Underground Sounds: World Untouched By Mankind – The Forests Are Old With Grief

Label: Pacific Threnodies
Artist: World Untouched By Mankind
Origin: United States
It sounds like a surprisingly pleasant promise, the name of this project. World Untouched By Mankind, that could be an imagined place where humanity simply never dwelt, but also relates to places in the deep of the forest where we simply haven’t found anything to reap. That is the ambiance and feeling presented on this release by creative entity Night.
The hazy music by this artist meets the particular sounds of the nascent dungeon synth genre. Other projects of the artist include Procer Veneficus, ambient black metal, Murk Rider, Hooded Archer and Startrhall. The record ‘The Forests Are Old With Grief’ was recorded at the same time as ‘Of Starfire and Blackshadows Crawling’ by the Procer Veneficus project and has lain dormant until now, but no longer.

The most uncanny tunes resound when the title track opens with cold synths. This is an instant reconnecting moment with the original synth albums by Burzum. You may have all sorts opinions about that, but when it comes to catching an atmosphere, that maybe some of the best stuff. Yet, World Untouched By Mankind, chooses a more soaring, continuous flow-of-sound approach as intermission moments. More or less stripping the last vestiges of black metal away, Night has arrived at the pure sound of the most praised dungeon synth artists. Bare and boldly stated, without ever really needing to be understood, evoking the natural mysteries.

Where the initial tunes may feel very foresty, it feels like submerging in underwater tunnels on ‘Cold Caverns of Time’. Cold, synth drones and a dazed, warped feeling captures the listener as the dark tunes flow forward. The mesmerizing tones take you so far away from everything familiar and earthy, which is a vastly unknown pleasure for most in this time and age.

Underground Sounds: Grafjammer – Schalm & Schabauw

Label: Independent/Black Tapes
Band: Grafjammer
Origin: The Netherlands

Grafjammer has been hanging around Dutch graveyards and shady parts of harbors for a long while now, but only this year we can receive their second full length. The record, titled ‘Shalm & Schabauw’, contains primitive, violent black metal. The way you love it.

The band has members active in a variety of acts. From Wrang and Wesenwille to Kutschurft, it’s extreme all over. The group sticks to Dutch folklore and nautical themes in their music, which feels as vital as ever on this latest musical endeavor.

Oh yes, this record opens with the pounding punky beat you would be hoping for on an old-fashioned, raw black metal album. Tremolo riffs that immediately predict danger, violent vocals that spit venom. Grafjammer is the real thing, with their wonky, primitive sound on opener ‘Het Rottende Schompes’. The band can go to greater depths though, with the true visceral depravity displayed on ‘Drijvende Doodskist’, with vocals that sound truly demented.

With ‘Hijs het Lijk’, the band moves towards the more thunderous, almost doomy side of their sound. Still greatly enhanced by gritty sound and buzzsaw guitars, the song takes a slow pace full of rattling and noise. The lyrics rely on Dutch culture and tradition but bends and twist it to display a rotten core at the center of this. The results are grim and apocalyptic. If you manage to envision some paintings from the classic Dutch school, with Grafjammer playing, everything will turn to ashes.

Ennui: From the tombs of Georgia

Georgia is one of those countries, you may not even be aware of. A state with a vast history and rich cultural traditions in the borderland of the former Soviet-Union, it is the home of Ennui, who play monolithic funeral doom in the most dark and melancholic traditions.

Partly untouched by time, the country has one of the lowest crime rates and visitors speak of the friendly reception they’ve had. Yet it also has the scars of the past, proven by the conflicts with Russia . The same goes for most countries in the Caucasus.

It’s not known for its metal scene, but it is there and shaping itself in a distincly own way. Ennui has been around since 2012, as it was founded by David Unsaved and Sergei Shengalia. Their latest work is ‘End of the Circle’, out on Non Serviam Records. Thanks to Qabar PR, I got to ask them some questions about this project and the monumental record.

Ennui: End of the Circle

First, can you introduce yourselves and how you got together? I understand the name Ennui is an old French word. Can you maybe explain why you chose it and how it has evolved with you through the years?

Yes, we are a funeral doom band from Tbilisi, Georgian Republic. Ennui is the band with only two permanent members: me, David Unsaved and Sergei Shengelia. Both of us write music for the band, we always work together on concepts for the songs, etc. We’ve founded Ennui together in 2012. So it happened that we both had ideas for this genre, we both were able to play on all instruments, and we decided to work together. The name of the band came to our mind almost immediately. I had a few propositions on the name, but we settled on Ennui. We liked the meaning of this word, because it perfectly described our spiritual state at the moment. Over time, we put more extensive sense into this word – Ennui is a state of melancholy, spiritual boredom and loss of any kind of vitality.

