on this album. To get it perfect would have required a lot more vocal charisma and linguistic devotion. However, Hugin promised me: "Unfortunately, we have spent such a long time with the entire recording, but only a single afternoon with the radio play passages. This defect we will not make again on the next album as we will make the radio plays separately and not as part of the music recording. "

However, I am also very excited. Because in my opinion Hrossharsgrani is something unique that does not exist anywhere else in the Metal world. Hugin agrees with me here conclusively: "Thank you for this statement. As already mentioned, we always try to enter new territories and yet remain faithful to our belief.  Beauty exists only in struggle!"

CITY LIGHTS

August 13, 2014, 7:04 am

≫ Next: ABLAZE VOL. 8 [V/A]

≪ Previous: HROSSHARSGRANI > Metal Message interview 2003

$

0

0

Band: CEREMONY OF INNOCENCE
Title: City Lights
Format: CDr released with A4 colour covers and art card inserts by Catgirl Records (Germany) in December 2013, cat ref NIGHT #005.  CD and inserts are held within a clear plastic envelope.
Edition:20 hand numbered copies only

Track Listing:
01. Meisterstück  3.48
02. Double Lives and Second Chances  6.54

Yes, alright, it's been a while since a new post from Nazgul popped up in your life/browser again, and for that I'm very sorry.  Or perhaps you were enjoying the break from the relentless cataloguing of Hugin's many and various works....?!   In any event, time has been found to update Honour and Darkness once again, and today's offering is the "City Lights" release from occasional project Ceremony Of Innocence.

Released in what now appears to be the trademark format for Catgirl Records releases, this is a two song CD EP with a nicely presented set of colour inlays and a distinctive sound that further develops the evolving COI project.  Nazgul's copy is #7 of the 20, so the handy Manga-style card insert informs me.

Happily, there's no need to guess our way through the lyrics or intentions behind either song as Hugin's co-conspirator Nick Diak has provided a 'bells and whistles' commentary of the meanings and influences behind both pieces on the COI web-site.  This makes Nazgul's life infinitely easier in that regard, so let's wade straight in, starting with....

Meisterstück

"It's tipped in gold
A luxury I must afford
Unsure what the next passage might be
The Edelweiss guides me

Typography or topography
Whichever the case may be
Cross the Is and dot the Ts
The Edelweiss guides me

A floral scent
And ink well spent
Triumphant: I beam
The Edelweiss guides me"

Nick notes: 'This is the 7th song composed, completed on September, Friday 13th 2013. The bulk of the lyrics was actually completed on an airplane ride from Seattle to Orange two days earlier. Being trapped on an airplane for over 2 hours you look for ways to pass the time and get over your aerophobia, and these lyrics are the result. I was also in haste to record these lyrics as soon as possible - the night prior I had attended a Death in June concert which also filled me with confidence and some inspiration to keep on trucking with the writing and submitting of lyrics to Alex.

It had been three months since the last Ceremony of Innocence lyrics has been composed ("Double Lives Second Chances") and combined with my obligations on writing a chapter for an upcoming anthology on James Bond and popular culture, I had been hit with a bout of writer's block. This song is actually about the writing process and overcoming writer's block.

In a true subversive fashion that I like to do, at first glance the song doesn't seem to be about writing. The Edelweiss is mostly known for its floral incarnation, and for neofolk fans the title of an amazing Allerseelen album. It's also a decent track by the synthpop group Melotron too. The Edelweiss is associated with the Alps and there is plenty of folklore and neofolk takes on it.

In the case of "Meisterstück", the Edelweiss is actually referring to the logo that adorns MontBlanc pens. Their flag ship pen? The Meisterstück. I actually have a Meisterstück pen myself, and I do wish I used it more often. I am a little sad that this song was composed on the notes applications of an iPhone than with a MontBlanc pen, but the situation cannot be helped.

Going back to the imagery in the song. The guiding Edelweiss is the simple visualisation of looking down while you are writing and seeing the pen cap, which with a MontBlanc would be the Edelweiss. Montblanc pens are known for their luxury status, and many are ornate with gold and precious metals. The next passage is reference the composition of passage after passage.

Verse two is an odd verse, since it combines some nonsense and well as spoonerisms. I see verse two as what every writer goes through in the middle of their work - they know what they want, but how do they get there?  So is the correct word to use typography (which is good to use to describe pens and writing) or topography (which sounds like a mondegreen, but is also apropos in regards to the literal Edelweiss flowers that grow in the Alps). Also, one crosses Ts and dots Is, not the other way around. So is the Edelweiss leading the author astray?

However the third and final verse shows that the literary work is completed. The floral scent is allusion to the flower version of the Edelweiss, but also to the concept of the "sweet smell of success". Much ink has been used in composing, editing, revising, and repeating the process I'd imagine.
 
The title of the song is also a double meaning. While it certainly means the name of the pens used to compose something, it can also refer to the end result - that the composition was also a masterpiece.  Initially when I wrote the song, I had half of each verse repeat itself. So it read "It's tipped in gold / tipped in gold, A luxury I must afford / must afford.. etc". This sounded really good in my head, and I was thinking of the song "Prets Pour La Mort" by Derniere Volonte when composing it this way. However when I went to record it was not executing well, so I omitted the repeating words.

The music proper had been composed by Alex for some time, and he shared the instrumental with me back in June. I remember bursting out laughing at the 70's funk music that permeated the song. It was really fun to listen to it. Alex had suggested a third verse, 4 lines each song could be composed for it. Luckily, this song met the criteria. I think the vocals take on a weird attribute - they start off normally, but get more slow and more distorted. I liken them to being sucked into a vortex of sorts.

