06 February 2012

Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy - Návaz

Artist: Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy
Release: Návaz [LP]

Genre: Folk Metal/Doom Metal/Ethno
Label: Season of Mist
Released: 2011

00. Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy - Návaz (2011) - frontcover

Folk metal from Eastern Europe is relatively unheard of here in the western part of Europe, save for Russian metal outfit Arkona. With a name that’s a mouthful to say, come Silent Stream Of Godless Elegy (or SSOGE for short), hailing from the Czech Republic. 2011 saw the release of their album Návaz via Season of Mist.

The album introduces itself with the violin soundings and ethno-like percussion of Mokos. The vocals, undoubtedly sung in Czech, bring out a powerful ethnic-folk sound. The harsher, more aggressive vocal stylings don’t do the music justice, destroying the mood of the song. Zlatohlav brings out the doom metal sound, much like that result of My Dying Bride and early Paradise Lost. Like the last track, the vocals bring out that entho sound with the violins but they also bring out that much needed droning sound to make this a decent doom metal track.

Skryj Hlavu Do Dlaní begins sounding slightly like a Japanese melody, or at least until dreary doom metalesque march of guitars and violins, alongside the drums come in. The combination of male and female vocals bring a certain warmth to the otherwise dark musings of the song. The violins are soulfully played, helping create an atmosphere. The album progresses towards Prísahám, a rather cheery sounding track compared to the rest of the album. Slava finds itself nicely placed at the centre of the album. The track sounds more folky and less doom-like, as well as relatively faster paced compared to the previous tracks. The violin has a certain Eastern European sound, helping reinforce the folk sound. Sudice carries on the folk metal sound of the previous track, while adding in a certain feeling of melancholy. Dva Stíny Mám is quite energetic for a doom metal anthem, though it has more of the raw, extreme death metallic tone with a subtle hint of doom metal influences while the violin show classical stylings, making for a genius combination.

Pramen, Co Ví slyly brings back the enchanting entho sound found earlier in the album, combining it with the ever slightly classical stylings of the violin, fusing together two beautiful sounds. The album comes to its solemn end with Samodiva, a track with a depressing atmosphere that just gives strength to the gloomy sound of the music. The male vocals blend well with the music, keeping that darkened sound flowing with the female vocals and the music.

Návaz is an interesting release, to say the least. It mixes folk and doom metal together with added hints of entho, creating an exciting yet gloomy sound. This is definitely an album worth giving a listen to and would go down a treat with My Dying Bride fans. In fact, these could be the next My Dying Bride.

9/10

Arran Wright

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