Do you guys play in any other bands or projects? And what bands inspired you to pursue the type of music you make?

Yes. Sergei is a veteran of Georgian metal scene. He is a front man of first Georgian technical death metal band Angel of Disease, also he’s guitarist/vocalist of his symphonic black metal band SIGNS. My biography is more modest, but I also have several side-projects in different genres. But none of them are released yet, actually it will happen in nearest future. Bands like Esoteric, Skepticism inspired us to make this music. These two bands were what introduced us to this genre very long time ago.

Where you inspired by bands from Georgia to make metal music or did it come from foreign bands? Are there aspects of your home country that shape the way you make the music you do?

No. We were never inspired by bands from Georgia. All influences and inspirations came from foreign bands of course. Also, you shall know that there are no other funeral doom metal bands from Georgia. It’s a little bit hard to name any particular aspect of Georgian culture which helped us in making this kind of music. You know, first of all, Georgia is not mentally a ”metal country”, and also Georgian culture has mostly a ”happy” mood in almost all of its forms. But working on our first album ”Mze Ukunisa” what means ”The Sun of Darkness” in Georgian, we indeed used some elements of Georgian culture, which perfectly suited atmosphere of funeral doom metal.

I want to ask you about the album ‘End of the Circle’. What was the creative process like for this record, did you do anything new or different this time and what roles do you both have in the process?

The songwriting principle was the same as always – we made individual songs independently from each other. But we’ve certainly changed the recording process as well as whole creative process in this album. Here I mean the whole approach to recording in the studio, getting the highest quality, real and ”warm” tube sound, all analogue equipment. This was first experience like this for Ennui. We’re very satisfied with the final result. I hope listeners will be happy with our new album as well!

As I understand it, in the past you’ve often used poetry for the lyrics and inspiration. Can you tell a bit about that and in what way you drew inspiration for ‘End of the Circle’?

The poetry of Terenti Graneli (Georgian dramatist and late decadence movement poet) was used as lyrics only for our debut album. After that, all lyrics are written by us. “End of the Circle” is conceptual work, inspired by some philosophical ideas about life and death, about principles of being and unbeing. We just imagined about what if there is some final point of everything? Final point of the endless. The End of the endless circle of life and death. Mostly these ideas inspired us.

Your record is in a sense such a huge slab of music, that it could easily be split into multiple releases. In fact, each of the 3 mammoth tracks feels like a separate journey. Was this your initial plan when you set out recording it or did it evolve to this enormous shape?

Oh, yes. The whole idea of this album was to write three huge songs with dynamic ups and downs in tempo and unorthodox melodies. First we had a plan to make an album with only two long songs, but later the idea evolved and we decided to split ”The Withering” in two parts to have two song conceptions reflecting each other. For example, the first part of ”The Withering” is about humanity which is lost under the vastness of starlit sky, and ”The Withering Part II” is about the lost and dead stars shining their ghost light upon us. But the title song is about death of whole Universe as it exists in our understanding and imagination.

Can you tell a bit about the start of metal in Georgia? How did metal music come to your country in the first place?

I guess first heavy metal bands in Georgia were formed in early 80-is. Heavy metal bands like Mtsiri (მწირი), Mekhis Kandakeba (მეხის ქანდაკება), also Heavy Cross (მძიმე ჯვარი). Their music was influenced by heavy metal and hard rock bands from all over the world, some records were rare, but still available to listeners in Soviet Union. Extreme metal was formed in Georgia much later, in 1990-is. It was influenced mostly by popular metal bands, because Georgia never had access to high-grade information sources about underground metal music. I mean no labels, no metal stores. Usually, records of new foreign bands were passing from hand to hand between metalheads. It was almost impossible to get tapes of rare bands. That’s why metal in Georgia was mostly influenced by mainstream bands from Europe. Nowadays, with development of social networks, metal is more available in Georgia then it was before. Here are some local metal bands, scene is has developed into different genres. Famous metal bands like Sepultura, Napalm Death, Sodom, Vader and many others played shows here. I hope that metal in George will keep progressing and in future will take its own place in Metal World.

What is the scene like these days and what bands would you recommend people check out?

Please, check out the band Comatose Vigil from Russia, I guarantee you the total desperation.

While your music and founding were rooted in sad emotions, you as a band appear to have embraced a positive life attitude in previous interviews I read. How do those two combine?

I think that such music does not oblige us to be constantly in a negative mood. And to be more precise, such music helps to get rid of the negative state of mind. It seems to me that you need to be able to treat everything with humor, even if it’s a black humor… Besides, I would not say that we are one of those people who are very open about showing everyone their inner state. Usually, we do not share everything with everyone around, but we channel everything into our music.