So there is a lot of fun and play in this song. It's interesting to see the Ceremony of Innocence project flirt with alot of styles out there, with now funk music being a notch on the bed post. I also think it's interesting in a playful way that I keep on writing neofolk inspired lyrics (at least that is my intent) and seeing them juxtaposed against contradictory styles.'

Yes, that went rather well, even allowing for disturbing references to 70's funk music.  So let's try the same with:

Double Lives and Second Chances

"There's an anthem in the air
And fresh snow on the ground

I've been here before
I've seen her before

She perfumes sophistication
Her elegance shuns bourgeois sentiments

Our other lives link us together
But happenstance keeps us momentarily apart

And in the end, there is no end
For the first time, we will meet again

Double lives
And second chances"

'The 6th song I've composed lyrics for, completed in June 2013', comments Nick Diak. 'The song is an homage to one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Krzysztof Kieslowski, drawing images and symbolism from his movies "Three Colours: Red" and "The Double Life of Veronique", with nods to "Three Colours: Blue", "No End", and "Thee Colours: White". "Three Colours: Red" alternates with Lar Von Trier's "Europa", as my favourite movie, and I felt I should do such an important movie - not just to me, but to film canon period - some sort of additional honour.

The composition of these lyrics was extremely erratic, and had been in the process of being worked on for many weeks. Unlike other songs were I was able to get a broad narrative and then scale it back to fit a song (such as 'The Turk', 'A Sign in Space' and 'Fortuna y Gloria'), I had no such framework. Instead what I did was kept writing phrases, memories, images, feelings, and ideas that related to Kieslowski's movies onto my iPhone. Even if it was just a fleeting, barely workable concept, I jotted it down. My intent was if enough ideas and possible lyrics and images came to me, I would be able to pick and choose, and then re-configure into a song, and that's exactly what I did.

So reading the lyrics, you don't see a narrative like in other songs, but it's still quite visual imagery. In fact I actually had alot of other images that I felt were too blunt that I wound up exercising from the song - lines about sugar cubes absorbing coffee, lines about blue chandeliers and catching buses and trains. However, these lines were too concrete, and were detracting from an ethereal feeling I was getting from the song's lyrics, which turned out to be a blessing since some of Kieslowski's work is quite ethereal.

The anthem is a reference to the composers in "Three Colours: Blue". The snow is a reference to "Three Colours: White".

"I've been here before / I've seen here before" is a broad lyric that touches upon almost all of Kieslowski's work. The relationship between the Judge and Valetine has occured before in the past (between the Judge and his lover) and soon in the future (between the young judge and his cheating girl, and that Valentine will wound up with this young judge, a fate that eluded the older judge). It also could be references to "The Double Life of Veronique" where the 2 women almost meet, but not quite, but are more or less the same person.

The third verse is all about Irene Jacobs and her character in "Three Colours: Red".

"Our other lives link us together.." the other lyrics that touch upon Kieslowski's work. In his movies, we are all connected and eventually paths will cross. "Three Colours: Red" shows this overtly: Valentine practically is neighbours with the young judge, and they share many shots via mise-en-scene, but they never meet until the very end of the movie. Movies inspired by Kieslowski's work, such as "Run Lola Run" also illustrate how connected we are, that our actions butterfly effect through everyone.

"And in the end / there is no end". The line takes words from the title of Kieslowski's movie "No End", but it also shows the cyclical nature of some of his work. The story of the judge is passed on to the young judge for instance. Julie in "Three Colours: Blue" tries to kill her self, but decide not to, and her end doesn't come and instead she has an impact on many other people as shown in the montage at the end of the movie when she is making love with Olivier.

"For the first time we will meet again" another statement in regards to the relationship of Valentine and the young judge. Even though they officially meet for the first time at the end of the movie, the shared mise-en-scene along with the young judge being a proxy for the older judge she has befriended - she has in essence met this new person already.

"Double lives / Second chances" - a statement that sums up all of Kieslowski's work, lifted from the Annette Insdorf book of the same name.
I submitted the lyrics to Alex whom I think was a bit flummoxed by them at first. However he wound up composing some awesome, ritzy music. I can almost see the champagne, bubbles, well dressed women and men with the music, and I think it fits with the lyrics perfectly. Most of the characters on the Kieslowski films of the 90's definitely run in affluent circles, and carry a more dignified aura to them, and I believe Alex's music captured that essence perfectly.'

Nothing like going to the horse's mouth for the most detailed information.  But what do the two songs sound like, you might ask?  After all, the great man himself observed that "it's more like music to chill out to this time – I tried something different on these tracks, and [he notes, with a touch of apparent nervousness] I hope you can enjoy it a bit?"

Firstly, it's worth stating the obvious - these are very different sounding songs from other recordings from Hugin's projects, and as such could come as a bit of a shock to the system for the unwary!  If one could go back in time to 1999 and share this music with the sword-wielding, Viking-influenced Hugin of Hrossharsgrani fame it would be interesting to see his reaction!

The music is definitely funky in places, with a definite '1970s Starsky and Hutch' soundtrack sort of vibe going on, yet at the same time the melodies and the beat carry both compositions away from cliche and into the realm of 'easy listening'.  Nick's vocals - which you will recall are almost feminine in tone - waft above the music in more of a spoken word recital than any actual singing, all of which can on first listening give the impression of listening to a poetry recital whilst standing outside a banging 70's revival disco.  

It's perhaps more of an acquired taste than the more established Uruk Hai sound, or even the genre-stretching noises of side-projects like WACH or B-Machina.  It works best on the second song, as the tempo is a lot more relaxed and it sounds a little like a lounge band at work.  The tempo of track one, conversely, is a little at odds with a spoken piece so sounds a tad incongruous to these ears.

