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Der Stolz des Nordlands demo TAPE 2002
1: Die Walkure
2: Die ewige Sonne
3: Der Stolz des Nordlands
4: Germania
5: Blut ist unserem Ehre
6: Eeuwigheid
7: Ragnarök
8: In dem goldenem Saal
Review: Der Stolz des Nordlands is the
debut demo of the black metal band Hamergilde, that was
founded in 1997 as a duo, but used a session bass player
on this release. This is hard-to-find material and I am
not sure whether it will ever be made available again,
even though I am 100% sure there is an audience for it
that will really like it.
The tape opens with Richard Wagner's Die
Walkure, overdubbed with a famous WWII speech. Die
Walkure is of course Wagner's most recognizable part
of the opera Der Ring des Nibelungen and
together with the speech it pretty much paints a clear
picture which road we're on.
Side Blut continues with four black metal
tracks that remind me a lot of Absurd's Asgardsrei.
Die ewige Sonne is a fairly simple but effective
song on a D-beat with only two riffs, alternating between
black metal vocals and clean vocals for the chorus. Der
Stolz des Nordlands is a notch slower and offers
some nice melodies, also relying on only two riffs. I
realize its six minutes might be a bit too much for
people that like more variation in their songs, but I
dont mind at all. Germania might be more
satisfying to them. Again Hamergilde managed to write
some strong, pleasing riffs and a catchy chorus. Blut
ist unserem Ehre sounds somewhat darker than the
previous tracks and has a rather relaxed atmosphere,
which is a nice conclusion to this side of the tape.
Side Ehre consists of more moody music, more
like the late 1990s works of Burzum or the early works of
Halgadom. It starts off with the ambient track Eeuwigheid,
which is something I imagine Vikernes could have recorded
for Dauši Baldrs. It is a nice break from the
distorted guitars and comes at an appropriate moment in
the succession of songs. Ragnarök might very well be the
most pleasing track of the demo. It has a very satisfying
bass melody, which somehow make me think of the better
Isengard tracks on Vinterskugge, and effective
clean vocals, humming along with the guitar riff; sure,
theyre sometimes slightly out of tune, but
Ive heard much worse in that area. The demo closes
with In dem goldenem Saal, layering acoustic
guitars over buzzing black metal. Its abrupt short
fade-out after almost three minutes might be the
tapes weakest point, since it not only breaks off a
song thats still going strong, but it also makes
for an unsatisfying ending of the entire demo. Even a
small outro might have taken care of that
Overall, the production isn't really great,
but it is decent enough for a homemade demo tape - again
Ive heard worse - with each song recorded in one or
only a few takes. The music is still more than okay and
quite convincing. The demo as a whole has a solid
structure because all songs have their own unique
identities and are well distinguishable. The musical
performance is always spontaneous, energetic and
atmospheric. We can sometimes hear the musicians talk and
fool around in between and even during songs, which would
be annoying on most traditional black metal releases, but
somehow emphasizes the comradery that was present during
the recordings. Sure, this tape is far from flawless, but
nothing ever is, so I'm not bothered. The lyrics are all
in German, except the few words whispered on Eeuwigheid.
If you like Absurd's Asgardsrei and Schwarzer
Orden's self-titled debut you will certainly like this
music as well.
Source: Black Art Magazine #6, 2003.
Rewrite: Metal Archives, title "A promising debut
demo", January 2018.
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Wodans Krieger promo CD 2002
1: Intro
2: Die ewige Sonne
3: Herr des Kriegers
4: Germania
5: Ragnarök
6: Outro
Review: After the promising
demo Der Stolz des Nordlands, Hamergilde
didnt waste time to give three of that tapes
songs a renewed recording. Wodans Krieger is still
another homemade release - I guess a 4-track or an
8-track at most - but I imagine that this has been done
with more preparation, care and time than on the previous
demo.
Where Der
Stolz des Nordlands borrowed its intro, this demo
opens and concludes with music played by the band itself.
They are moody instrumental pieces using keyboards,
acoustic guitar (outro), black metal screams (intro),
choir (outro) and a sword battle sample (intro). The core
of four black metal songs are what this demo really is
all about.
The
re-recorded version of Die ewige Sonne is faster
than the old one and sounds way more aggressive. It has
actually taken the band half a minute less to offer the
same quantity of music. As far as composition goes
nothing changed: the track still has only two riffs and
that is still no problem. Herr des Kriegers is a
new song and sounds more black metal than any of
Hamergildes other tracks, due to the guitar work.