What future plans do you have for Ennui?

I think now it’s time to prepare for future live shows. We need to work more with session musicians and pay more attention to listeners from Europe.

If you had to compare the band to a dish, a type of food, what would it be and why?
I don’t know, maybe ”Shila Plavi” – this is a kind of Georgian dish made from rice and meat. Usually, here in Georgia this dish is served at a funeral feast in someone’s wake.

Anything I forgot that you’d like to add?

Well, I guess no! Thank you very much for conversation!

Underground Sounds: Golden Dawn Arkestra – The Children of the Sun

Label: Nine Mile Records
Artist: Golden Dawn Arkestra
Origin: USA or space?

Though the name of the band will already ring enough bells, the Golden Dawn Arkestra has managed to shroud itself in mystery. Bandleader Topaz McGarrigle, acting as Zapot Mgwana, is heralded on the band’s Facebook page as the lost son of Sun Ra himself. The rest is equally disputable, but hey… Who’s counting?

It is in that jazzy, funky tradition that the Golden Dawn Arkestra flows on ‘The Children of the Sun’. A record that is as out of this world as their live shows and as captivating as the revolting of the planets. This is the third record by the body-moving group from the United States… or Nigeria… or outer space.

The record opens with a sound that mixes surf with indie rock it would seem, driven guitars and a buzzing bass. Wacky synths create that spacy feeling. A lot of reverb and hazy passages follow and it’s easy to simply drift off and nod away to the tunes of the Golden Dawn Arkestra. A track like ‘Tropicalismo’ has a bit of a muzak vibe going on and you feel right in a fancy hotel in sunnier places. A definite highlight is the title track ‘Children of the Sun’.  A funky, groovy display, with the horns and twirly keys. Nicely catchy, the song just goes on and on it seems.

‘The Ocean’ gives you a nice underwater experience following this, which is great too. Slowly flowing, floating and free of any pressure. Luckily, you wake up to the dancey dance tunes of funky and fresh sounding ‘Cosmic Dancer’. The horns are quite present here once more, with a classic minimal approach to the sound. Nothing woolly, even the harmonious vocals are nicely close-knit and tight. Often the music sounds like a runaway James Bond soundtrack from the seventies, with a sort of fuzzy warmth to the tunes.

A record that is psychedelic, funky and most magical. Enjoy it, it’s out of this world.

Forest Sounds: Stworz/Alne – Warńija

Label: Werewolf Promotion
Band: Stworz/Alne
Origin: Poland

This collaboration is particular since it is not really clear where the split between Stworz and Alne is actually split. The voice of one lends cadence to the song of the other and vice versa, creating a mesmerizingly beautiful Slavonic folk album that sounds just right with the sun up in the sky these days.

Stworz has been around since 2007 and revolves around W., who also plays in  Kres, Prav and Wędrujący Wiatr. The band has done songs for various heathen circle compilations and produced a fair share of music, gradually moving to a more folky sound, throughout the years. Alne is also a Polish folk act, with metal ties, that has been around for years. Together they created this album, with vocals provided by Alne’s Anna Malarz (ex-Thy Worshiper).

From the first listen onwards, it is clear that this is not just 2 records thrown together. This is a cooperative piece of folk, in honor of the land of Warńija. An ancient part in northern Poland, bordering old Prussia. Warm waves of acoustic riffs are like the reeds in the wind. The pleasant vocals add a flavor to the repetition, which is typical for ancient folk songs, that usually were sung during work. Ambient sounds and flutes enrich the music, to give it the natural feel. At times, this can create an intensity with the spoken word passages and inherent drama of the music, like on ‘Pieśń Warmianki’. Songs that meander like the river, ever so beautifully.

The songs by Alne are only four, but most notable is the dramatic vocal style of Anne Malarz on ‘Warmińska Noc’. It’s disrupting the tranquility evoked on the earlier songs, but with a powerful, melancholy attached to it. The classic, more grand storytelling continuous on this side of the record with ‘Tęsknota’ and shows a different side of the regional tradition and experience on this all over fascinatingly pleasant record. The words in the traditional language have a power to convey the magid, even if you don’t understand one iota of it.

Underground Sounds: Spectral Wound – Infernal Decadence

Label: Vendetta Records
Band: Spectral Wound
Origin: Canada

Meet the second album of Spectral Wound, which just oozes darkness with a cover that captures a bit of the gloom of dungeon synth it seems. The well-defined aesthetic is definitely a quality for this Canadian group of black metallers on their second full length, titled ‘Infernal Decadence’.