That said, it's entirely inoffensive and the lyrics are intriguing and thought-provoking, so as a way to spend 10 minutes or so of your life you could do far worse.  Would you cross the road to hear the songs again?  The jury's out on that one, at the moment.

Quite where all of this leaves (or leads) the COI project will be interesting to see: one gets the feeling that the limited run of only 20 copies of this little EP suggests there's a degree of testing the water going on still at the moment.  I wonder if all 20 have found a home yet amongst the Hugin faithful, or whether this project is just a step to far to the side for some of the traditional listeners of his wares?  It's the sort of release that you might find popping up on Discogs once in a while for a reasonable price, so well worth checking out should such an occasion arise.  Just leave your expectations and broadswords at the front door on the way in....

A final word in relation to the strange design on the jewel case cover (shown above) - well, there is no final word really as Nazgul has no idea what this is!  A play on "City Lights" possibly (and most likely) or something altogether more profound and cryptic?!  Do all 20 copies have the same design (and God help us all if not, as that will lead to another bout of having to catalogue all the variants!

ABLAZE VOL. 8 [V/A]

August 17, 2014, 11:50 am

≫ Next: ...AND ALL THE MAGIC & MIGHT HE BROUGHT - update

≪ Previous: CITY LIGHTS

$

0

0

Band:URUK HAI
Title: Voice Of Underground Volume 8 [Various Artists]
Format: Silver pressed CD in card sleeve, released as a sampler disc on Ablaze Magazine (Germany) in 2009, no catalogue reference.  Contains bands from a variety of German and European metal labels including No Colours Records and , as well as self-released tracks (such as Uruk Hai).  
Edition: unknown

Track Listing:
01.  Auf Dem Schwarzen Thron  *  The Fear Deep Inside  
02.  Balest  *  L Surëdl Va Do Ju  
03.  Dodsfall  *  Alt Er Slutt  
04.  Hunting Season  *  Rise Of The Empire  
05.  Ildra  *  Rice Fter Orum  
06.  Inquisition  *  Crepuscular Battle Hymn  
07.  Insane Vesper  *  Thousand Plagues  
08.  Intestine Baalism  *  The Genuine Tone  
09.  Kirchenbrand  *  Koitus Orbita  
10.  Kriegshetzer  *  Kameradschaft  
11.  Mind Asylum  *  Seul Le Silence  
12.  Natrach  *  Where The Howling Winds Reign  
13.  Necrohell  *  In Black Death's Embrace  
14.  Nocturnal Degrade  *  Escape The Light  
15.  Pensées  *  Nocturnes Hel  
16.  Sferslav  *  U Pamyat Bilih Liley  
17.  Sieghetnar  *  Versunkenheit  
18.  Todfeind  *  Fleisch Ist Nicht Fleisch  
19.  Uruk-Hai *  Death Is Just Another Path  
20.  Vargrimm  *  Namenlos  
21.  Vidar  *  Knecht Des Herrn  
22.  Wacht  *  Güstizia, Per La Vardà  

Another day, another compilation CD featuring Uruk Hai, though one that has a particularly noisy and vicious spread of bands upon it (Uruk Hai's contribution is by some considerable margin the mellowest entry here) should that be your thing.  The song in question is 'Death Is Just Another Path' and will be familiar to one and all given its recurrence in Honour and Darkness over the years as a very limited release in its own right (at the release party for "Black Blood White Hand") and one various other compilations.  Good song, classic Hugin.

So what else can Nazgul tell you?  Well, given the opportunity, let's have a delve into the murky past of Ablaze itself.  

As far as I can gather, the original Ablaze 'zine was a German publication that ran from 1994 to 2003, founded initially because the mainstream Metal magazines boycotted Black Metal.  It folded in 2003, but in 2007 another German language music magazine called A-Blaze (later Ablaze) appeared, which specialises in Black and Pagan Metal and describes itself as "The True Voice of Underground".

As ever with publications of this type, controversy reigned.  The first issue was published in September 1994 and included a cover story about Burzum and interviews with the Norwegian groups Immortal, Satyricon, Mortiis, the Greek band Necromantia and the German bands Ungod, Mayhemic Truth and Bethlehem.  The first editions were only available through mail order until they eventually made the leap to selling at train station kiosks and newsagents - one of the first zines so to do - and thus was no longer exclusively available in the 'Underground'. Accordingly, many accused the magazine of selling-out and betraying the Underground.  Ablaze also became embroiled in various accusations alleging anti-Semitic stereotypes.

The magazine offered - and then re-offered in the post 2007 format - in-depth interviews, especially with bands from the Black and Death Metal genre. Under the subtitle of the 'Metallic Voice of the Underground' the magazine also offered occasional reports on other topics, such as H.P. Lovecraft or the always controversial works of Dr. Ragnar Redbeard (a Victorian author whose works often are most often found on banned lists of publications. "Might is Right - the Survival of the Fittest", is his best known work and a case for Social Darwinism. 

It is not a philosophical treatise in the strict sense, but more of a "manifesto" for racism, sexism, the worship of strength and the virtues of war, such as unbridled rapine, extreme unscrupulousness, joy in risk and contempt of danger.  Rights exists, in essence, only for those strong enough to claim them.  One review read: 'This book stands as the pinnacle of human social experience. There is nothing in this book which will not shock, astound, and stupefy the reader; and what's more, said reader will find himself agreeing (albeit grudgingly) with the vast majority of brutal thought promoted therein. This book will shatter your preconceptions, leaving you speechless; and once you put the book down you will never view the world the same way again. Redbeard makes Nietzsche read like Mary Poppins.' You have been warned!)

