We
all agree that a sampler with various groups can be a revealing source of
information for any eager music adept.
Most of the time low-prized, we can hear a large amount of artists we
ever heard of but never listened to because of lack of airplay at usual
radio stations. Therefore it
can be a great guiding-line in the never ending need of musical knowledge. In
this case it concerns an interesting and comprehensive release of the Czech
magazine ‘Spark’ in cooperation with different labels like Redblack
Productions of Brno. Beside the
main groups of Redblack like Root (the oldest Czech rockband) and Silent
Stream of Godless Elegy you get an enriching idea of what the Czech scene
has to offer and this really kick some ass ! Redblack is a label famous for
releasing the most experimental, avant-garde, progressive and melodic doom
bands in the country. In 21
songs, about some 79 minutes of music, we make a musical trip through this
beautiful country. Proti proudu
stands for ‘against the stream’, in other words something different from
the mainstream music. Endless
can be situated in the early gothic scene where groups like Cemetary and
Crematory are blooming. It
cannot be coincidental that this song is called ‘Sundown’ (like a CD
from Cemetary and the project of some of them).
Contrastic has a lovely song with nu-metal ingredients (with roaring
voice). Insania gives us a creation with Czech lyrics, a good groove
and social awareness. We all
know Fleshless from the North power jam festivals, it rocks with death metal
throat. This makes a beautiful contrast with Promises’ ‘Last letter’
which reminds me of the eighties cool sound but in spite of a simple
production this melody steals my heart. Wild metal with protruding
guitarwork is what Lunatic Gods is about, their Gothenburg sound is spiced
with clean vocals and melodic Maiden solo’s. Creative dissipations full of
counterblast rhythms, female vocals and open sounded guitarwork are mixed in
a devilish way. A band to keep an eye on ! Cales
is a revelation for me these days : a fearless epic folklore sound leads to
‘Wandering phantom’ that gathers contagious singing and guitarwork. On
the full CD there are even better songs than this one.
Sad Harmony prefers the rockin’ side of music, sounding a bit like
old Crematory, rather melodic and lovely to listen to. This is a demo version of coming work with inventive riffs
and rough granular voice. Myththopoieia
starts with slow rhythm and gothic sound but knows how to rise the tension
with acceleration and a flashing guitar solo. A
strong melody, a nice voice and huge guitars are the contributions of Dark
Gamballe whose singer DeSed also had a big role in the Cales project.
Adventurous music with progressive touch leading to a ‘Toolish’
experience. Keep in mind ! Spoken
words and acoustic guitars are the beginning of Love History.
Therion choirs are overwhelming and it becomes a very innovative
experience to listen to ‘Angealism’. Different moods are mixed, this
ends very progressive in almost chaos but it never looses the base of it
all. Church organ, grunt, a
male choir, acoustic guitar, riffs; it’s all in this striking track. On
Vuvr you have to be concentrated, this is very technical metal.
Starting with jazzy and funky guitar, it flows into technical
highlights you hardly can describe. Sounds a bit like Cryptopsy. I
was very curious to the new creation of Silent Stream of Godless Elegy
because I love this group already since the beginning in 1996. It was a reassurance that violin and mystic sounds are still
the main input in ‘Trinity’, a foretaste to coming work in the winter of
2002. A whispering voice, violin, female vocals become a consistent whole in
this mid tempo song. The guitar base evokes to My Dying Bride melancholism
and I’m looking forward with great expectations to ‘Relic dances’
later on this year. Forgotten
Silence is the group, together with SSGE that the members of our mailing
list will like the most, because they float into opposite rhythms, eastern
passages and acoustic escapades. Just when you think you’ve lost your way
in this composition, everything comes together in a dreamy guitar solo. Depresy
was a brutal death act on North power jam and they stayed themselves in this
one, only in the last part of the song some power is transformed into
floating melodies. Last
but not least : Root is history is Czech rock.
With their charismatic singer they were a revelation to me on North
power jam 2000. This must charm you all with their clean vocals, choirs and
an instrumental background of epic bombastic rock. Worthy they follow their
own ways, never comparable to others, but deeply rooted in the tradition of
every good rockband. I must conclude : Root is good ! This
is a hymn to the Czech rock culture and heritage.
In every Czech lives a musician, I once read and I want to
collaborate to spread this all over the world. Just because there are so
many creations there too we never heard of but as good as what we usually
can buy in Western Europe. I hope some of you will one day recognize a name
and listen to it carefully. To
be continued… Reviewed
by : Vera ‘Gothica’ |
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