Still, it doesnt feel like something alien in
between the older compositions. Germania has
also won about thirty seconds by increasing its speed,
with similar results: it sounds more aggressive and solid
than the old version. The last of the songs is a remake
of Ragnarök, which is still good, but misses
the defining presence of the bass guitar that made the
old version really stand out. Luckily the clean vocals
remain as an anchor and have even improved.
The sound
of the demo is consistent and the musicianship has
improved since Der Stolz des Nordlands.
Hamergilde has found its own sound on Wodans Krieger
and the comparisons I made for the debut are far less
applicable here. The black metal vocals are pretty raw,
which work well for the songs. The guitars are more
prominent and powerful than on the debut, but this is not
the case with the bass guitar. The line-up information
tells me a bass should be there, but I often doubt its
presence, thinking Im just imagining the bass lines
in the distant background. The lines I think I hear are
straight forward and hardly creative, just following the
steps of the guitar. The drums are programmed, but they
are not that prominent in the mix I dont think of
that as problematic. At the same time, they sometimes
tend to get drowned out by the guitars. Sure, this demo
wouldve benefitted from the use of a real drummer,
but it wouldve made recording at home pretty hard
as well.
Personally,
I am not sure which versions of the songs I prefer, but
its probably a mix between both demo tapes. The
merits of this release are definitely found in the
production, but its sharp edge does tend to interfere
with the intimate atmosphere present on the old demo. For
the black metal listener that goes for a bit of
consistency, however, this release will score most
points.
Its
too bad the band didnt last long enough after this
release, but I think these tracks couldve given
them a serious chance to attract a record label.
Source: Metal Archives,
titled "Germanic Aggression", January 2018.
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Weerwolf TAPE 2018 by Heidens Hart
Records
1: Wir
rufen deine Wölfe
2: Für Sieg und Tod
3: Der Stolz des Nordlands
4: Mijn eigen god
5: Bloed in de sneeuw - Countess cover
6: Herr des Kriegers
7: Weerwolf
8: Outro
line-up:
Odal (guitars, vocals, keyboards, bass)
Review: After (too) many
years of silence Hamergilde has been called back into
existence as a solo endeavour by one of its founding
musicians, Odal, to return with a full-length album,
released on Heidens Hart. Its called Weerwolf
yes indeed, werewolf in Dutch and
lasts about 35 minutes, offering traditional black metal
without going for typical rawness or breakneck tempos,
but neither resorting to reverb-rich doom elements or
keyboards for its darker side. It has also taken a
distance from the RaC-elements that sometimes popped up
on the old releases.
Im
glad to hear that some things in Hamergilde are still the
same - German and Dutch lyrics, both languages that, in
my opinion, really fit black metal - and some things have
changed for the better. One of the first things I notice
is the sound of the album, which is very well produced
and has a certain warmth that brings out the best of the
deep - and very understandable - black metal vocals and
the clean supporting vocals. The band has definitely said
goodbye to traditional treble-filled black metal of old,
and sounds more modern without parting with the
old-school feeling and riffs. The drums function as the
heartbeat of the songs and never take a leading role,
like in a lot of contemporary black metal (an element
adopted from death metal). It also becomes apparent that
the tempo has been taken back a notch, compared to the
demos. Its actually not until the third track that
I first hear double basskicks and a bit of uptempo
rhythms. The fact that Odal has been walking around in
the black metal scene for quite a long time, shows itself
on this demo. Even the outro reaches back to the first
half of the 1990s, with a short take on the kind of
material early Mortiis once offered. It stresses the fact
that Hamergilde is a band that has developed a great eye
(ear) for atmosphere.
When
comparing this releases Hamergilde with another band, I
think of a modern version of old Countess. This is best
heard in the tracks with Dutch lyrics, which possess a
similar atmosphere and, dare I say it, a certain intimacy
(at least for a Dutch speaking audience). There is
actually a Countess cover on the album, so the comparison
isnt a random coincidence. Bloed in the Sneeuw
is that bands best known and most requested song,
and its reworked by Hamergilde in a very convincing
way; even without the trademark screaming of Orlok.
Apart from
the music, Hamergilde and Heidens Hart offer a nice,
professionally made tape with a simple but effective and
stylish cover, that is worth the money you will pay for
it. Hamergilde is a band the proves that Dutch black
metal is still very much alive, and that its a
national scene with great diversity.
Source: Metal Archives,
titled "The Return...", October, 2018.
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