In every issue, also one or more of the current crop of 'underground bands' were interviewed and later editions were accompanied by a CD, usually label samplers from the likes of Osmose Productions, No Colours Records or - later, as in this example - specially compiled CDs.  Indeed, the Ablaze website states "In every issue we have a free CD compilation. Do you want to take part with your band? Then write to us!" so one might reasonably assume this is how Uruk Hai ended up on the roster.  Either that, or someone's been pinching Hugin's music without permission again?!
 
Some controversies were fought mainly on the letters pages, one such following an interview with Rob Darken of Graveland, with anti-Semitic and Nazi remarks being bandied around by all parties. As a direct result of this interview (it is said) Graveland lost their record deal with Lethal Records, later switching to No Colours Records . Another problematic interview was conducted by the magazine with the Austrian band Werwolf, who propounded a philosophy modelled on Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of the superman. It took Hagen, lead singer of the group, into metaphorical battle with others in the Austrian Black Metal scene, notably Abigor and Summoning. He described Silenius of Summoning as a "fairy" and gave him the advice to "not to get in his way". The background to such playground behaviour was apparently tied up in the politics of the then Austrian Black Metal Syndicate (ABMS), a murky enterprise and a story for another day, perhaps.

Well, that was a ramble and a half for a single song on an obscure compilation, but all part of the service and hopefully of interest to some of you!  Until next time, as our old friend Martin Walkyier of Skyclad would say, "Horns Ablaze, brothers!" 

...AND ALL THE MAGIC & MIGHT HE BROUGHT - update

September 8, 2014, 9:31 am

≫ Next: ANOTHER MOON

≪ Previous: ABLAZE VOL. 8 [V/A]

$

0

0

Band:URUK HAI
Title:"...And All The Magic & Might He Brought"
Reason for update: Tape release for this album
Format: Released in 2014 on the Atramentum Productions label (Canada), cat ref AtramC068.  This professional release comes as a lurid green tape!
Edition:Hand numbered edition of 100 copies

Track Listing:
01. From the Ashes 03:37
02. Far Away 06:00
03. Ancient Wisdom 05:13
04. Rise & Fall 04:57
05. Fallen Leaves 03:42
06. The Door to the Paths of the Dead 07:06
07. Valinor 02:28
08. Immortality 14:04
09. Wrath 04:07

Taking the blurb from the Atramentum site as our starting point, we learn that Alex's Uruk Hai project "is not only an ambient project, since the compositions also contain black metal-elements and several sound-F/X to increase the atmosphere. Sounds of nature, speech-samples and battle noises definitely find their place in the musical world of Uruk Hai. To sum it up: PAGAN BATTLE AMBIENT!" Quite possibly a soundbite from the man himself, and why not!?

This tape release - in an edition of just 100 copies, of which Nazgul is proud own #1 as pictured - is a nice looking thing, and complements the CD version of the album previously reviewed here.  The tape is spectacularly green, and originally Nazgul thought it was the outer box that conveyed this lurid colour but no - out of its case, the greenness is there for all to witness!

With the tape format still popular in some parts of the world - Poland and Indonesia to randomly name two - the label should have little difficultly in shifting 100 units of this latest magnum opus from Uruk Hai.  Indeed, a recent story posted on the BBC website had the improbable but presumably true fact that "...one in 10 young people has bought a music cassette tape in the last month, a new survey done to coincide with Record Store Day suggests." Really?!

You lose out on the 4 bonus songs that came on the CD digipak pressing of this album, of course, but otherwise if collecting is your bag then this should be on the shopping list!

There is another update to come on this release, in a standard jewel case edition with brand new artwork, but that's another update for another day....

#1 of 100

---

ANOTHER MOON

September 12, 2014, 7:31 am

≫ Next: KRIEG & ZEIT

≪ Previous: ...AND ALL THE MAGIC & MIGHT HE BROUGHT - update

$

0

0

Band:EISMOND
Title: Another Moon
Format: A split CDr release on the Aschefruehling Records label (Austria), cat ref AR-0053, released in 2013.  The second band featured on the album is Karg, a 'dark drone ambient' project from Germany.  This release is packaged in a DVD case and has a professionally printed colour cover and picture disc which is on a burgundy red disc.  Also included is a sticker promoting the label.
Edition:Limited to 66 unnumbered copies

Track Listing
Eismond
01. Space Dust  10:36
02. Pulsar  7:00
03. Eclipse Of The Moon  3:41
04. Space Station No. 6  7:48
Karg
05. Crater  4:59
06. Loop  6:01
07. Spiral  4:46
08. Ring  4:17

As noted in the recently posted interview in Fatal Underground #42, the original plan in respect of this CD had been for Eismond to release a split-demo with Noldor, but due to the right-wing leanings of that latter project the decision was taken to cancel that release and instead proceed with a joint release with Germany project Karg.  And here it is, "Another Moon", in large case format, with a disc burgundy red in a shade we've not seen since the likes of "Blutreich" or "Barbarians".

The Eismond tracks are essentially instrumental pieces that you will have subsequently come across in slightly different iterations on recent Eismond albums.  They were recorded without input from Alex's Eismond bandmate Jaron (vocals/guitars), so the pieces have the benefit of being largely ambient keyboard soundscapes in the grand Hugin tradition, but the downside of sounding a little retrograde compared to the more polished recent Eismond albums.  But then again, this is a collection of demo recordings and by default they are not the final product, so one might expect such a situation.

