GRAVELAND

 

Graveland have its root in the early ’90, influenced by some ’80 acts and strongly by the Norwegian scene, the “In the Glare of the Burning Churches” and the “Celtic Winter” ’93 demos are a good example of that. The second was so good to become an ep, and opened the path to the harsh symphonic blackness of “Carpathian Wolves” (Vote 6.5) a not bad release, but nothing special.
The Graveland’s album that I prefer is the ’95 “1000 Swords” (Vote 8.5) that means a clear and evident stylistic change, a great part of obscurity was put apart for a more epic and pagan feeling.
It’s like a crusade of blood against the servants of Christ, a pagan horde that kills the betrayers of the ancient gods, and reading the lyrics there is a clear and brutal attach to the light servants destiny.

There’s a dramatic atmosphere, a story written by a pagan warrior before his death.
In 1997 “Following the Voice of Blood” (Vote 7,5) was released. There are similarities with the Bathory epic trilogy but everything seems more serious and cruel with the Graveland’s touch.
The main difference is that with the Bathory carrier the evilness of the early days wasn’t there after the epic musical change, but Graveland with “Following…” had mixed those spirits in an interesting hybrid. There’s a logical continuity line with “1000 Swords”, “Following…” is in the same vain.

The ’98 opus “Immortal Pride” (Vote 8) is another time a Bathory like album, but the cold and evil mood wasn’t still gone away. The songs were longer then ever and were losing the typical metal short-type conception, there were much more pseudo-ambient moods, like a battle history soundtrack. The 2000 “Creed of Iron” (Vote 7) is a bit more metal oriented but remains an album inspired by the Bathory’s “Hammerheart” in a darker and more evil mood. Personally I don’t think that Bathory were a political band like Graveland, but the fictional musical creation of Quorthon have broken important barriers and Graveland’s have mixed the dark side of black metal with the ethnic and war medieval concept, where the blood was flooding battlefields. The Graveland’s carrier is still running with almost the same musical ideas…

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