Nocturnal Mass, an imprint of Soundmass, have chosen to couple the Polish bands Malchus and Pospolite Ruszenie together on a split cd as their first release. Upon listening to the cd, this decision does make a lot of sense, not only do the two bands employ Jan Trebacz on vocals, but their sound, while quite different in approach, does fit together nicely. Characterizing that sound is a somewhat of a challenge, but it is definitely metal with a progressive, gothic and folk influence, either direct or somewhat indirect. The combinations work very well and keeps the listening experience interesting from start to finish.
Hailing from Przeworsk, Poland, Malchus formed in May 2004 and released their first cd “Didymos” in 2010. Musically, Malchus is difficult to explain and various labels have been applied to their sound, including: melodic death, progressive, and gothic. I would add folk metal into that list, not from the standpoint of including traditional folk instruments, but in terms of song structure, style, and feel, especially with the operatic style clean vocals from Jan Trebacz. Whenever I think about Eastern European singing in traditional styles, I envision vocals similar to those in these Malchus songs. Rich, deep, strong, full, and hearty voices, somewhat soaring in nature is how I can best describe the sound. While that may not fit within the typical death metal genre, this is part of why I would add a folk metal label to the sound as it would be almost expected within that style. While the song titles are in English and the lyrics available translated into English, the vocals are done in Polish. As a testament to the quality of the songs, not understanding Polish didn’t affect my opinion of the album. Lyrically, many of the songs deal with the Christian walk of faith, not only waiting in anticipation for Christ’s return, but also addressing one’s shortcomings in the meantime. “I cannot change anything, trying to change the world, just not myself” (translated lyrics from My Hypocrisy).
One other somewhat unique aspect to the songs are some seamless changes from full-on metal to a solitary guitar or piano interlude that can be found in Day After Day and My Hypocrisy. These transitions were handled in the arrangement in such a manner that they are not as abrupt as one would think and really fit well within the songs. Excellent guitar and keyboards fill out the rest of the Malchus sound and some death metal growling, raspy vocals provide good contrast to the clean vocals. Taken together, all of these aspects give Malchus a very unique and difficult to characterize sound that it immensely listenable and enjoyable.
Written by John Jackson
Rating: 8/10
Tracklist:
1. Day After Day
2. My Hypocrisy
3. Signum Temporis
4. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
5. Stripped of the World
6. Caput Mundi
7. 144
Band Members
Radoslaw Solek – vocals, guitars
Wojciech Jarosz – bass
Pawel Tumiel – guitars
Tomasz Rosol – keyboards
Marcin Brozbar – drums
Jan Trebacz (Illuminandi, Pospolite Ruszenie) – guest vocals
Record Label: Soundmass / Nocturnal Mass, 2012
Buy the album here:
Holland & Worldwide: First Paradox Metalrecords
While I would describe Malchus sound as part folk metal without the traditional instruments, Pospolite Ruszenie is folk metal where traditional instruments play a prominent role. The band shares vocalist Jan Trebacz with Malchus but contains members from the traditional Celtic band Open Folk and other members from bands Illuminandi, Budzik, and Rumor. The resulting sound is an amalgam of heavy rock and metal guitars and drums with traditional instruments providing a sound straight out the baroque and Renaissance time periods. In keeping with the folk metal genre, the vocals are all performed in Old Polish and the lyrics are either Old Polish religious songs or Bible translations, for instance the song Ascribe unto the Lord, O Ye Sons of Might is a translation of Psalm 29.
Lament over Jesus, or Jesus betrayed by Judas starts out with just the traditional instruments providing a melancholy melody that provides the basis for much of the song and the traditional instruments really carry the song along. Vocals include the soaring, gothic rich sound of Jan Trebacz and also some spoken sections in a low deep voice and some occasional shouted part. In general, this is the formula followed by Pospolite Ruszenie in these songs. The traditional instruments are in the forefront and carry the songs with the guitars playing a supporting role. Given the traditional old-world feel of the music and delivery of the lyrics, this formula works very well and provides a unique listening experience that complements the Malchus tracks on this split very nicely.
Written by John Jackson
Rating: 8/10
Track Listing:
8. Lament over Jesus, or Jesus betrayed by Judas
9. Ascribe unto the Lord, o Ye Sons of Might (Psalm 29)
10. Lord God, the Almighty
Band Members
Jan Trebacz – vocals, hurdy-gurdy
Pawel Iwaszkiewicz – bagpipes, flutes, schawms
Pawel Muzyka – vielle, viola da gamba (treble and tenor), violone
Krzysztof Kramarz – electric guitars (6 and 7 string), acoustic guitars
Papirus – drums
Bako – bass guitar
Record Label: Soundmass / Nocturnal Mass, 2012
Weblinks: Official website / Facebook / Myspace
Buy the album here:
Holland & Worldwide: First Paradox Metalrecords