The 4 tracks make for an interesting listen though, and fall into the category of mood setting background auditory phenomena rather than in-yer-face singalongs!  Sadly, fourth track 'Space Station No. 6' isn't an updated, blackened metal/ambient take on Montrose's 1973 classic 'Space Station No. 5', but hey - you can't have everything!

Despite Jaron's absence there is still a variety of instrumentation used on this demo.  At times, Hugin is definitely investigating and expanding his prog rock influences, whereas at other times the sounds are classic Uruk Hai in nature.  Taken together in one big melting pot, it's an intergalactic journey of stellar proportions! 

Karg, on the other hand, take the space ambient theme to the extreme and serve up some sparse and barren passages (in fact, I think Karg actually means 'barren' in German) with lots of space between the 'music'.  Very reminiscent of projects like Saturn Form Essence, and in a similar vein once you've heard a few tracks you've really heard all there is to be heard.  Nothing desperately memorable here, in other words, but if it floats your boat (spaceship?) you'll not go far wrong.

Apologies once again for the time lag between posts, by the way.  Who knew adding one small body into the Castle Nazgul family would prove to be so time intensive and detract from keeping Honour and Darkness up to date more regularly...!?

KRIEG & ZEIT

September 20, 2014, 2:43 am

≫ Next: The W.A.R. Armoury, Part 3: Swords

≪ Previous: ANOTHER MOON

$

0

0

Band: BONEMACHINE
Title: Krieg & Zeit
Format: Proposed artwork for a tape release from the mighty Bonemachine, designed in colour and presumably intended to be printed that way.  This is likely to have been a self-released demo.
Edition:Not released

Track Listing:
01. Schall & Rauch  8.02
02. Die Vierte Dimension  1.00
03. Raserei (Klangniederschrift Eines Krieges In 2 Akten)  7.38
04. Endzeitensturm  8.17
05. Flucht Nach Vor!  2.27

#14 From the Vaults of W.A.R.

Another anomaly from the seemingly infinite W.A.R. archives, housed deep inside abandoned salt mines in the Austrian countryside.  Or was that The Monuments Men, in which George Clooney and entourage rummage high and low across war-torn Europe in a vain attempt to locate a copy of Uruk Hai's "Battle Magic" tape?  It all gets a bit confusing sometimes here at Castle Nazgul, with nothing ever being quite what it seems.

And today's offering is also not quite what it seems: another long-lost piece of artwork designed for a release that never was, and which morphed into something else that was officially released.

Bonemachine are the band in question. "Krieg & Zeit" ('War & Time') was a recording made in the period 2002-2003 in Linz, featuring R.K. (Roland) as guest musician on guitar.  Roland and Hugin, you will remember, have long been partners in crime and their exploits date back (in a musical sense at least) to 1984 and fledgling punk band Schlaganfall.

The proposed artwork for this one has an interesting heritage, as elements of it were subsequently incorporated into the Uruk Hai release "A Night In The Forest".  The striking 'winking face' motif was put onto the cover of that Uruk Hai release in 2004 (CD version) and 2005 (tape version) but using a different background image - unsurprisingly, given the title, a forest scene.  Here, the background is a more open countryside scene, and in full colour it does look rather splendid.  Nazgul had always assumed that the face was carved into a stone tablet, but looking at it again in colour on this release the little notch on the top right edge of the design suggests a metal construction rather than stone?  I wonder....?

In terms of the music, these 5 songs did actually appear on a tape (and indeed a CDr) eventually, namely the "Zeit" demo of 2006.  And, if you're keeping score, also on the "Schwarzes Jerusalem" split CDr with Elymas.  The only difference to note is that on the "Zeit" demo there is a modest change to the title of track two, in that it becomes 'Die 4 Dimension' as opposed to 'Die Vierte Dimension'.  

There remain a few unanswered questions about this release: what exactly is Hugin looking at through the window, one can't help but wonder?  Was the rainbow over the field a real one, or photoshopped after the fact?  And why is there an owl in the middle of the compass design?!  Alas, questions destined to remain unanswered ... at least for now.

Even though the music from this abandoned release did eventually emerge, it's rather a shame that this particular version of the demo was not issued as it does look excellent printed off as a mocked-up release.  There could be a whole new industry spawned here, taking the 'what if' artwork to create alternative versions of existing releases.  But then again, how much more confusion can Nazgul withstand...?!

The W.A.R. Armoury, Part 3: Swords

September 22, 2014, 2:19 am

≫ Next: ELISABETHA / VOW DREAMS split

≪ Previous: KRIEG & ZEIT

$

0

0

The W.A.R. swords

The 'Broadsword'

The 'not so broadsword'

The W.A.R. Armoury, Part 3
Items: Swords

Whoops!  What was originally intended to be an occasional series has become so sporadic it has almost disappeared entirely!

Introduced so long ago that Nazgul feels obliged to remind you what the devil this series is all about, the short version of the story is that in a moment of madness Nazgul purchased from Hugin a substantial proportion of his old props, weapons and armour as featured on a myriad of demos and albums over the years.  It's not as if Nazgul is trying to monopolise the second-hand market in all things Hugin, you understand, as many of these items had been publically advertised on Hugin's Facebook page for quite some time before Nazgul made his offer.  But as it turns out, no one else seemed to want to own these interesting items and the logic of keeping this stuff all together with Hugin's musical output does make a lot of sense (even though the antiquated wooden floors of the Castle Library creaks and groans alarmingly with the weight of these items pressing down upon it).

For a reintroduction to this series, do take a look at Part One when some particularly weighty chainmail was examined, and also Part Twowhen Hugin's flail was put to good use.