Featuring members of bands like Profane Order and To The Cliffs, it appears that there is plenty of experience in the ranks of this atmospheric company. Little info though… What is clear, is that the group sticks to aesthetic classics in the black metal. Vague imagery, gothic fonts and black and white covers, but that’s not where the conservative nature of the music ends.

‘Woods from Which the Spirits Once so Loudly Howled’ is the sonic equivalent of an ice cold shower that suddenly opens up above you. Pitch-black, earthy and heavy the blasting black metal. The voice is snappy and given space in the mix, which is excellent. No rest, no remorse, just furious black metal that batters you like hail as a scintillating guitar line creates the minor semblance of a melody.

By the time you reach ‘Feral Gates of Flesh’, you are probably gasping for air in this continuous onslaught of tremolo guitar repetition and rattling blast beats. Yet, the melody takes on more interesting shapes and big movements that even bring in some rocking parts on ‘La nuit froide de l’oubli’. The best way to describe their sound, to me, is absolutist. Their overpowering gestures are all pervasive and grand, like those of a dark tyrant. The screeches are horrendously good, which makes this an album to cherish in all its unholy fervor.

Underground Sounds: Nishaiar – Igewanda

Label: Self-released
Band: Nishaiar
Origin: Ethiopia

One has to be skeptical when dealing with bands that claim to hail from strange realms such as Ethiopia. Not that its impossible, you’ll be hard pressed to find any confirming information on any metal bands in the African country with its rich history. Nishaiar claims to hail from there though and this is their next record, titled ‘Igewanda’.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to dispense with finding the truth (Ghost Bath anyone?) as any interview requests are unanswered by this group clearly embracing the mystique and astral wisdom they convey in every utterance. The band has released 3 full length releases and one EP this far, all with radiant, ascending black metal full of wonder and amazement. That, in itself, fascinates the listener enough.

After a tribal intro, we fall into the fullness of warm ambient and keys, that forms the bass of Nishaiar’s sound. Wind instruments and a lot of electronics bring experience to life on the title track, which is as subtle and slithering as the fog of an early morning. The guitars drop in with a crunch, solidly clasped in the droning sounds. At times the music feels almost inorganic, but a sonic stream with a drumming so rhythmic and concentrated on ‘Nayan’ seems almost to be computer-generated.

Nishaiar gives a new shape to what we call ambient black metal, with music that mostly just drifts along on the astral waves the band claims to ride. Densely atmospheric, the music captures the imagination with the tribal sounds on ‘Menigedi’. At times it is probably hard to really call this sound black metal, but the way Nishaiar immerses the listener in their feverish dream music is uncanny. An experience like no other in the current black metal landscape almost.

Underground Sounds: Striborg – Blackwave

Label: Independent
Artist: Striborg
Origin: Australia

Black metal artists have always had a knack for pushing the envelope. Though some stay in their cave and spit out furious raw sounds forever, Sin Nanna has decided to depart and enter the realms of electronics with depressed black metal outfit Striborg. Obviously, this has been to an unkind reception at times, but ‘Blackwave’ is a great, atmospheric record in its own right and worth a try for those who love the vibe of the Tasmanian artists work.

Striborg has released an impressive array of records throughout the years, but the man behind the project seems to believe a new direction is needed. Understandable, as this was not even his only project. At times he even dabbled with other projects, like gritty death metal outlet Cromlech or the one-off Sun O))) participation of Pentemple. Striborg has steadily been his main outfit, after growing out of Kathaaria, which started in 1994. That’s a long line of darkness…

Eerie synthwave with harrowing vocals, urge the listener onwards, through the dense halls of a futuristic construction or spaceship. The music is cold, but oriental influences give it some body and enhance the otherworldly experience of ‘Trapped in a Void of the Nightgrass Repetitive, droning melodies, with odd effects that enhance the futuristic feel of the music. Diving deep into the niche of synthwave, Striborg is going into the unknown here.

It’s during tracks like ‘Making The World Cold’, that the atmospheric black metal influence really shines through again. The guitars are condensed in a singular melody line, compressed and bent into an electronic vibe, but the drums are ase Burzumesque as it gets. That shifts slightly on the track ‘All Alone in A Room Filled With Souls’, which feels… dare I say? Dancy actually, with the electroclash vibe of the early synth music with a steady, thudding drum.

We close of with a harrowing, horror tune, titled ‘Penance Stare’. A creepy outro, that leaves you cold. In other words, great stuff! With ‘Blackwave’, Striborg reaches a new level of depth in the feeling and emotion of the string of great works. Definitely leaving the purists far behind, it challenges genre definitions, but grips listeners.