Assuming you're now up to speed and longing to hear about some other sharp and dangerous objects, let's get on with the subject of today's post: Hugin's swords!  Now, the photos accompanying this post will have given you a flavour for how they were used in promotional shoots in the past, and it has to be said that they are fine specimens of bone-crushing weaponry.  Nazgul has two swords in his collection, and in the fine tradition of a Crocodile Dundee meme ("that's not a knife: THAT's a knife!") one is significantly - even hilariously - larger than the other.  

Which reminds Nazgul of the merry rhyme of the young man from Devizes, whose balls were of different sizes, but that's a story for another day and certainly not for an audience as refined and polite as those of you reading Honour and Darkness...

Where were we?  Ah yes, the swords!  There are many, many types of sword depending on size, shape, purpose and antiquity, and poor old Nazgul is no expert in these matters.  Let us just conclude that the smaller of the two is manageable in a fight and would leave your adversary with some very nasty gashes, whilst the bigger one (which Nazgul would deem to be a two-handed broadsword or something of that ilk) is positively alarming in size.  Which brings to mind another young man, this time from Nantucket, but once again a much needed sense of propriety comes into play!

Having professed ignorance of sword classifications, it should be noted that to my eye this pair are similar in style to the classic Viking sword.  A weapon of the Viking Age, it was a development of the Roman spatha, evolving out of the 8th century and into the classical knightly sword in the 11th century. Early Viking Age swords were pattern welded, though later blades were made of more homogeneous steel. Of particular note is the "Ulfberht" subset, which used steel of higher purity and carbon content than its peers.  Blade lengths varied from 71-84cm, and all have short single-handed hilts with triangle, lobed or cocked-hat style pommels (usually iron).  And, by and large, that's what we're looking at here.

With young Nazgul now two and a half years of age and scampering freely around the Castle causing havoc and destruction in equal measure, the original plan to have these swords mounted on the walls of the Library has been deferred, at least until the prospect of them falling on his head or having him try to reach up and touch/pull/swing on the blades has passed.  They remain hidden yet accessible, ready to be used in stout defence of the Hugin collection should an unwelcome intruder venture unwisely through the portcullis. 

And trust me, you'd not want to argue with anyone wielding these bad boys!  Though it has to be said, to actually whirl one of these things around for a period of time you'd need to be pretty fit, as they are far from light.  Indeed, having commented in the original Armoury post about the weight of the chainmail, you have to ponder how on earth fully-kitted out knights and armoured warriors had the stamina to get themselves to a battlefield without passing out from their exertions, let alone fight their way though the ensuing melee?!

You can see the length of the Broadsword against 6' Hugin... !

Of course, it's one thing to admire such items within the confines and privacy of your own castle, but what of handling them in the modern world.  What might that be like?  Let's hand over to Hugin:

"It was always funny to do the outdoor shots: the expressions on the faces of people who watched me always looked very funny and I felt like an idiot sometimes when I jumped out of the car in full amour with swords... :-)

The best shots I did were in winter 1999/2000 at the castle of Wildberg wearing only the fur and helmet at minus 10 degrees!  Brrrrr that was freezing - my fingers were sticking to the iron of the sword because of the cold!  I can imagine how knights felt in winter time in the dark ages!  Most of the shots where done with my Nikon cam by my mum - she had great fun doing it :-)  Thx mum ..."

They say an artist suffers for his art, but minus 10 degrees wearing only a small furry rug is surely above and beyond the call of duty?!  And you can just picture the slack jawed amazement of passers-by who glimpsed a 6' plus man dressed in period armour leaping from a car and waving swords, flails and other paraphernalia around in the freezing snow for a few minutes before scooting back to where he came from!  Priceless!

ELISABETHA / VOW DREAMS split

September 25, 2014, 9:40 am

≫ Next: HANDS FROM SHADOWS [V/A]

≪ Previous: The W.A.R. Armoury, Part 3: Swords

$

0

0

Band:ELISABETHA
Title: Elisabetha / Vow Dreams
Format: Proposed split release from Hugin's vampyric creation Elisabetha and Italian Black Metal project Vow Dreams.  The artwork shown was intended for a digipak CD pressing.
Edition: Never released

Track Listing:
Elisabetha
01. Prolog (Schrei des Todes)
02. Down There (Concerto del Beherit appropriato all Orgono)
03. Countess Bathori (Concerto del Venom appropriato all Harmonium)
04. Der Fall Valdemar (Nach einer Erzählung von Edgar Allan Poe)
05. Transilvanischer Hunger (Deutschsprachige Prozessaufnahme des gleichnamigen Darkthrone Liedgutes)
Vow Dreams
06. The Living Cemetery
07. Nightmare In The Night
08. Destroyer Of The Creation
09. Fall In Trance

#15 From the Vaults of W.A.R.

"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our English dead!"

Thus spake King Henry V (according to Shakespeare) and the sentiment of 'once more into the breach' is most pertinent for this latest foray into the weird world of previously unseen and abandoned works from our favourite son of Austria.  The principle of 'closing up walls with our English dead' may also become relevant should the Elisabetha's vampyric legacy and Vow Dream's living cemetery merge into one almighty outpouring of bloodlust.  Let's proceed with caution...

Taking the Elisabetha tracks first, what we have here are a collection of cover songs from the likes of Venom, Beherit and Darkthrone, augmented by a couple of other songs of the band's own creation: 'Prolog' and 'Der Fall Valdemar'.  The cover versions of 'Countess Bathori' and 'Down There' later appeared as reworked Hrossharsgrani tracks, rearranged and with vocals, on their "Dead:Meat" album.  The other pair of songs are not immediately familiar, but fear not!  Good news from deepest Austria - Hugin has located the master CDr from this proposed release, so more details may well be available soon!

The strangely named Vow Dreams, on the other hand, hail from Italy and according to their entry on Metal Archives are a 'Death/Black Metal' band whose lyrical influences and coverage span 'ghosts, entities and evil'.  Quite what a vow dream might be is open to speculation, though if you venture into those parts of the Internet where dream analysis has credence, it would seem that a dream with a vow is one where the dreamer needs held in honouring the promises they have made.  Then again, perhaps it's just one of those names that when translated into English from its native tongue doesn't quite work?

Anyway, with all this mention of ghosts and anonymous 'entities' it's a case of so far, so supernatural.  Nazgul hasn't had the pleasure of hearing the band's music, though their sole review on Metal Archives in respect of a 2007 demo "Fog on a Cold Cemetery" was not particularly complementary: the best that can be quoted describes it as is "insanely varied Black Metal with a lot of tricks from the book employed to make it sound interesting. I'm talking palm muting, clear guitars, samples, strummed riffs and several caves of trolls worth of vocals." Palm muting is a guitar playing technique, incidentally!  

This damned with faint praise review is rather better than a second critique of the same demo, which includes the classic line, "This project exists since 1997 and is still stuck at the level of two 30+ years old retards with Emo Borgir and Marduk shirts taking pictures of themselves with candles in their kitchen with the refrigerator in the background -  think 2 men trying to imitate Cradle and Emo Burger and mix classic guitars, keyboards and disgusting screams of a dying frog."

Notwithstanding such verbal assaults on their character, this would have made a tidy little release in its day.  Cool hand-drawn artwork of a distinctly creepy nature (designed and created by Hugin) and interested track listing.  Hugin tells Nazgul that 'Uwe did all the work for this split', presumably in the sense of coordinating with Vow Dreams and getting all the music finalised.  It would seem the the reason for the album not being pressed was simply down to the label (possibly Bloodmorfog Productions, thinks Hugin) losing interest in releasing it.  A great shame.

HANDS FROM SHADOWS [V/A]

October 11, 2014, 5:04 am

≫ Next: BLOOD & IRON

≪ Previous: ELISABETHA / VOW DREAMS split

$

0

0

Band:URUK HAI
Title: Hands From Shadows [Various Artists]
Format: Online compilation released on 30 June 2014 on the Bandcamp website with a purchase cost of £6.66.  The aim of the compilation is to raise money to help victims of the recent flooding in Serbia: "all income from the compilation will be used to buy supplies directly for people and families affected by the flood." Tracks were compiled by Timur Iskandarov, and the artwork designed by Marc Hoyland.
Edition:Unlimited

Track Listing:
01. Akoustik Timbre Frekuency - Processed Cello & Chimes Improv 06:40  
02. Caroline Jago - Renaissance 04:28  
03. Cecilia Bjargo - The Second Attempt - part II-II 05:31
04. Crows In The Garden - Height (Edit) 05:23    
05. Cyborgs On Crack - Butcher Is A Good Talker 03:47
06. dead.circuit - Requiem et Lux Aeterna 04:01  
07. Desolation - The Light is Gone.... 10:48
08. Din Brad - Amar 05:20    
09. Druhá Smrt - Earth Water Soul 07:30  
10. Echo Grid - Isolated 05:16  
11. Elsewhere Shine - Downpour 02:24  
12. Embrace Our Nature - Vocalise 05:26  
13. Equal Stones - Breathe 07:35  
14. Faerydae - Ajde Jano 05:46  
15. Front Sonore - The Fall 03:30  
16. Gold and Water - Sequence of Pictures Taken At The Moment When The Mothership Flew Right Above Us Pt. 1 09:10  
17. Howling Larsons - Midnight Folk 03:52    
18. Hoyland - Empyreal Pagan Kingdom 16:28  
19. Immundus - A Distant Call 04:11
20. In Slaughter Natives - Definition of NOT Being Alive (Trip Wire Mix) 05:22  
21. Jiibay Shadow Dancer - Upon Lost Waves 07:55    
22. Kold - Frost Byte 04:06  
23. Last Winter I Died - Summer Reveries 03:50  
24. Loell Duinn - Ples Života 04:47
25. L'Oiseau Du Paradis - Odin's Eye 04:02  
26. Lost Kadath - Presence of Pain (Mutilation of the Soul) 03:03  
27. Lucid Static - Stillness 05:52    
28. Meho - Poplava 15:00  
29. Melankolia - Obrenovac (Requiem in A Minor) 11:33  
30. Milena Tomic - G Prelude 01:58  
31. Mind Divided - Safe Spot 07:22  
32. Miss Kitty - To The Ocean 03:39    
33. Mors Omnibus - I Offer You 06:31  
34. MRT - Pogubljeni Raj (Unspoken) 03:20  
35. My Own Cubic Stone - Ithaqua 09:24  
36. My Silent Wake - My Sorrow Is Yours 03:51  
37. Mystified - Tread Sprint 03:50  
38. Nam-khar - Sekhet Aahru 07:55
39. Nevhar Anhar - Raiding Islands 05:33
40. Ov Mhurn - The Long Walk to Solitude 14:33
41. Pineal Vertigo - Floating Souls 04:05  
42. Plaguewielder - Putrescent 08:40
43. Pylae - Est 03:38  
44. Retro Grad - Final Days 01:55  
45. Schattenspiel - Todesahnung 04:12  
46. Shadow Biosphere - Bylakupee 03:59
47. Snowfade - Ridden signals 08:41
48. Svart1 - U Strahu Su Velike Oci 07:24  
49. Tamerlan - Like Gods At Dawn (Live) 03:43    
50. Tearpalm - Biće Dobro (Hands from the Shadows Exclusive Mix) 08:52  
51. The Grave Dominion - Rabbit Trance 11:44    
52. The Hare And The Moon - The Rolling Of The Stones 04:36    
53. TLGBP - Le Couloir Luna 02:10    
54. Tokee - Genesis (2014 Version) 04:00    
55. Tony Wakeford - Lucy Flower 03:20    
56. Tribes Of Medusa - Solar Cross 04:15    
57. Turnavel - Dejection 01:55    
58. Uruk Hai - The Sea Bell 07:43  
59. Valerio Orlandini - Camera Di Compensazione Postuma 06:07    
60. Vedan Kolod - Grey Bird 04:51  
61. Viginti Tres Saecula presents Weltensprung b. Kaiserwetter - Untitled 03:14  
62. Walden - Wanderung Im Moor 03:03    
63. Youth A.D. - Swarm 03:46  
64. Zoran Peternelj - Don't Ask Me Why. I Don't Know 08:20  
65. Crows In The Garden & Nam-khar - Dark Sea 04:47

This mighty compilation weighs in with a whopping 65 songs, and has been issued to raise funds for flood relief work in Serbia by Sombre Sonics Studios.  Their Bandcamp pages notes that they "specialis[e] in Projekts of a Ritual and Ethnomuzikogikal nature" - they also apparently specialise in the unorthodox use of the letters 'k' and 'z'.

However, this is a worthy cause so let not Nazgul's grammatical musings get in the way of a noble fund raising effort.  The 'Hands From Shadows' page details the story:

"The second half of May has brought the worst floods in the known history of Serbia. Several towns and cities were almost completely submerged, many lives lost, and the amount of people forced to flee their homes (and lose everything in process) is measured in thousands.

Even though I haven't lived in that country for some time, Serbia is a place where I grew up and spend the biggest part of my life in. I know how wonderful people there are (the fact that has usually been missed in the rest of the world). For these reasons, I have started this charity compilation, in order to provide at least some help to those who suffered through the floods.

For the last few years I have been in touch with some of the most amazing artists worldwide, and calling upon them to support this cause brought the results I could have never expected. Their desire to help, to donate a song and support this cause in any possible way was in one word: epic! This shows the fact that we already know. Even in the shadows where this kind of art is placed, there are those willing to give their helping hand. Always sincere!

What we ended up with is a massive size compilation, with 65 songs and over 6 hours of music that you have in front of you right now. Whole income from this compilation is going to be used for helping the victims of a flood, and by buying this compilation, you too have shown the support for them. Thank you!"

For more details about the Sombre Soniks Studiosclick on the link.

Within the monstrous compilation of music the intrepid listener will uncover - at #58 (handily alphabetised!) - the song 'The Sea Bell' from Hugin's incomparable Uruk Hai.  Now, it won't come as a surprise to learn that this title has Tolkien connections, but you have to admire Hugin's ingenuity in combine a fittingly water-based song title with a Middle-earth twist!  For you see "The Sea Bell" (or "Frodos Dreme") was a poem by J.R.R. Tolkien that was included in his 1962 collection of verse "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil." The poem is in the form of a first person narrative by a speaker who is never identified in the main body of the poem.

"The Sea-Bell" opens with the speaker coming across a white shell "like a sea-bell" as he walks by the shore. He hears the sound of distant harbours and seas as he holds the shell in his hand. Suddenly a boat appears and he is borne away "to a forgotten strand in a strange land./ In the twilight beyond the deep". The land he arrives in is glittering, beautiful and mysterious. He hears the sound of distant music, voices and footfalls, but when he seeks the source of the sound the mysterious inhabitants of the land flee from him. Climbing onto a mound he presumptuously names himself king of the land, and challenges its people to come forth. Darkness descends upon him and he falls to the ground, blinded and bent. For a year and a day afterwards he dwells in the wood "wandering in wit" and growing grey and old.

Eventually, broken and weary, he seeks out the sea and boards a ship that will take him back to his own land. However, when he arrives home the sea-bell no longer carries sounds from over the sea to him. The poem ends on a note of anguish as the speaker finds himself alienated from his own world, misunderstood and forsaken by those he once knew. The final image is of the narrator walking along a dark, rainy street talking to himself "for still they speak not, men that I meet".

The work is based on an earlier poem entitled "Looney", which Tolkien had published in The Oxford Magazine in 1934.  The later 1962 version of the poem is considerably darker than, and twice as long as, the earlier version. Although "Looney" was composed long before Tolkien began work on The Lord of the Rings, the 1962 version is subtitled "Frodos Dreme". Tolkien's mock-academic introduction to the collection suggests that, although the poem may not have been composed by Frodo Baggins, it was associated with him by its readers and reflects the dark dreams that plagued him in his final days in the Shire.  No less an authority than W. H. Auden considered it Tolkien's best poetic work.

So does no less an authority than Nazgul *cough* consider this amongst Hugin's best compositions?  Well I tell you what, it's pretty tasty!

Starting with a rumble of thunder and a crash of waves, there's a simple repeating keyboard riff overlaying some sampled effects of the sea to lull you into a maritime frame of mind.  A bit of funky synthesizer joins the party before Hugin treats us to a more forceful melody of guitar, percussion and synth combined.  Add a little sea-salt and repeat until full baked.  

Sprinkle a few cascading guitar solos in the brine a little later on, and what you have is a blend of old-school Uruk Hai with Hugin's wider influences as evidenced on more recent releases.

Good stuff indeed, with the main repeating riff being both catchy and strangely relaxing at one and the same time.  A successful instrumental composition then, and contributed in support of a worthy cause.